Florida State caught some perhaps well-deserved flack last week when long-snapper Stephen Gabbard tweeted his 2015 “State Champions” ring.
Last season, the Seminoles defeated South Florida, Miami and Florida to claim that crown. Each of those three teams made bowl games, so going 3-0 against those three opponents has its merits. FSU didn’t face UCF, Florida Atlantic or Florida International, but each of those schools lost to in-state schools, so Florida State’s claim of state champions is pretty legitimate.
Considering it isn’t an NCAA-recognized championship like say, winning the ACC, a national championship or even a bowl game, it does seem a bit petty for Florida State to make rings commemorating an unofficial state championship. Add in the fact that FSU has again become accustomed to winning the ACC and playing for national championships while going 14-1 against in-state opponents since 2010 and the measure seems even more silly.
But whether or not you think handing out state championship rings to a program as historically accomplished as FSU is a good idea, it is worth pointing this out: state championships in Florida do matter.
Since the early 1980s when both FSU and Miami were establishing themselves as players on the national stage, being the best team in Florida has almost always led to bigger championships.
From 2006-09, Florida State didn’t win as much as an ACC Atlantic division title. Against in-state opponents during that stretch, the Seminoles were just 2-7. That included going 0-4 against Florida, 2-2 against Miami and suffering a home loss to South Florida. Not surprisingly over that span, the Gators won three BCS bowls and a pair of national championships while staking the claim of the state’s premier program.
After beating Miami 45-17 earlier in the season, Florida State snapped a 6-game losing streak to Florida in 2010. The contest wasn’t a match-up of top 5 or even top 10 teams. It didn’t propel FSU into a major bowl. It had no barring on the ACC. What it did do however, was swing supremacy in the high school prospect-rich state of Florida.
Since 2010, the Seminoles are 5-1 against Florida and 6-0 against Miami. Over that stretch, FSU has three ACC crowns, four major bowl appearances and one national championship. The Gators and Hurricanes have combined for just one major bowl appearance and one division crown over that span.
That’s just one of many examples however. Florida State had lost three straight and seven of eight to Miami heading into the 1993 season. That year, FSU handled the Hurricanes in Tallahassee 28-10 en route to winning its first national championship.
Miami had lost five straight to FSU entering 2000 when it snapped the skid with a 27-24 home victory. The next season, the Hurricanes were national champions. Florida was 1-4-1 in its previous six games against the Seminoles when it defeated FSU in the Sugar Bowl for the national championship to end the 1996 season.
Whether you view handing out 2015 state championship rings as consolation trophies or a worthwhile gesture for maintaining state supremacy in a rebuilding year, there’s no question that being top dog in the state of Florida is a key factor in being nationally relevant.
Fans and players obviously hope for a more prestigious championship for Florida State in 2016. The Seminoles return every starter on offense, a talented defense and are expected to start the season ranked in the top 10 nationally. While there is reason to believe FSU can win a more prominent ring in 2016, take consolation in the fact that most of the fun-poking regarding the Seminoles’ newest state championship rings come from fan bases of schools who didn’t get one.
wlpearce.com/FSU athletics
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