The Daily Nole

FSU vs. Ole Miss: Gameday Primer

Mitch White/FSU athletics

The wait is over and now only hours separate us from Florida State\’s highly-anticipated 2016 opener in Orlando against 11th-ranked Ole Miss. Both teams finished 10-3 a season ago with New Year\’s Six bowl appearances.

The Rebels are led by senior quarterback Chad Kelly, who accounted for more than 4,500 total yards and 41 touchdowns a season ago while the defense led by end Marquis Haynes is extremely talented. The Seminoles are also extremely talented on defense with the likes of safety Derwin James and defensive end DeMarcus Walker leading the charge. On offense, junior running back Dalvin Cook is just 1,260 yards away from tying the all-time FSU rushing record after going for nearly 1,700 yards on the ground in 12 games last season.

Quick Hits

  • Under head coach Jimbo Fisher, Florida State is 7-1 all-time against the SEC. The only loss came against Florida to conclude the 2012 regular season. The only prior opponent from the SEC West that Fisher faced was Auburn in the 2014 BCS National Championship. The Seminoles won that contest, 34-31.
  • As head coach, Fisher is 6-0 in season-openers. Four of the wins came in Tallahassee. Fisher’s Seminoles defeated Pittsburgh on Labor Day at Heinz Field to open the 2013 national championship season. The only other neutral field opener for FSU under Fisher came in 2014 as the Seminoles held off Oklahoma State in Dallas, 37-31.
  • Since 2005, the Seminoles are 3-2 on Labor Day. FSU took consecutive 3-point contests against Miami to open the 2005 and 2006 seasons. The Seminoles lost at home to the Hurricanes to open 2009 on Labor Day, 38-34. FSU also lost at Clemson on Labor Day in 2007, 24-18. The Seminoles beat Pittsburgh two years ago, 41-13.
  • Against ranked teams under Jimbo Fisher, Florida State is 14-8. The Seminoles went just 1-2 against ranked opponents last season, beating Florida while losing to Clemson and Houston.
  • Under head coach Jimbo Fisher, the Seminoles are 8-3 on neutral fields, including 4-2 in bowl games. FSU is 3-1 in the ACC Championship and won its only neutral field regular season contest against Oklahoma State in Dallas to open 2014. Fisher is 2-0 on neutral fields in the state of Florida.
  • Dating back to the late 1980s, Florida State has won 15 straight regular season games on neutral fields, including five in Orlando. The last loss in such a contest was against a team from Mississippi in Southern Mississippi, who with a young quarterback named Brett Favre beat the Seminoles in Jacksonville 30-26 to open the 1989 season.

Good Times, Bad Times

All-time series: Ole Miss leads 1-0.
Bad Times: There are no good times in the series since the Seminoles and Rebels have met just once, but Ole Miss won the only previous meeting by a score of 33-0 on Oct. 7, 1961. Ole Miss gained 520 yards to Florida State\’s 109 in that victory.

For Your Reading Pleasure

Here are the The Daily Nole articles written surrounding the Labor Day contest against the Rebels. Enjoy:

FSU Football: A First Look at Ole Miss
FSU Football: Revisiting How Ole Miss Fared Against Elite Backs in 2015
Preview: Seminoles Kick Off 2016 vs. Rebels in Orlando
Looking Back on FSU QBs\’ Past Labor Day Performances
FSU-Ole Miss: Five Things to Watch
FSU G Kareem Are to Miss Opener
Staff Predictions for FSU-Ole Miss

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply