Ranking FSU’s best-ever games: 50-41

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Across 898 games and 80 seasons in the books, there have been plenty of memorable moments in the story of Florida State Seminoles football.

The challenge we issued to you was helping narrow them down, establishing the 50 best Seminole games. It was a difficult task, but one that you all helped make happen.

Now, week by week, we’ll be revealing each of the games that you voted as the best in Florida State football history.

Today, wins over Miami and Florida, a stunning debut by a future Heisman winner and a game that marked the beginning of the Bobby Bowden-led FSU dynasty.

FSU’s best-ever games: 50-41

• No. 50: No. 4 FSU vs. No. 3 Miami, 26–25 (1987)

A questionable decision by Bowden cost the Noles a chance to tie the game with less than one minute left, and possibly a shot at their first national championship against top-ranked Oklahoma. A tie would have forced the bowl committee to decide between the two programs that finished the season with identical 10-1 records.

Normally reliable kicker Derek Schmidt had already made two field goals, but also missed an extra point, two field goal attempts, and FSU turned the ball over on downs after a muffed snap on another FG attempt. After sending in Schmidt and the kicking team to tie the game at 26, Bowden called a timeout and reconsidered.

“I don’t really know how we lost this one. I didn’t think we deserved to lose it,” Bowden said. “We had decided before the game, and I had decided after 1980 when we lost (to Miami) by one (10-9), that I would go for the tie in the same situation, We had the extra-point team in, but I changed my mind. We had missed so many (kicks) today and the wind was really affecting our kicker. If I had to do it over, I’d kick it.”

Despite the loss, this 1987 team began the amazing 14-year streak of top-four finishes in the polls that included two national titles.

This game featured a record 63 future NFL players, five future Pro Football Hall of Famers and a whopping 10 first-round picks. Think that isn’t much? Consider that the 2019 LSU-Alabama matchup produced only 55 players who went on to be drafted.

• No. 49: 24–15 at Florida (2023)

In a matchup featuring backup quarterbacks for both squads, FSU’s Tate Rodemaker for Jordan Travis and UF’s Max Brown for Graham Mertz, the Gators jumped out to a 12-0 lead early at home in the Swamp before the Noles outscored UF 24-3 over the remainder of the game.

The win kept FSU’s CFP hopes alive at the time, finishing the season 12-0 and undefeated for the first time since 2014, while also rendering the Gators bowl-ineligible for the first time since 2017.

• No. 48: 1965 Gator Bowl, FSU 36–19 over Oklahoma

In FSU’s first major bowl win, the Noles defeated the Oklahoma Sooners 36-19 in the Gator Bowl behind quarterback Steve Tensi and All-American Fred Biletnikoff. Tensi threw for 303 yards and a Gator Bowl-record five touchdowns, four of which went to Biletnikoff.

The win was a major stepping stone for the program, capping off a historic 1964 season with a 9-1-1 record and earning them a No. 11 ranking in the final UPI coaches poll.

• No. 47: 2013 Winston’s debut, 41–13 at Pittsburgh

Florida State’s redshirt freshman quarterback Jameis Winston, who hadn’t played a single snap of college football, delivered the greatest QB debut in Seminole history, and one of the most spectacular in college football history, against the Pitt Panthers. On the night, Jameis completed 25 of 27 passes for 356 yards, four passing touchdowns, and also scored on a rushing TD.

Winston led the 11th-ranked Seminoles to a 41-13 victory on prime-time national television on Labor Day by dismantling a Panther defense that was returning eight starters. His 92.6% completion percentage set a new FSU single-game record (15 attempts minimum). He opened the game with 11 consecutive completions, finished the first half 17 of 18 for 240 yards and three touchdowns, and targeted tight end Nick O’Leary for three of his four passing touchdowns, with Rashad Greene catching the other.

• No. 46: 1999 Heisman shootout, 41–35 over No. 10 Georgia Tech

In a frantic battle of Heisman hopefuls, FSU’s Peter Warrick and Georgia Tech’s Joe Hamilton lived up to their pre-game billing in a back-and-forth offensive explosion that was not decided until a minute and a half remained on the clock.

Dynamic Seminole athlete Peter Warrick firmly established himself as a serious Heisman contender by catching eight passes for 142 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 25 yards and another touchdown.

Next year’s Heisman winner, Chris Weinke, threw for 262 yards and three touchdowns, while GT’s All-American quarterback Joe Hamilton, that year’s Heisman runner-up, completed 22 of 25 passes for 387 yards and four touchdowns.

The Noles would go on to finish as the first wire-to-wire No. 1 team in college football history with a perfect 12-0 record.

• No. 45: Statement win over No. 6 Auburn, 34–6 (1987)

No. 4 Florida State entertained the 85,000 fans at Jordan-Hare Stadium, including scouts representing 10 bowls and a national CBS audience, with a thrashing of the undefeated No. 6 Auburn Tigers for Bobby Bowden’s 58th birthday, in a game that was a definitive milestone marking the arrival of what would be the legendary FSU dynasty. The victory also finally shattered the big-game choke narrative about FSU and Bowden in high-profile games, especially after a demoralizing loss just weeks prior.

On the first play, FSU forced an Auburn fumble leading to a Nole TD, and the Seminoles never looked back, guaranteeing them a major bowl berth with the road win. FSU’s defense forced six Auburn turnovers on the day (three fumbles, three interceptions). Tigers coach Pat Dye later complained about FSU’s defense: “They did a good job of ‘collisioning’ our receivers,” leading to the Noles cruising to a 27-3 halftime lead.

Seminole kicker Derek Schmidt became the NCAA leading scorer in the 100-year-plus history of college football, with two field goals and four extra points on the day.

• No. 44: “Game of the Century” loss at Notre Dame, 24–31 (1993)

In what was billed as the “Game of the Century,” No. 1 Florida State traveled to Notre Dame Stadium to face the No. 2 Fighting Irish for the lead in the race and a chance to play for the national championship. It was further promoted because it was the first time ESPN took its College GameDay show on the road to a college campus, and, at the time, it was considered the largest TV audience ever to see a college football game.

After taking the lead, FSU was unable to stop the Irish running game from pounding them for 24 straight points. The Noles fought back to make it 17-31 when, on a 4th-and-goal from the 20-yard line, Charlie Ward threw to the end zone, but an Irish defender tipped the ball, and it was miraculously caught by Kez McCorvey, now making it 24-31.

The Seminole defense then forced an Irish 3-and-out, and after a bad punt, FSU started their final drive at their own 37-yard line with just :51 seconds left. Ward drove the Noles to the ND 14-yard line with just three seconds on the clock, and on the final play, Ward’s pass into the end zone was knocked down, and the Noles were dethroned as the No. 1 team after ND’s upset victory, and seemingly out of contention for a national championship opportunity.

The Bowl Coalition pollsters and the nation saw firsthand the talent and resilience of this Seminole team, and despite the loss ending their 12-week dominance as the nation’s No. 1 team and their 16-game winning streak, the Noles only fell one spot to No. 2 in the polls.

Notre Dame’s ranking in the No. 1 spot was short-lived lasting only one week as they were then upset by Boston College, losing 41-39 on a last-second field goal. FSU was then returned to the top spot, and the Irish fell to No. 4 despite having beaten the Noles. FSU won their remaining games and went on to defeat Nebraska in the Orange Bowl for the Seminoles’ first national championship.

• No. 43: ACC Championship, 37–35 over Georgia Tech (the 29th straight win) (2014)

As a Nole fan, watching this 2014 Seminole team was a weekly nerve-wracking experience, especially coming off the 2013 regular season when the Noles steamrolled their way through every opponent weekly until the final game and won the BCS Championship.

Despite the erratic regular season performance, the Noles had still managed to roll off 28 games in a row and were now facing Georgia Tech for the chance to win their third consecutive ACC Championship, and the opportunity to play for the national championship for the second straight year.

The matchup featured Georgia Tech/Paul Johnson’s special knee-destroying triple-option attack that dominated FSU’s rush defense for 331 yards, against FSU’s high-octane passing attack with Jameis Winston completing 21 of his 29 attempts for 309 yards and three scores.

FSU’s Dalvin Cook was named the game’s MVP for his 220 total yards from scrimmage (31 carries, 177 rushing yards, 1 touchdown), but a case could have been made for:

• QB Jameis Winston: 21/30 passing, 309 yards, 3 touchdowns, 0 turnovers.
• WR Rashad Greene: 7 receptions, 123 receiving yards, 2 touchdowns.
• TE Nick O’Leary: 3 receptions, 97 receiving yards, 1 touchdown.

The game was a blow-for-blow high-scoring shootout with Tech running 26 consecutive times to open the game and scoring touchdowns on its first three possessions. The Noles answered, and after trailing 14-7 and 21-14, FSU took its first lead, 28-21, with 30 seconds before halftime. After further back and forth, FSU kicker Roberto Aguayo drilled three second-half field goals to extend the lead and seal the victory.

With the win, FSU finished 13-0 for a second straight season and established a school-record 29-game winning streak, which unfortunately ended at 29 games to end that season.

• No. 42: Champs Sports Bowl, 18–14 over Notre Dame (2011)

The Seminoles pulled off an 18-14 comeback victory over Notre Dame after trailing 14-0 in the third quarter. The Noles ran off 18 unanswered points to secure FSU’s fourth straight bowl win, and some suggest that it wasn’t just a bowl win, rather a turning point and preview of what FSU would become under Jimbo Fisher in that years to follow.

This specific victory set off a dominant multi-year run. The momentum carried over from this 2011 finale fueled a dominant run with a 12-2 season in 2012, culminating in an ACC Championship and an Orange Bowl victory, and appearances in the next two BCS National Championship games.

• No. 41: First-ever win at Florida, 21–16 (1967)

After refusing to play FSU until pressured by the governor and other state officials to do so (there was never a state mandate or law passed), the University of Florida finally agreed to a yearly series with the Seminoles but only if played in Gainesville for the first six games in the series.

Heading into this game, the Seminoles had finally won their first game against the Gators with a home win in 1964, but they were still 0-6-1 all-time in Gainesville. This 21-16 win against the nationally 18th-ranked Florida, 21-16 in Gainesville, was more than a rivalry win, it was one of the defining moments in FSU football history and established and legitimized the Florida State program statewide and nationally.

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