Bowden, Warrick to join Allstate Sugar Bowl Hall of Fame

Seminoles.com

NEW ORLEANS – Four legends will be introduced as the fifth class of the Sugar Bowl Hall of Fame.

The induction is being planned in conjunction with the 89th annual Allstate Sugar Bowl on Dec. 31. The inaugural Hall of Fame class, introduced in 2017, was composed of 16 stars of the annual New Orleans football classic. This year’s class of Hall of Famers includes one of the greatest coaches in the history of the game and three Sugar Bowl MVPs.

The members of the fifth class of the Sugar Bowl Hall of Fame, or their representatives, have all been invited to New Orleans for this year’s Allstate Sugar Bowl. Attendees and their guests will participate in select Sugar Bowl VIP activities and will be recognized on the field during the pregame ceremony leading up to the annual Sugar Bowl Classic.

This year’s inductees are Bobby Bowden, Glynn Griffing, Bobby Scott and Peter Warrick.

Recognized as one of the greatest coaches of all-time, Bowden made an indelible mark on the Sugar Bowl. He directed his Florida State program to six different Sugar Bowls during an incredible stretch of leading the Seminoles to 14 straight top-five finishes. 

His 1999 team capped the only undefeated season of his career as his ’Noles topped a dynamic Virginia Tech squad, 46-29, in the 2000 Sugar Bowl, which doubled as the BCS Championship.

In his first Sugar Bowl appearance in 1989, Bowden saw the legendary Deion Sanders intercept an Auburn pass in the end zone late in the fourth quarter to clinch a 13-7 victory. His squad also took down archrival Florida in the 1995 Sugar Bowl in a game that was billed as the “Fifth Quarter in the French Quarter” after the two teams battled to a 31-31 tie in their regular-season match-up. 

Bowden’s other Sugar Bowl victory was an impressive 31-14 blowout of Ohio State in the 1998 Classic. In addition to a pair of national championships (1993 and 1999), Bowden won 12 ACC Championships and completed his career with a staggering 377 victories.

Wilburn “Glynn” Griffing had an outstanding career at Ole Miss that culminated in earning Most Outstanding Player recognition in the 1963 Sugar Bowl. 

Griffing completed 14 of 23 passes for a then-Sugar Bowl record 242 yards as the Rebels held off Arkansas, 17-13, to cap a perfect 10-0 season – the school’s only perfect season. After Griffing threw for a 33-yard touchdown in the second quarter, the Razorbacks knotted the game at 10 early in the third, but Griffing drove his team 80 yards, completing passes of 23 and 35 yards and then sneaking in from the one-yard line, to put the Rebels on top for good. 

During his career, the Rebels posted a record of 39-3-4 with a pair of Sugar Bowl wins and a trip to the Cotton Bowl. He earned MVP honors at the Senior Bowl following the Sugar Bowl victory in 1963 and also helped a team of College All-Stars to a stunning upset of the NFL Champion Green Bay Packers in an exhibition game. He then played in the NFL, reaching the league’s championship game in 1963.

The Air Force game plan for its 1971 Sugar Bowl match-up with Tennessee didn’t take into account Bobby Scott. With the Falcons focused on shutting down the Volunteers’ potent run attack, Scott proceeded to pick them apart with his passing acumen. 

He led the Vols to 24 unanswered points to open the game and finished 22-of-40 for 288 yards in a 34-13 victory after which he earned Most Outstanding Player honors. Scott took over at quarterback for Tennessee as a junior in 1969 and led them to the SEC Championship. The 1970 season saw them earn a second-place finish in the SEC, but with only one overall loss, they were invited to the Sugar Bowl. Following his standout college career, he played 10 years with the New Orleans Saints before stints in the USFL with the New Jersey Generals and the Chicago Blitz.

One of the all-time great bowl performances was turned in by Florida State star Peter Warrick in the 2000 Sugar Bowl, which doubled as the BCS National Championship. Both the Seminoles and their opponent Virginia Tech came into the game with perfect 11-0 records.

Warrick opened the scoring late in the first quarter with a 64-yard touchdown reception. Then early in the second quarter, Warrick fielded a punt on the bounce, dodged one defender, blew past two more, and sprinted down the sideline for a 59-yard touchdown that ratcheted the Seminoles’ lead to a very comfortable 28-7.

He closed his evening and the first perfect season for legendary coach Bobby Bowden by making a dazzling catch in the end zone for a 43-yard score, despite obvious interference by the defensive back, to wrap up the Seminoles’ 46-29 victory. He finished his night with six receptions for 163 yards and two touchdowns to go with the punt return TD and a two-point conversion on a pass reception to earn Most Outstanding Player honors. The two-time All-American would go on to play in the NFL for six seasons.