Most Thrilling Wins in FSU History: First Round — No. 2 vs. No. 15

We’ve started a new segment here at The Daily Nole and this time, we need your help. Each day, we’ll be presenting two of Florida State’s most thrilling wins of all-time, but it’s up to you to decide which FSU victory was more thrilling.

For the contest to be on the list, it needs to have been decided in the final five minutes. The implication of the victory will obviously play a role, but ultimately, the criteria is simply which contest was more thrilling to watch.

Sunday’s winner was the No. 4 seed — Florida State’s dramatic 2003 win in Gainesville — which received 97 percent of the vote. It will move on to face the 2014 overtime thriller against Clemson.

The next match-up in our bracket are each from more recent contests. The No. 2 seed is the 2014 BCS National Championship in which the Seminoles rallied past Auburn, 34-31. Last season’s rivalry victory over Miami is the No. 15 seed in our bracket.

No. 2: Florida State 34, Auburn 31 (BCS National Championship)
Jan. 6, 2014
Vying for its first national championship in 14 years, No. 1 Florida State couldn’t have gotten off to a worse start as the Seminoles fell behind 21-3 in the first half in Pasadena. Sparked by a successful fake punt, FSU rallied for the next 17 points to pull within one early in the fourth quarter. After Auburn kicked a field goal to pad its lead, the Seminoles grabbed the lead on a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Kermit Whitfield with under six minutes to play, 27-24. Known for living on the edge all season, the Tigers would not go quietly. After converting a long third down earlier in the drive, Tre’ Mason put Auburn ahead with 1:19 left on a 37-yard touchdown run in which he broke several FSU tackles. For Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Jameis Winston however, 1:19 was too much time. Starting from his own 20-yard-line, Winston marched the Seminoles 80 yards in seven plays. Winston capped the drive with a 2-yard touchdown toss to Kelvin Benjamin with just 17 seconds remaining. The victory not only was gave FSU its first title in 14 years, but it snapped a string of seven straight national champions coming out of the SEC.

No. 15: Florida State 29, Miami 24
Oct. 10, 2015
Vying for its sixth straight win over Miami, Florida State led most of the night at Doak Campbell Stadium. After Joe Yearby’s 1-yard touchdown cut the lead to 20-17 in the third quarter, Miami took its first lead on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Brad Kaaya to Stacy Coley with under 11 minutes to play. The Seminoles would answer however. After quarterback Everett Golson converted a pair of third downs, running back Dalvin Cook’s third touchdown of the night — a 23-yard run with 6:44 to play — put the Seminoles ahead for good. The Seminoles sealed the victory by knocking down a Brad Kaaya pass on fourth down with under a minute to play.

Make Your Pick

To pick which contest was more thrilling, click below to vote in our Twitter poll. If you do not have a Twitter account, you can vote by emailing TDN editor Mike Ferguson at Mike@TheDailyNole.com. You can also vote in the comment section below. The winner will be announced with the next first round match-up.