We’re down to the final match-up before the championship in the series where you pick the most thrilling Florida State football victory of all-time.
On Tuesday, the top-seeded 1994 Orange Bowl advanced to the final by getting 83 percent of the vote to top the 2003 victory over Florida, which was our fourth seed.
Wednesday’s match-up features the No. 2 seed — the 2014 BCS National Championship victory over Auburn — and the 2010 walk-off victory over Clemson. The 11th-seeded win over Clemson upset the sixth-seeded 2003 win over North Carolina State and the famous 1988 “puntrooskie” game at Clemson, our third seed, to get to this point.
The 2010 contest received 55 percent of the vote to beat the third-seeded 1988 win at Clemson. The BCS title game got 99 percent of the vote to top the No. 7 seed win over Notre Dame from 2014.
The winner of Wednesday’s match-up will move on to face the 1994 Orange Bowl for the championship on Thursday.
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. 11: Florida State 16, Clemson 13
Nov. 13, 2010
Florida State and Clemson each needed a win to keep their ACC title hopes alive when the teams met at Doak Campbell Stadium late in 2010. With quarterback Christian Ponder injured, the Seminoles were forced to turn to experienced backup E.J. Manuel, but it was the defenses that dominated most of the night. Jamie Harper scored from 26 yards out on Clemson’s opening drive, but both offenses would fail to find the end zone over the next two quarters. With FSU trailing 10-6, the Seminoles temporarily asked Manuel to forget about making plays with his arm and use his legs to march FSU down the field. With just over 10 minutes to play, Manuel’s 8-yard touchdown run capped an 85-yard drive and put the Seminoles ahead, 13-10. With time ticking away, Clemson drove deep into FSU territory, but was forced to settle for a Chandler Catanzaro field goal with 53 seconds remaining. The game appeared headed for overtime, but with just seconds to play, Manuel found Rodney Smith for an 18-yard gain to the Clemson 37-yard-line. With three seconds remaining, kicker Dustin Hopkins trotted on to the field to attempt a 55-yard field goal. Hopkins’ kick split the post as time expired and FSU walked away with an improbable 16-13 victory.
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.
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