FSU Football: Ranking Every Noles Bowl Win (Nos. 6-10)

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. We now move into the top 10 bowl victories with Nos. 6-10:

10. 1990 Blockbuster Bowl: Florida State 24, Penn State 17
Dec. 28, 1990
The first ever contest between Bobby Bowden’s Seminoles and Joe Paterno’s Penn State Nittany Lions was a good one as Florida State held off Paterno’s group in Miami. Amp Lee rushed for 86 yards and a pair of scores in the win while the FSU defense intercepted Penn State’s Tony Saaca three times. The victory over the seventh-ranked team in America would propel FSU to a No. 4 final ranking. It would also be 15 years before Bowden and Paterno would meet again as Penn State edged FSU in three overtimes in the Orange Bowl, following the 2005 season.

9. 2010 Gator Bowl: Florida State 33, West Virginia 21
Jan. 1, 2010
In what would be the final game in the career of legendary head coach Bobby Bowden, Florida State entered the Gator Bowl against No. 18 West Virginia with a record of 6-6 and big underdogs. After falling behind 14-3 however, the Seminoles rose to the occasion for their departing head coach. Jermaine Thomas rushed for 121 yards and two touchdowns as FSU scored 20 straight points to take control of the game. Quarterback E.J. Manuel’s touchdown run with under nine minutes to play put the exclamation point on the victory. Linebacker Dekoda Watson had two sacks in the win and Jamie Robinson had an interception for a maligned FSU defense. The victory not only sent Bowden out a winner, but it stretched Florida State’s streak of consecutive winning seasons to 33.

8. 1998 Sugar Bowl: Florida State 31, Ohio State 14
Jan. 1, 1998
In a battle of top-10 teams coming off rivalry losses, Florida State got the better of Ohio State in New Orleans, thanks largely to a big night from quarterback Thad Busby. Busby passed for 334 yards and a touchdown while rushing for another. E.G. Green was FSU’s top receiver, finishing with 176 yards. Defensively, the Seminoles intercepted Ohio State’s quarterback combination of Stanley Jackson and Joe Germaine three times. Defensive end Andre Wadsworth had an interception to go along with two sacks in his final game as a Seminole. Safeties Dexter Jackson and Shevin Smith also each recorded a pick as FSU finished third in the final polls behind co-national champions Nebraska and Michigan.

7. 1989 Sugar Bowl: Florida State 13, Auburn 7
Jan. 2, 1989
After dropping its 1988 opener to Miami by a 31-0 margin, Florida State won its final 11 games to finish in the top 3 for a second straight year. Against No. 7 Auburn in the Sugar Bowl, Sammie Smith rushed for 115 yards, but it was the FSU defense that stole the show. The Seminoles held the Tigers to just 270 yards of offense and forced five turnovers. With under 15 seconds to play however, the Tigers were threatening. It was All-American cornerback Deion Sanders that would seal the deal for Florida State with an interception of Auburn’s Reggie Slack at the goal line. Stan Shiver and Dedrick Dodge also came away with interceptions for the Seminoles.

6. 1996 Orange Bowl: Florida State 31, Notre Dame 26
Jan. 1, 1996
Florida State looked in danger of suffering its first 3-loss season in nine years on New Year’s Day 1996 as the Seminoles found themselves trailing No. 6 Notre Dame 26-14 early in the fourth quarter. Prior to that, the largest fourth quarter bowl deficit FSU had ever overcome to win was four. On that night in Miami however, things would change and they would change quickly. In less than a 4-minute span, FSU quarterback Danny Kanell would throw touchdown passes to E.G. Green and Andre Cooper to put the Seminoles ahead for good. Defensive end Reinard Wilson cemented the victory by forcing an intentional grounding call in the end zone with two minutes to play, resulting in a safety. Kanell finished the night with four touchdown passes, including three to Cooper. Lamont Green recorded two sacks for the FSU defense while safety Sean Hamlet finished with a game-high seven tackles and an interception.