Big opportunity for UNC

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Florida State (2-4) at North Carolina (4-2)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Kenan Memorial Stadium (60,000) -- Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Television:ESPN. Home Record: FSU 1-3, UNC 3-1. Away Record: FSU 1-1, UNC 1-1. Neutral Record: FSU 0-0, UNC 0-0. Conference Record: FSU 0-3, UNC 0-2. Series Record: Florida State leads, 14-1-1.

GAME NOTES: In desperate need of a win, the Florida State Seminoles head to Chapel Hill where they will face the North Carolina Tar Heels in an ACC battle under the light this Thursday at Kenan Memorial Stadium.

At 2-4, the Seminoles are off to their worst start since head coach Bobby Bowden took over the program in 1976 and began that season with an identical 2-4 ledger. The 1976 team went on to finish just 5-6 and FSU is in serious jeopardy of posting a losing campaign if it can't turn things around immediately. Three of the team's four losses have come at home, including a 49-44 setback in a wild shootout against nationally-ranked Georgia Tech on October 10th. It marked the third setback in a row by the Seminoles, whose four

UNC expects Florida State's best

As far as North Carolina is concerned, the Florida State team coming to town Thursday night is the Seminoles powerhouse of an earlier decade, not the current version that's winless in the ACC and mired in coaching turmoil.

"They're still Florida State," UNC cornerback Kendric Burney said Monday. "[When I was] growing up in the '90s, Florida State was pretty much all you heard about in the ACC."

Tar Heels coach Butch Davis also gushed about these Seminoles, the ones with a 2-4 record that includes an 0-3 mark in the ACC. Davis, who praises the upcoming opponent every week at his Monday news conference, can be forgiven for his impressions of FSU. As Miami's coach in the late 1990s, Davis went 1-5 against Bobby Bowden's program.

Recap: North Carolina vs. Florida State

Christian Ponder threw for a career-high 395 yards and three touchdowns, including the go-ahead score to Beau Reliford in the fourth quarter, as Florida State rallied from an 18-point deficit in the second half to beat North Carolina, 30-27, at Kenan Stadium.

Florida State coach Bobby Bowden was in danger of matching the worst start in his history at the school, but the Seminoles (3-4, 1-3 ACC) came back from a 24-6 hole in the third quarter.

Ponder completed 33-of-40 passes and Rod Owens caught nine balls for 199 yards, including a 98-yard TD in the third quarter. Ponder hit his last 16 passes, throwing for 236 yards and three scores during that span.

(18) West Virginia (9-3) vs. Florida State (6-6)

GAME NOTES: After 34 years at Florida State, Bobby Bowden will coach his final game for the Seminoles as they are set to take on the 18th-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers in the 65th annual Gator Bowl at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium on New Year's Day.

Bowden will go out facing the team he coached for six seasons prior to taking over at Florida State in 1976. Over the years, FSU has won 22 bowl games in its storied history -- 21 of those with Bowden at the helm -- and the Seminoles are unbeaten in six previous trips to the Gator Bowl. But this year's squad finished just 6-6, marking the third time in the past four years the team has failed to win more than seven games. With the program struggling to return to prominence, Bowden has heard the whispers in recent years questioning whether he should have gone out on top after winning the BCS National Championship in 1999.

"I had some great, enjoyable years after ('99), even though we didn't win as many games," Bowden reflected following his final practice

(22) Georgia Tech (4-1) at Florida State (2-3)

GAME NOTES: ACC foes collide in Tallahassee on Saturday night, as the disappointing Florida State Seminoles play host to the 22nd-ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.

Georgia Tech improved to 4-1 last weekend with a 42-31 decision over Mississippi State. That victory was the second in as many games for the Yellow Jackets, who are 2-1 in ACC play. The only loss came against Miami on the road, but the fact that Tech was able to hang 42 points on an SEC club on its own field last week suggests that it has little trouble performing in hostile environments.

Florida State is in desperate need of a victory, as it has suffered consecutive losses to fall to 2-3 overall and 0-2 in conference. The most recent defeat occurred last weekend against Boston College in Chestnut Hill by a 28-21 final. This week, there have been rumors circulating that this could be the final year for head coach Bobby Bowden, who has been a fixture on the FSU sidelines for well over three decades.