The Florida State Seminoles are in the midst of what could be a memorable season, making the perfect time for a ceremonial return for Bobby Bowden.

The legendary coach told the Tallahassee Democrat he is excited for his return to FSU, coming this Saturday when the Seminoles host NC State. He said he expects to get a "rousing" reception from the home crowd of 82,000 plus.

"The closer I get, the more excited I get," Bowden said. "I am going to be excited to be walking out on the field again."

The Florida Times-Union reported Bowden had kept his distance from the program to give his successor, Jimbo Fisher, the space and freedom to establish his own coaching identity. To symbolize that Fisher has done that, Bowden is ready to return to plant the flaming spear at midfield before the game, an FSU tradition.

"Jimbo's got control real good, now, and has established himself," Bowden said. "It's probably time for me to get back."

The Seminoles are ranked second in the BCS standings behind only Alabama and are coming off an impressive 51-14 win over Clemson in which freshman quarterback and Heisman frontrunner Jameis Winston was dominant.

Still, Bowden is one of the toughest acts to following college football coaching. Due to the sanctions against Penn State and more than 100 vacated wins for Joe Paterno, Bowden is the all time Division I football leader in wins with 377. Bowden has also won 12 ACC championships, 21 bowl games and two National Championships.

"It's what's right about the world," Fisher said. "He made Florida State. He was Florida State. That's why we have this stadium, the facilities. That's why we have academics. That's why we have the school. That's why we have everything. It's what's right for Florida State, and it's great for college football."

Bowden said he went through a similar situation when he took over for Jim Carlen in 1976. He said he faced questions as to why he wanted to change things with the football team.

"I would get so many people saying, 'Why don't you do it like he did it?'" Bowden said. "Especially if you lost, they would bring up his name. It kind of caused some hard feelings on my part. I didn't want Jimbo to go through that."

Bowden has been on the FSU campus to teach and engages in speaking events around the country. He is also going to be back on Nov. 16 as the school's homecoming grand marshal, but the last time he was on the football field, he was the Seminoles head coach.

Also in attendance will be about 250 to 300 former FSU players. Just five players are still on the team since Bowden's final season in 2009, but the history behind the coach and his legacy is not lost on the newer players.

"I want to show him the pride we still have for this program, just to honor him," linebacker Telvin Smith told ESPN. "I'm going to dedicate this game to him and all those veteran players who are coming back just to show them we're trying to hold up what you all started."