halftime. The week after the Miami game, the Seminoles had an even closer call against the Clemson Tigers—their closest, in fact, of the entire season. Despite the return of Peter Warrick, who was cleared of charges in a Florida courtroom, Florida State fell behind the Tigers in the first half. Trailing in Clemson, South Carolina, 14–3 at halftime, Florida State cut the gap to 14–6 with a field goal midway through the third quarter, then tied the game at the end of the third quarter with a touchdown and two-point conversion. The Seminoles clinched the victory after a field goal late in the fourth quarter gave them a 17–14 lead and cemented the victory when a Clemson attempt to even the score with a field goal fell short. The victory was FSU head coach Bobby Bowden's 300th win and came against his son, Tommy Bowden, coach of the Tigers. Florida State earned easy wins with a 35–10 victory over Virginia and a 49–10 win over Maryland before facing the rival Florida Gators in the final game of the Seminoles' regular season. Florida State led throughout the game, but had to fend off a last-minute Florida drive in order to clinch a 30–23 win and just the third perfect regular season in Florida State history. This season later was termed the "Wire to Wire" season as the Seminoles kept their No. 1 ranking the entire season. Virginia Tech Like Florida State, the Virginia Tech Hokies began the 1999 college football season with raised expectations. In 1998, the Hokies had gone 9–3 during the regular season and had posted a 5–2 record against fellow Big East Conference teams. The Hokies concluded that 1998 season—which was supposed to be a rebuilding year—in the 1998 Music City Bowl, where the Hokies defeated the Alabama Crimson Tide, 38–7. With the addition of redshirt freshman quarterback Michael Vick to a team that had allowed an average of just 12.9 points per game on defense, there was the possibility that Tech could improve upon its previous season's performance. Sports Illustrated, for example, predicted that the Hokies might challenge Miami for the Big East football championship, and the preseason Coaches' Poll ranked the Hokies No. 14 prior to the first game of the season. In their first game of the season, the Hokies lived up to expectations, shutting out James Madison University, 47–0. The game was the first