As good as we were, we didn’t win a National Championship until 1993, mainly because we kept losing to Miami on missed kicks. I used to get mad because nobody else would play Miami. Notre Dame would play them, then drop them. Florida dropped them. Penn State dropped them. We would play Miami and lose by one point on a missed field goal, and it would knock us out of the National Championship. I didn’t want to play them, either, but I had to play them. That’s why I said, 'When I die, They’ll say, ‘At least he played Miami.'

There's only about 6 inches that turns that halo into a noose.

Integrity makes my job easier. It's deception and dishonesty that requires so much diligent effort.

I've always said it takes more courage to stand back there and throw a ball knowing you're fixing to get drilled than anything I can think of in football.

I was always going to church with my mom, dad and sister. I was literally raised under the godly influence both at home and church. There was no alcohol and no smoking at our house. That was the way a Bowden was supposed to live. My dad always told me to represent the Bowden name in a respectful manner.

After you retire, there's only one big event left....and I ain't ready for that.

If short hair and good manners won football games, Army and Navy would play for the national championship every year.