FSU Football: Noles Have Won 15 Straight Regular Season Games on Neutral Fields

There will be a lot of streaks on the line as Florida State kicks off the 2016 season next week against Ole Miss. One of the largely-overlooked ones is FSU’s 15-game winning streak on neutral fields during the regular season.

Not since being upset by a school from Mississippi in the state of Florida in 1989 have the Seminoles lost such a contest. That of course, was a 30-26 loss to Southern Mississippi and a young quarterback named Brett Favre to open the 1989 season in Jacksonville.

Ole Miss is hoping to have a little bit of history repeated next week while FSU looks to run its winning streak of non-conference neutral field games, which spans 25 years, to 16. The streak includes three victories over ranked opponents, seven openers and nine games in the state of Florida, including five in Orlando.

Here’s a look at the 15 wins that make up the streak:

FSU 35, Memphis 3 (Orlando)
Nov. 17, 1990
Wide receiver Lawrence Dawsey accounted for 200 yards of total offense and a pair of touchdowns as Florida State took a 32-0 lead to the locker room against Memphis late in the 1990 season. FSU held the Tigers to just 223 yards of offense in the win.

FSU 44, BYU 28 (Anaheim)
Aug. 29, 1991
Against No. 19 BYU and reigning Heisman Trophy winner Ty Detmer, Florida State dominated the Pigskin Classic from start to finish. Edgar Bennett accounted for three total touchdowns and quarterback Casey Weldon passed for 268 yards in the win. The FSU defense forced a pair of Detmer turnovers and recorded three sacks, including one for a safety.

FSU 33, Virginia Tech 20 (Orlando)
Nov. 12, 1991
Florida State used 19 unanswered points late in the second quarter and early in the third to turn a 14-14 game into a comfortable victory. Amp Lee and Kevin Knox each finished with more than 100 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown while Casey Weldon tossed two. Terrell Buckley’s first of two interceptions was returned 71 yards for a touchdown.

FSU 42, Kansas 0 (East Rutherford)
Aug. 28, 1993
Florida State’s run to its fist national championship began with a 42-0 shutout of Kansas. Marquette Smith and Kevin McCorvey had big days for the offense while the Seminole defense held the Jayhawks to just 240 total yards, highlighted by six straight stops inside the 1-yard-line in the first half. Derrick Brooks finished with 11 total tackles, including four for loss.

FSU 23, Notre Dame 16 (Orlando)
Nov. 12, 1994
Nearly a year to the date after the 1993 contest in South Bend dubbed “The Game of the Century”, Florida State statistically dominated Notre Dame in the Citrus Bowl, outgaining the Fighting Irish 517-221. With under three minutes to go however, the game was tied at 16. With 2:53 remaining, Warrick Dunn’s 5-yard touchdown put the Seminoles ahead for good. Dunn and fellow tailback Rock Preston combined for 328 yards and both FSU touchdowns in the victory.

FSU 70, Duke 26 (Orlando)
Sept. 2, 1995
In what was actually considered a road game for Florida State, the Seminoles put up 70 points on Duke to open the 1995 season. The Seminoles compiled nearly 800 yards of offense with Warrick Dunn and Rock Preston combining for 250 yards rushing on just 15 carries. Danny Kanell passed for 275 yards and four touchdowns while Andre Cooper and E.G. Green each broke the 100-yard receiving mark.

FSU 44, Wake Forest 7 (Orlando)
Nov. 9, 1996
In the only career start at quarterback for Dan Kendra, the redshirt freshman passed for 281 yards and three touchdowns as the Seminoles routed Wake Forest. Warrick Dunn rushed for a pair of scores while defensive end Peter Boulware recorded two of the five FSU sacks.

FSU 48, Maryland 10 (Miami)
Nov. 23, 1996
Florida State’s third trip to Miami in less than a year was a successful one as the Seminoles closed a perfect ACC campaign with a rout of the Terrapins. Warrick Dunn and Rock Preston combined for 195 yards rushing while Reinard Wilson recorded three of FSU’s nine sacks for a defense that held the Terrapins to just 186 yards.

FSU 23, Texas A&M 14 (East Rutherford)
Aug. 31, 1998
The 1998 Kickoff Classic against No. 14 Texas A&M was the first start in the career of future Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke, but things got off to a slow start. A Weinke fumble late in the first half was returned 21 yards for a touchdown by Texas A&M’s Jay Brooks to give the Aggies a 14-10 lead at the break. In the second half however, FSU outscored Texas A&M 13-0. Weinke’s touchdown pass to Peter Warrick late in the third put FSU ahead for good before a third Sebastian Janikowki field goal put the game away. Travis Minor rushed for 146 yards and a touchdown in the FSU win while Warrick finished with 109 yards receiving. Tommy Polley led an FSU defense that held the Aggies to 133 total yards.

FSU 51, Duke 23 (Jacksonville)
Oct. 2, 1999
It was the Peter Warrick show from the start as Duke came to Jacksonville for the 1999 showdown. Warrick accounted for four first half touchdowns, catching three and throwing one to Laveranues Coles as FSU built a 44-0 halftime lead. Chris Weinke passed for 290 yards and four scores in the win while Chris Hope, Tay Cody and Brian Allen all recorded interceptions for FSU.

FSU 29, BYU 3 (Jacksonville)
Aug. 26, 2000
Quarterback Chris Weinke’s 2000 Heisman Trophy campaign began with a 318-yard, 2-touchdown passing performance as the Seminoles romped over BYU in the Pigskin Classic. The Florida State defense held the Cougars to minus 2 yards rushing in the win. Jamal Reynolds recorded two sacks, including one for a safety while Derrick Gibson, Jerel Hudson and Clevan Thomas all came away with interceptions.

FSU 38, Iowa State 31 (Kansas City)
Aug. 24, 2002
Things looked to be slipping away from Florida State in the Eddie Robinson Classic to open 2002 as a 31-7 lead had been trimmed to 38-31 with Iowa State sitting on the FSU goal line in the final seconds. On the last play however, Jerel Hudson stopped Iowa State quarterback Seneca Wallace short of the end zone as the Seminoles held on for a thrilling win. Greg Jones rushed for 113 yards in the win and Chris Rix threw a pair of touchdowns to Anquan Boldin, who was coming off a knee injury suffered in preseason the following year. Alonzo Jackson recorded a sack and also returned an interception 48 yards for a touchdown.

FSU 21, Alabama 14 (Jacksonville)
Sept. 29, 2007
After a scoreless first half, Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden replaced starting quarterback Drew Weatherford with Xavier Lee and it paid dividends. In one half of play, Lee passed for 224 yards and two touchdowns to De’Cody Fagg while rushing for a team-high 59 yards. Everette Brown recorded two sacks and forced a fumble in the victory.

FSU 39, Colorado 21 (Jacksonville)
Sept. 27, 2008
Colorado had no answer for Florida State’s Antone Smith, who rushed for 154 yards and three touchdowns in a September victory over the Buffaloes. Michael Ray Garvin also returned a kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown and eventual Lou Groza Award winner Graham Gano was 3-for-3 on field goals with makes of 52, 44 and 36 yards. Everette Brown and Jamie Robinson each forced turnovers for an FSU defense that held Colorado to 278 yards.

FSU 37, Oklahoma State 31 (Dallas)
Aug. 30, 2014
Florida State’s national title defense got off to a good start, but didn’t come easy as the Seminoles held off Oklahoma State to open the 2014 season. Reigning Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston overcame two early interceptions to pass for 370 yards with 203 of that going to senior Rashad Greene. Nate Andrews had an interception return for a touchdown for the Seminole defense in the first neutral site regular season game under head coach Jimbo Fisher.