Manuel wants to leave ’Noles with 4-0 bowl record

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Erik Manuel had mentioned to his son that he was close to accomplishing something special, a feat that no other Florida State quarterback had ever done.

EJ Manuel is already 3-0 in bowl games. And while he didn’t start the 2010 Chick-fil-A Bowl win over South Carolina, he relieved the injured Christian Ponder after halftime and led FSU to a win.

Manuel would be the first FSU quarterback to play a significant amount of time in four bowl victories if the Seminoles defeat Northern Illinois on Jan. 1 in the Orange Bowl. He would also be the first FSU quarterback to start and win three bowl games.

“My dad mentioned that to me when I was home a few weeks ago,” Manuel said. “I’m looking forward to it. If you can have a 4-0 record that says a lot. That says enough in itself. Just got to keep the streak going.”

Manuel is a combined 48 of 70 (68.5 percent) for 522 yards in the three bowl games, wins over West Virginia, South Carolina and Notre Dame.

West Virginia’s Pat White, from 2005-08, is thought to be the only quarterback to start in four bowl wins. Oklahoma’s Landry Jones is going for his fourth bowl win - all starts - when the Sooners play Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl on Jan. 4.