FSU Football: Ranking Every Noles Bowl Win (Nos. 16-21)

There’s no doubt that despite being a late arriving program that played its first game in 1947, Florida State has become one of college football’s blue bloods.

The Seminoles have three national championship, numerous top-10 finishes and plenty of Consensus All-Americans. What FSU also happens to have is 27 bowl wins, which ranks eighth all-time. Technically, the Seminoles have 26 because the 2006 Emerald Bowl was vacated because of ineligible players, but the contest still took place.

In a new series, we’ll count down and rank each of the Seminoles’ 27 bowl wins. We rank the victories based on the way FSU won and the magnitude of each game. After beginning the series with Nos. 22-27, the countdown continues with the next six:

21. 2011 Champs Sports Bowl: Florida State 18, Notre Dame 14
Dec. 29, 2011
Florida State’s 2011 Champs Sports Bowl match-up with Notre Dame wasn’t the prettiest of games to watch, but it didn’t lack drama. FSU overcame a 14-0 second half deficit to score the game’s final 18 points, thanks to two fourth quarter touchdown passes from quarterback E.J. Manuel in less than a 2-minute span. Manuel’s 15-yard strike to Rashad Greene following a Nigel Bradham interception put FSU ahead for good. Terrence Brooks cemented the victory by intercepting Notre Dame’s Tommy Rees in the end zone with under three minutes to play.

20. 1985 Gator Bowl: Florida State 34, Oklahoma State 23
Dec. 30, 1985
In a match-up of top-20 teams to conclude the 1985 season, Florida State put up nearly 600 yards of offense in a 34-23 victory over Oklahoma State in Jacksonville. Quarterback Chip Ferguson passed for 338 yards and two touchdown passes to Herb Gainer while rushing for another score. Tony Smith broke the 200-yard mark on the ground while Paul McGowan anchored the FSU defense with 16 tackles. Deion Sanders and Tracy Sanders each came away with interceptions in the victory.

19. 2002 Gator Bowl: Florida State 30, Virginia Tech 17
Jan. 1, 2002
2001 would be the first season that Florida State didn’t win the ACC since joining the conference in 1992. FSU wasn’t playing in its traditional major bowl on New Year’s Day, but against No. 15 Virginia Tech, the Seminoles made the most of their opportunity. Florida State trailed 17-13 heading into the final quarter, but a pair of long touchdown passes from Chris Rix to Javon Walker propelled the Seminoles to victory. Rix passed for more than 300 yards while Walker finished with 195 yards receiving on just four catches. Greg Jones rushed for 120 yards in the win while Darnell Dockett recorded a pair of sacks for the defense. The victory was also the 323rd in the career of Bobby Bowden, tying him with the legendary Bear Bryant.

18. 2010 Chick-fil-A Bowl: Florida State 26, South Carolina 17
Dec. 31, 2010
In a match-up of conference runners-up, Florida State was facing a familiar nemesis in South Carolina head coach Steve Spurrier. For 12 years, Spurrier coached Florida and rarely had good things to say about FSU while in Gainesville. Behind 147 yards rushing and a touchdown from Chris Thompson and five forced turnovers, the Seminoles were able to get the better of the SEC East champions. South Carolina was able to whittle an early 13-0 FSU lead down to two with more than 11 minutes to play, but FSU had an answer. With starter Christian Ponder injured, quarterback E.J. Manuel sealed the victory by engineering an outstanding 13-play drive, capped with a touchdown pass to Taiwan Easterling. The victory gave the Seminoles their first 10-win season in seven years.

17. 1992 Cotton Bowl: Florida State 10, Texas A&M 2
Jan. 1, 1992
After losing to rivals Miami and Florida to end the 1991 regular season, the Seminoles limped into their Cotton Bowl match-up with Texas A&M. The FSU defense however, forced eight turnovers and held the Aggies to less than 200 yards of offense to clinch a fifth straight top-5 finish. Dan Footman and Carl Simpson each recorded sacks for the Seminoles while Terrell Buckley and Lavon Brown each came down with interceptions. Despite throwing four interceptions, Florida State quarterback Casey Weldon scored the game’s only touchdown on a 4-yard run late in the first quarter.

16. 1977 Tangerine Bowl: Florida State 40, Texas Tech 17
Dec. 23, 1977
Bobby Bowden’s first bowl appearance as Florida State’s head coach would be a successful one as the Seminoles crushed Texas Tech to reach 10 wins for the first time ever. The FSU quarterback combination of Wally Woodham and Jimmy Jordan passed for 455 yards and four scores while Larry Key accounted for 183 yards from scrimmage. Bobby Butler and Nat Terry each had interceptions for a Florida State defense that forced four turnovers.