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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — Bobby Bowden rode only a few bouncy steps on his players' shoul- ders, then hopped off. ''I thought it was about time to get down,'' he said. Time to say goodbye. As a winner, too. Jermaine Thomas ran for 121 yards and two touch- downs, MVP E.J. Manuel threw for 189 yards and ran for another score and Flori- da State knocked off No. 18 West Virginia 33-21 Friday at the Gator Bowl in the final game of Bowden's sto- ried 57-year coaching career. ''The winning was really a bonus,'' Bowden said. ''Knowing it's your last game, I'll be honest with you, I'm kind of interested in this retirement business. I ain't got to set my alarm no more, I'll get up when I'm darn good and ready, then like I say, go out and look for a job.'' Bowden finished with a 389-129-4 record, and most importantly to him, a 33rd consecutive winning sea- son. Next week, Jimbo Fisher takes over at Florida State, which finished 7-6 for the third time in four years. That run of mediocrity was the 80-year-old Bow- den's downfall — he want- ed to stay at least one more season, but was essentially forced into retirement after Florida State offered him a lesser role for 2010. But on this day, none of that mat- tered to the Florida State faithful, which serenaded him with ''Bob-by! Bob- by!'' chants throughout the day, saving their loudest cries for the very end. ''Eat your heart out, Florida State,'' Ann Bow- den, the coach's wife, said afterward. ''Eat your heart out.'' With 1:39 left, Bowden trotted down to the Florida State band section, remov- ing his autographed white cap and tossing it into the seats — and the celebration began. When it was over, Bowden was surrounded by a wall of photographers, try- ing to make his way over to shake the hand of West Vir- ginia coach Bill Stewart — who was a 177-pound walk-on for Bowden's first Mountaineers team in 1970. ''It's got to be memo- rable,'' Bowden said. ''It's my last dadgum ballgame after 57 years of coaching.'' Losing to his mentor didn't make it easier for Stewart. ''I don't like to lose,'' Stewart said. ''He taught me that.'' Bowden leaves as major college football's second- winningest coach. Joe Paterno earned his 394th victory Friday in the Capital One Bowl as Penn State beat LSU 19-17, now the official winner of the back- and-forth race to be the game's all-time win leader, something that wasn't lost on Bowden. Paterno could win No. 400 next year. By his own math, Bowden's already beyond that benchmark. Sports 1B Weekend January 2-3, 2010 Tick, tock: Ohio State rules clock PASADENA (AP) — It didn't just seem like Ohio State owned the ball in the Rose Bowl. The Buckeyes really did. They set a game record for time of possession at 41 minutes, 37 seconds. By comparison, Oregon controlled the ball for a scant 18:23. ''Time of possession I was not worried about,'' first-year Oregon coach Chip Kelly said. ''I was worried about Terrelle Pryor.'' The Ohio State quarter- back was 23 of 37 for a career-high 266 yards, one interception and two touchdowns despite being sacked four times. He was also the Buckeyes' lead- ing rusher, with 20 carries for 72 yards. He was named the game's offen- sive MVP. Pryor said he was excited when coach Jim Tressel said the passing game would take priority. ''The offense did a great job to help out the defense because our defense, they've been car- rying a lot this year some- times,'' he said. ''We're just glad we got out there and tried to help them out as much as we could, and we did pretty good.'' Pryor hadn't thrown as much in the Buckeyes' final regular season games, surprising the Ducks with their wide- open offense. ''The plan was to make him throw the ball, but when he threw it that good, the plan didn't go well,'' said Oregon end Kenny Rowe, named the game's defensive MVP. ''He slipped away a cou- ple of times. He runs pret- ty hard. He's got a good stiff-arm too.'' Kelly was impressed by the physicality of the 6- foot-6, 235-pound Pryor, whom he had seen in high school in Pennsylvania. ''He looks like a defen- sive lineman,'' Kelly said. ''He's an impressive play- er when you see him up close. He certainly beat us on how he threw the ball.'' ——— KICKIN' IT: Ohio State kicker Aaron Pettrey saw his first action in two months as he played the final game of his career. The redshirt senior injured his right knee on a kickoff in a win against New Mexico State on Oct. 31 and missed the Buck- eyes' final three regular- season games. Devin Barkley took over during that stretch, and then he kicked field goals of 19, 30 and 38 yards Friday. But Pettrey handled the kick after Ohio State's opening touchdown and came on again after an interception late in the second quarter, kicking a 45-yard field goal that sent them into halftime leading 16-10. ——— BY THE NUMBERS: Ohio State ran 89 plays, third-most in Rose Bowl game history, to Oregon's 53. The difference of 36 was the second-most in the game's 96 years, trail- ing only Michigan's 90-24 edge over Stanford in the first Rose Bowl in 1902. Ohio State's Devin Barkley kicked three field goals, tying a record shared by four others. Oregon's Kenny Rowe recorded three quarter- back sacks, tying a record. MCT photo Ohio State's Jake Ballard goes up to make the catch on a key third down play against Oregon's Eddie Pleasant during the fourth quarter of the Rose Bowl Friday. MCT photo Florida State quarterback E.J. Manuel, right, leaps for extra yardage during game action against West Virginia in the Gator Bowl. Florida State defeated West Virginia, 33-21. Ishi Archery Lessons for youth The Ishi Archery Club and the 4-H program have become partners to provide archery instruction to youth. Instruction will be given at 6 p.m. Wednesdays beginning Jan. 6 and running through March in the Ron Knight Building at the Tehama District Fairground. All new participants must attend a safety meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 5 at Wetter Hall, 1740 Walnut St., Red Bluff. Youth need to be 9 years of age and members of the 4-H program or join the Ishi Archery Club. The cost is $5 per night to cover building rental. A free program will continue at the Ishi Archery Range in the spring if there is interest. All instructors are certified 4-H archery volunteer leaders. For more information, call Leland George at 527-4200. Indoor league The Ishi Archery Club will continue its winter indoor league every Thursday beginning Jan. 7 through late February at the Ron Knight Building at the Tehama District Fairground. The cost is $5 for Ishi members and $10 for guests. Shooting begins at 5:30 p.m. and concludes by 9 p.m. Participants are welcome to come at anytime. To learn more about the club, go to www.ishiarcheryclub.org or call Bill Peterson at 527- 4463. NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Tim Tebow rose above all the distractions caused by coach Urban Meyer's uncertain future and capped a storied college career with his finest performance. It was the best in BCS history, too. Tebow threw for a career-high 482 yards and three touchdowns, ran for 51 yards and another score, and fifth-ranked Florida overwhelmed No. 4 Cincin- nati 51-24 Friday night in the Sugar Bowl. For Tebow and the Gators (13-1), this certainly was The Big Easy. Florida's most anticipat- ed season ever ended in New Orleans instead of Pasadena. It came against Cincinnati (13-1) instead of Texas. It was about redemp- tion instead of perfection. None of that mattered in the Louisiana Superdome. Tebow wouldn't let it. He completed his first 12 passes, led the Gators to scores on their first five pos- sessions and finished with 533 yards — more than anyone in Bowl Champi- onship Series history. He passed former Texas star Vince Young's record of 467 yards set against South- ern California in the 2005 Rose Bowl. The Bearcats lost their bid for a perfect season and surely will spend the next year listening to questions about whether they belong in the big games against the biggest boys. Florida, meanwhile, became the first school in the Football Bowl Subdivi- sion to win 13 games in consecutive seasons. Tebow and his team- mates had hoped to repeat as national champions, but a 32-13 loss to Alabama in the Southeastern Confer- ence title game knocked them out of the title picture. The Gators spent the last four weeks regrouping from the disheartening loss. Tebow, Gators make it look easy in Sugar Bowden goes out a winner in Gator Bowl Bowl Glance Thursday, Dec. 31 Armed Forces Bowl At Fort Worth, Texas Air Force 47, Houston 20 Sun Bowl At El Paso, Texas Oklahoma 31, Stanford 27 Texas Bowl At Houston Navy 35, Missouri 13 Insight Bowl At Tempe, Ariz. Iowa State 14, Minnesota 13 Chick-fil-A Bowl At Atlanta Virginia Tech 37, Tennessee 14 ——— Friday, Jan. 1 Outback Bowl At Tampa, Fla. Auburn 38, Northwestern 35, OT Capital One Bowl At Orlando, Fla. Penn State 19, LSU 17 Gator Bowl At Jacksonville, Fla. Florida State 33, West Virginia 21 Rose Bowl At Pasadena, Calif. Ohio State 26, Oregon 17 Sugar Bowl At New Orleans Florida 51, Cincinnati 24 ——— Saturday, Jan. 2 International Bowl At Toronto South Florida (7-5) vs. Northern Illinois (7-5), 9 a.m. (ESPN2) Cotton Bowl At Arlington, Texas Oklahoma State (9-3) vs. Mississippi (8- 4), 11 a.m. (FOX) PapaJohns.com Bowl At Birmingham, Ala. Connecticut (7-5) vs. South Carolina (7- 5), 11 a.m. (ESPN) Liberty Bowl At Memphis, Tenn. East Carolina (9-4) vs. Arkansas (7-5), 2:30 p.m. (ESPN) Alamo Bowl At San Antonio Michigan State (6-6) vs. Texas Tech (8-4), 6 p.m. (ESPN) ——— Monday, Jan. 4 Fiesta Bowl At Glendale, Ariz. Boise State (13-0) vs. TCU (12-0), 5 p.m. (FOX) ——— Tuesday, Jan. 5 Orange Bowl At Miami Iowa (10-2) vs. Georgia Tech (11-2), 5 p.m. (FOX) ——— Wednesday, Jan. 6 GMAC Bowl Mobile, Ala. Central Michigan (11-2) vs. Troy (9-3), 4 p.m. (ESPN) ——— Thursday, Jan. 7 BCS National Championship At Pasadena, Calif. Alabama (13-0) vs. Texas (13-0), 5 p.m. (ABC) NFL AMERICAN CONFERENCE East W L T Pct PF PA x-New Eng. 10 5 0 .667 400 251 N.Y. Jets 8 7 0 .533 311 236 Miami 7 8 0 .467 336 360 Buffalo 5 10 0 .333 228 319 South W L T Pct PF PA x-Indianap. 14 1 0 .933 409 277 Houston 8 7 0 .533 354 306 Jacksonville 7 8 0 .467 273 357 Tennessee 7 8 0 .467 337 389 North W L T Pct PF PA x-Cincinnati 10 5 0 .667 305 254 Baltimore 8 7 0 .533 370 248 Pittsburgh 8 7 0 .533 338 300 Cleveland 4 11 0 .267 222 358 West W L T Pct PF PA x-San Diego12 3 0 .800 431 300 Denver 8 7 0 .533 302 280 Oakland 5 10 0 .333 184 358 Kansas City 3 12 0 .200 250 400 NATIONAL CONFERENCE East W L T Pct PF PA y-Philadel. 11 4 0 .733 429 313 y-Dallas 10 5 0 .667 337 250 N.Y. Giants 8 7 0 .533 395 383 Washington 4 11 0 .267 246 313 South W L T Pct PF PA x-New Orl. 13 2 0 .867 500 318 Atlanta 8 7 0 .533 343 315 Carolina 7 8 0 .467 292 298 Tampa Bay 3 12 0 .200 234 380 North W L T Pct PF PA x-Minnesota11 4 0 .733 426 305 y-Green Bay10 5 0 .667 428 290 Chicago 6 9 0 .400 290 352 Detroit 2 13 0 .133 239 457 West W L T Pct PF PA x-Arizona 10 5 0 .667 368 292 San Fran. 7 8 0 .467 302 275 Seattle 5 10 0 .333 267 373 St. Louis 1 14 0 .067 169 408 x-clinched division y-clinched playoff spot Sunday's Games Chicago at Detroit, 10 a.m. Pittsburgh at Miami, 10 a.m. New England at Houston, 10 a.m. Indianapolis at Buffalo, 10 a.m. San Francisco at St. Louis, 10 a.m. Atlanta at Tampa Bay, 10 a.m. New Orleans at Carolina, 10 a.m. Jacksonville at Cleveland, 10 a.m. N.Y. Giants at Minnesota, 10 a.m. Tennessee at Seattle, 1:15 p.m. Philadelphia at Dallas, 1:15 p.m. Washington at San Diego, 1:15 p.m. Kansas City at Denver, 1:15 p.m. Baltimore at Oakland, 1:15 p.m. Green Bay at Arizona, 1:15 p.m. Cincinnati at N.Y. Jets, 5:20 p.m. SCOREBOARD