Wisconsin no match for Florida St.

Bowden saw a big-play offense and a hard-hitting, opportunistic defense in the Seminoles' 42-13 win over Wisconsin at the Champs Sports Bowl on Saturday in Orlando, Fla.

"It looked like the old Florida State out there," Bowden said. "Not that we're there, but we looked like we used to."

Florida State (9-4) finished with more than eight wins for the first time since 2004. Nine victories was once a given for Bowden's Seminoles, who hit that mark in 17 of 18 seasons before tailing off in recent seasons.

Many key players on this team will be back next season, so there's reason to believe Florida State is headed for even better results.

Derek Nicholson and Dekoda Watson returned fumbles for touchdowns, Christian Ponder threw 2 TD passes and the Seminoles got a game MVP performance from punter Graham Gano.

Watson, Ponder and Gano are all underclassmen.

Nicholson, a senior, had 2 fumble recoveries, including one he returned 75 yards for a first-quarter score. Gano averaged 48.2 yards on 5 punts and had 3 downed inside the Badgers' 5 to earn game MVP.

"Once we got our feet on the ground, we were almost unstoppable out there," said Ponder, who was 18-for-31 for 199 yards. "We got into a groove and every one was making plays."

P.J. Hill ran for 140 yards on 15 carries for the Badgers (7-6), but quarterback Dustin Sherer completed only four of nine for 55 yards through the first three quarters. His fumble early in the fourth quarter was returned 51 yards for a score by Watson to put FSU up 35-6.

Hill broke runs of 46 and 43 yards, both setting up Philip Welch field goals. But he fumbled deep in FSU territory late in the third quarter and Nicholson recovered to end the threat.

Florida State, in its NCAA-leading 27th-straight bowl game, improved Bowden's career postseason record to 21-10-1.

"I plan on coming back next year," said Bowden, who has 382 career victories, 1 behind Penn State's Joe Paterno for the major-college record. "This makes it exciting to coach."

Meineke Car Care Bowl: Pat White threw for 332 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown pass to Alric Arnett midway through the fourth quarter that sent West Virginia to a 31-30 win over North Carolina in the Meineke Car Care Bowl at Charlotte, N.C.

The senior quarterback was voted MVP of a bowl for the third straight year and finished 4-0 in postseason games, helping West Virginia (9-4) overcome Hakeem Nicks' big day for North Carolina to end a disappointing season on a positive note.

Nicks caught 8 passes for 217 yards and 3 touchdowns for the Tar Heels (8-5), but T.J. Yates was intercepted by Pat Lazear with under two minutes left to end Butch Davis' hopes of a bowl win in his second year at North Carolina.

Emerald Bowl: Zack Follett forced a fumble by quarterback Jacory Harris deep in Miami territory with 3:28 left, and Anthony Miller scored the go-ahead touchdown on his first career catch moments later in California's 24-17 victory in the Emerald Bowl at San Francisco.

Jahvid Best rushed for a bowl-record 186 yards and 2 touchdowns for the Golden Bears (9-4), who still needed a big defensive play and an unlikely hero to hold off the Hurricanes (7-6) in front of a Bay Area crowd teeming with screaming Cal fans.

Harris played well in the freshman's second career start for Miami, subbing for the suspended starter Robert Marve.