FSU Looks to Right Bleak History Against Defending National Champions

If you’re having a tough time remembering Florida State being as big of an underdog as it will be on Saturday at No. 4 Clemson, it’s understandable.

The Seminoles are currently a 17-point underdog against the Tigers for the contest set for Death Valley — a place where FSU has won just once since 2003. If the line holds, it will make FSU the biggest underdog that it has been in the Jimbo Fisher era.

The odds seem to be stacked against FSU. The Seminoles are just 3-5 through eight games for the first time since 1976. On Tuesday, Florida State rescheduled its contest with Louisiana-Monroe in hopes of preserving the nation’s longest bowl streak.

The defending national champion Tigers on the other hand, are coming off an enormous win over N.C. State in Raleigh. Clemson again, looks to be the team to beat in the ACC and is a popular pick to return to the College Football Playoff for a third straight season.

Over the last decade and change, the Seminoles have not fared well in Death Valley. Over the last three decades, they haven’t fared very well against defending national champions. Here are the results from the prior occasions:

The only victory over a defending national champion for FSU came in its first try against Miami in 1984 as the Seminoles won in South Florida, 38-3. Although the Hurricanes were ranked fourth at the time, Miami would finish the season with a record of just 8-5.

That’s the last time that FSU has defeated a defending national champion as it has gone on to lose seven straight. The Seminoles were No. 1 when they were shut out by Miami in the 1988 season-opener, 31-0.

No. 2 FSU was also the higher ranked team when the Seminoles and Hurricanes met in 1990 as ninth-ranked Miami won, 31-22. The 1992 game, infamously known as Wide Right II, was a match-up of top 5 teams as Dan Mowrey missed a potential game-tying field goal as time expired.

When FSU faced the Hurricanes in 2002, the Seminoles were actually heavy underdogs as they visited a Miami team that was No. 1 and loaded with one of the most talented rosters ever. For four quarters, FSU put the fear of God into the rival Canes, but two fourth quarter touchdowns for Miami and a missed field goal by Florida State’s Xavier Beitia allowed the Hurricanes to escape with a 28-27 victory.

Florida was coming off of its first national championship when FSU went to Gainesville in 1997, but it was the Seminoles who were favored. FSU was undefeated and ranked second in the country as it visited a Florida team, who was in the top 10, but had losses to LSU and Georgia. The second half had four lead changes, but Fred Taylor’s 1-yard touchdown run with less than two minutes to play put Florida ahead for good in a 32-29 win for the Gators.

In FSU’s 2007 and 2009 trips to Gainesville, the Seminoles were in the midst of 7-6 seasons while the Gators, led by quarterback Tim Tebow, were a well-oiled machine. Neither contest was close.

Saturday’s contest against Clemson will be the ninth time that Florida State has faced a defending national champion, but the first time against someone other than an in-state rival. Interestingly enough, every time that FSU has faced the reigning champ, it has been on the road.

While FSU has defeated the reigning national champions just once, it’s worth noting that it has twice defeated the team that went on to win the title with victories over Miami in 1989 and Florida in 1996. FSU nearly knocked off Clemson last season, but a late touchdown pass from Deshaun Watson to Jordan Leggett with 2:06 to play allowed the Tigers to prevail, 37-34. If there’s bad news for Clemson, it’s that none of the previous defending national champions that faced FSU went on to repeat, but Miami did play for the title in both 1992 and 2002.

Of all the previous meetings between Florida State and the reigning champions, this will be the first time ever where the Seminoles will come in with a losing record for the season. The gives FSU little to lose, but a big opportunity to pull one of its biggest upsets ever.

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson