2008 Florida State Seminoles football team

American college football season August 2023 January 2026 2008 Florida State Seminoles football Florida State Seminoles old logo.svg 150 Atlantic Coast Conference Atlantic Division ACC 23 21 9–4 5–3 Bobby Bowden 33rd Jimbo Fisher 2nd Pro-style Mickey Andrews 25th 4–3 Antone Smith Tony Carter Benjamin Lampkin Doak Campbell Stadium ACC Atlantic Division co-championChamps Sports Bowl champion Champs Sports Bowl W Won 42–13 vs. Wisconsin The 2008 Florida State Seminoles football team represented the Florida State University as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. Led by 33rd-year head coach Bobby Bowden, the Seminoles compiled an overall record of 9–4 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, sharing the ACC's Atlantic Division title with Boston College. Florida State did not advance to the ACC Championship Game due to a head-to-head loss to Boston College. The Seminoles were invited to the Champs Sports Bowl, where they defeated Wisconsin. The team played home games at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida. The Seminoles were without as many as 12 scholarship players for the first three games of the season because of suspensions carrying over from the previous season for violating team rules, although it has not been disclosed how many of those were involved with the Florida State University academic-athletic scandal.Florida State announces '08 gridiron schedule | news-press.com | The News-PressESPN – Bowden not worried about scandal's effect on legacy – College Football Junior wide receiver Preston Parker was suspended for the first two games of the season, after pleading guilty to two misdemeanor charges.ESPN – Parker to miss two games after guilty plea to two misdemeanors – College Football Schedule 2008 AP Eastern September 6 6:00 p.m. w y Western Carolina Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL SUN PPV 69–0 73,024 September 13 3:45 p.m. w y Chattanooga Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL ESPNU 46–7 71,596 September 20 7:00 p.m. l 25 Wake Forest 18 Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL ESPN2 3–12 79,235 September 27 3:30 p.m. w y y Colorado Jacksonville Municipal Stadium Jacksonville, FL ABC 39–21 46,716 October 4 3:30 p.m. w y Miami (FL) Dolphin Stadium Miami Gardens, FL rivalry ABC, ESPN2 41–39 65,786 October 16 Thursday 7:30 pm w y NC State Carter–Finley Stadium Raleigh, NC ESPN 26–17 56,643 October 25 3:30 pm w 23 Virginia Tech Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL ABC 30–20 81,876 November 1 3:30 p.m. l y 16 Georgia Tech Bobby Dodd Stadium Atlanta, GA ABC 28–31 53,528 November 8 3:30 p.m. w 24 Clemson Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL rivalry ABC 41–27 77,013 November 15 8:00 p.m. l y 19 Boston College Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL ABC 17–27 79,792 November 22 7:45 p.m. w y Maryland 22 Byrd Stadium College Park, MD ESPN 37–3 51,620 November 29 3:30 p.m. l y 24 Florida 2 Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL rivalry ABC, ESPN2 15–45 83,237 December 27 4:30 p.m. w y y Wisconsin Florida Citrus Bowl Orlando, FL Champs Sports Bowl ESPN 42–13 52,692 Florida State Seminoles Schedule 2008 https://www.espn.com/college-football/team/schedule/_/id/52/season/2008 ESPN September 6, 2025 2008 Florida State Seminoles Schedule and Results https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/florida-state/2008-schedule.html College Football at Sports-Reference.com Sports Reference September 6, 2025 2008 Football Schedule https://seminoles.com/sports/football/schedule/2008 Florida State University September 6, 2025 Rankings 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings 16 4 8 NR NR NR NR NR NR 24 25 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 25 24 23 23 15 16 16 18 22 24 24 24 19 20 19 20 NR NR NR RV 20 23 24 23 24 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 21 23 Game summaries Western Carolina Western Carolina 0 0 0 0 0 Florida State 7 21 27 14 69 The start of the game was delayed almost an hour and a half due to lightning in the area, and then almost another hour during the 1st quarter. The first player to touch the ball for FSU, to start the 2008 season, was Tony Carter who promptly returned a punt 68 yards for a touchdown and the game's first score. Sophomore Christian Ponder started his first game at quarterback. Ponder completed 11 of 17 passes for 196 yards and 3 touchdowns. At the start of the second drive in the second half (when FSU was up 35–0), sophomore D'Vontrey Richardson came into the game. Richardson went 5 for 6 through the air with one touchdown and also had two rushing touchdowns, one for over 50 yards. With several players serving suspensions due to the school wide "academic scandal" (several students and athletes were caught sharing answers in an online music class), the Seminoles had 28 freshman play in the game. Two of those freshman had touchdowns in the victory over the Catamounts.Ponder strong in start as FSU whips W. Carolina Chattanooga Tennessee-Ch 7 0 0 0 7 Florida State 21 9 9 7 46 In his second start as a collegiate athlete, Christian Ponder threw for 183 yards and three first-half touchdowns before being relieved by D'vontrey Richardson in the 3rd quarter. Richardson threw for 117 yards with one touchdown. Richardson also had a 55-yard rushing touchdown, the longest scoring run for a quarterback in the school's history. The previous record was held by Richardson himself, set in the previous week with a 52-yard touchdown run. Junior Wide Receiver, Corey Surrency, led Florida State in receiving with 87 yards and two touchdowns on just three receptions. Florida State's defense allowed their first score of the season after a 62-yard passing touchdown thrown by Chattanooga quarterback Tony Pastore. This was also the first score by Chattanooga against Florida State all-time, dating back to 1984, the only previous meeting between the two schools in which the Seminoles won in a shutout by 37 points.Ponder sparks Florida St. with three first-half TDs Wake Forest #18 Wake Forest 3 0 6 3 12 #25 Florida State 0 0 3 0 3 Defense, kicking game help No. 18 Wake Forest clip No. 24 (AP Poll) Florida State Colorado Colorado 7 0 0 14 0 Florida State 7 12 6 14 0 This game was played in Jacksonville, Florida, with Florida State as the home team. This was Bobby Bowden's 500th Career Game. https://archive.today/20130102191415/http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/recap?gameId=282710052 Bowden gets Florida State past Colorado in 500th game At Miami (FL) Florida State 7 17 10 7 41 Miami 0 3 19 17 39 FSU dumps Miami behind Smith's career-best four TDs At NC State Florida State 0 6 7 13 26 N.C. State 3 7 0 7 17 Florida State rides Ponder, Smith past N.C. State Virginia Tech Virginia Tech 10 3 0 7 20 #25 Florida State 0 10 14 6 30 Carr sets up two TDs in third quarter as No. 25 FSU rallies At Georgia Tech #15 Florida State 10 10 0 8 28 Georgia Tech 3 21 7 0 31 Georgia Tech snaps 0–12 skid against Florida State Clemson Clemson 10 7 3 7 0 #22 Florida State 10 10 7 14 0 FSU bowl eligible for 27th straight season on Bowden's birthday Boston College Boston College 14 0 10 3 27 #19 Florida State 0 10 0 7 17 One day prior to the game, Florida State suspended Wide Receivers Taiwan Easterling, Bert Reed, Corey Surrency, Cameron Wade and Richard Goodman for their roles in an on-campus altercation with members of the Phi Beta Sigma fraternity at Florida State's student union.Bowden suspends five wide receivers for game against BCFlorida State players brawl with members of Phi Beta Sigma at student union Boston College upends No. 19 Florida State day after five wideouts suspended @ Maryland Florida State 0 21 3 13 37 #25 Maryland 0 0 3 0 3 Myron Rolle, Florida State's starting safety, was interviewed in Birmingham, Alabama, at noon for the Rhodes Scholarship. At 5:00, he received the call that he was accepted. He flew in a private jet to Washington, D.C., and had a police escort take him to the game in College Park, Maryland. He arrived at the stadium around 8:30pm (with 11:55 left in the 2nd quarter). He dressed out in the locker room and walked onto the field to the roar of the Florida State visitor section with 6:23 left in the 2nd quarter. After stretching out, he made his game debut with 1:30 left in the 1st half. At the end of the game, his teammates showered him with a bucket of ice water in 26 degree weather, an act usually reserved for the head coach. He is the first Florida State player to ever have the "ice water shower". Maryland picked apart by unranked Florida State Florida #4 Florida 14 14 10 7 0 #20 Florida State 3 6 6 0 0 Florida wins 8th straight while continuing dominance in intrastate rivalry Vs. Wisconsin—Champs Sports Bowl Wisconsin 0 3 3 7 13 Florida State 0 14 14 14 42 Ponder powers Seminoles' offense, defense routs Badgers Personnel Recruits yes no 2008 A.J. Alexander ATH Altoona, Pennsylvania Altoona HS 6 0 180 4.4 2008-01-28 4 4 78 Travis Arnold DB Madison, Florida Madison HS 5 10 184 4.6 2007-07-20 3 4 76 Nigel Bradham LB Crawfordville, Florida Wakulla HS 6 2 230 4.6 2007-04-15 5 5 82 Nigel Carr LB Jacksonville, Florida First Coast HS 6 3 220 4.5 2007-04-15 4 4 82 Avis Commack WR Jacksonville, Florida First Coast HS 6 4 182 4.5 2007-05-24 4 3 77 Andrew Datko OL Fort Lauderdale, Florida St. Thomas Aquinas HS 6 5 285 5.3 2007-10-29 3 3 77 Everett Dawkins DE Duncan, South Carolina Byrnes HS 6 2 142 4.7 2007-11-17 3 4 79 Garrett Faircloth OL Jacksonville, Florida Bolles HS 6 6 260 N/A 2008-01-24 2 2 76 Jarmon Fortson ATH Columbus, Georgia Carver HS 6 3 220 4.6 2008-02-06 4 4 79 Josh Gehres WR Tallahassee, Florida Lincoln HS 6 3 190 4.5 2008-01-28 2 2 73 Anthony Hill DT Pensacola, Florida Pensacola HS 6 4 300 4.9 2007-02-16 3 3 77 Ed Imeokparia ATH Blairstown, New Jersey Blair Academy HS 6 0 188 4.4 2008-02-06 2 3 76 Carlton Jones RB Tampa, Florida Middleton HS 5 11 215 N/A 2008-02-06 2 2 40 Jabaris Little TE Tallahassee, Florida Lincoln HS 6 4 240 4.6 2007-05-23 3 4 75 Kyle Long OL Charlottesville, Virginia St. Anne's-Belfield HS 6 7 280 5.0 2008-05-05 4 N/A 81 E.J. Manuel QB Virginia Beach, Virginia Bayside HS 6 5 215 4.6 2007-06-27 5 4 82 Anthony McCloud DT Thomasville, Georgia Thomas County Central HS 6 3 295 N/A 2008-02-06 2 2 40 Moses McCray DT Tampa, Florida Hillsborough HS 6 2 268 4.9 2007-05-02 4 4 78 Nick Moody LB Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Roman Catholic HS 6 1 218 4.5 2007-04-17 3 4 77 Terrance Parks DB Fairburn, Georgia Creekside HS 6 1 200 4.4 2007-07-19 4 3 83 Tavares Pressley RB Torrance, California El Camino College 6 1 215 4.4 2007-11-27 4 4 N/A Bo Reliford TE Ft. Lauderdale, Florida Dillard HS 6 6 235 4.8 2008-05-30 2 2 40 Zebrie Sanders OL Clayton, Ohio Northmont HS 6 5 273 5.3 2008-01-20 4 4 79 Rhonne Sanderson OL Tampa, Florida Plant HS 6 4 280 N/A 2008-01-29 2 2 75 Debrale Smiley RB Thomasville, Georgia Thomas County Central HS 6 0 235 4.7 2008-02-06 3 2 40 Blake Snider OL Heflin, AL Cleburne County HS 6 4 282 N/A 2008-02-04 2 2 40 David Spurlock OL Murfreesboro, Tennessee Riverdale HS 6 4 280 N/A 2007-12-09 3 3 78 Toshmon Stevens DE Crescent City, Florida Crescent City HS 6 5 200 4.6 2007-07-31 3 3 76 Corey Surrency WR Torrance, California El Camino College 6 5 210 4.5 2007-10-21 5 4 N/A Jermaine Thomas RB Jacksonville, Florida First Coast HS 6 1 190 4.4 2007-04-23 3 3 83 Joe Tonga OL Walnut, California Mt. San Antonio College 6 6 304 5.4 2008-08-04 N/A N/A N/A Markus White DE El Dorado, Kansas Butler Community College 6 4 245 4.5 2007-12-10 4 5 N/A Vincent Williams LB Davenport, Florida Ridge HS 6 1 210 4.8 2007-04-18 3 4 78 yes 2008 Florida State 2008 Football Commitments 2008 Florida State Commits 2008 Player Commitments – Florida State floridastate 16 52 2011-01-21 no Statistics Team Team Opp Scoring  157  40   Points per game  39.25  10 First downs  24  12   Rushing  11  3   Passing  12  6   Penalty  1  3 Total offense  561  176   Avg per play  9.8  3.0   Avg per game  561  176 Fumbles-Lost  2–0  3–1 Penalties-Yards  8–58  6–37   Avg per game  58  37 Team Opp Punts-Yards  2–93  8–272   Avg per punt  46.5  34 Time of possession/Game  27:44  32:16 3rd down conversions  3  3 4th down conversions  0  0 Touchdowns scored  10  0 Field goals-Attempts-Long  0–1–0  0–1–0 PAT-Attempts  9–10  0–0 Attendance  73024  0   Games/Avg per Game  1/73024  0/0 Scores by quarter Florida State 62 95 83 83 Opponents 43 41 35 55 References Florida State Category:Florida State Seminoles football seasons Category:Pop-Tarts Bowl champion seasons Florida State Seminoles football