FSU Football: Most Significant Previous Match-Up vs. Each 2018 Foe

The start of the 2018 regular season is still five months away for Florida State, but the schedule has long been out.

FSU’s regular season slate includes some intriguing match-ups with some rich history. That’s more true for some contests than it is for others, but all have some historical value.

In this next exercise, we’ll look back on the most historically significant game between the Seminoles and each of their 2018 opponents:

Virginia Tech
2018 Date: Sept. 3
Most Significant Game: Jan. 4, 2000 (Sugar Bowl)
Florida State and Virginia Tech have twice met for the ACC Championship since expansion, but the two teams played for a bigger championship to cap the 1999 season. Led by quarterback Michael Vick, the Hokies scored 22 unanswered points to take a 29-28 lead into the final quarter. That quarter however, would belong to Florida State, which outscored Virginia Tech 18-0 over the final 15 minutes to win, 46-29. In his final game in garnet and gold, Peter Warrick stole the show with 220 total yards and three total touchdowns. With the win, FSU became the first-ever wire-to-wire No. 1 while legendary head coach Bobby Bowden completed his first and only perfect season.

Samford
2018 Date: Sept. 8
Most Significant Game: Sept. 4, 2010
The season-opener between FSU and Samford in 2010 signified a changing of the guard as it was the first as a head coach for Jimbo Fisher. Fisher replaced the legendary Bobby Bowden after 34 years. Against Fisher and Bowden’s alma mater, the Seminoles triumphed, 59-6. Quarterback Christian Ponder threw for four touchdowns in the win.

Syracuse
2018 Date: Sept. 15
Most Significant Game: Oct. 5, 1991
Syracuse was ranked 10th in the country when it came to Tallahassee to face top-ranked FSU in 1991 and early on, it looked like the Orangemen would give the Seminoles all they wanted. But after a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown from Qadry Ismail put Syracuse up 14-7, the Seminoles scored the game’s final 39 points in a 46-14 win. Edgar Bennett scored twice while Casey Weldon passed for 347 yards in the win.

Lonnie Pryor rushed for 134 yards and two touchdowns in the 2013 Orange Bowl. (Steve Musco/FSU athletics)

Northern Illinois
2018 Date: Sept. 22
Most Significant Game: Jan. 1, 2013 (Orange Bowl)
The only prior meeting between Florida State and Northern Illinois was the Orange Bowl to conclude the 2012 season. Against the BCS-busting Huskies, FSU won the total yardage battle, 534-259 and held Heisman Trophy finalist Jordan Lynch in check for most of the night. Lonnie Pryor rushed for 134 yards and two touchdowns on just five carries as FSU notched its first major bowl victory in 13 years and cemented its first top-10 finish since 2000.

Louisville
2018 Date: Sept. 29
Most Significant Game: Sept. 17, 2016
The only top-10 match-up between FSU and Louisville was one to forget as the Cardinals put up more points than any opponent ever in the 2016 ACC opener for the Seminoles. Eventual Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson accounted for five touchdowns for Louisville in a 63-20 trouncing of FSU. Florida State scored the game’s final 10 points to avoid making it the worst loss in school-history.

Miami
2018 Date: Oct. 6
Most Significant Game: Nov. 16, 1991
In the Florida State-Miami rivalry, there’s been no shortage of big games, but the 1991 contest between No. 1 and No. 2 in Tallahassee may have been the biggest. The top-ranked Seminoles led 16-7 entering the final quarter, but a field goal from Carlos Huerta and a short touchdown run by Larry Jones put the Hurricanes in front, 17-16. With time ticking away, Gerry Thomas trotted out for a 34-yard field goal attempt, only to push it to the right. No. 2 Miami would go on to win a fourth national championship in nine years.

Wake Forest
2018 Date: Oct. 20
Most Significant Game: Nov. 11, 2006
Florida State was unranked, but a home favorite as No. 18 Wake Forest came to town late in 2006. What would happen in Tallahassee that night was something the Seminoles had not seen at home since prior to the Bobby Bowden era. On a night where little went right for FSU, the Demon Deacons pitched a 30-0 shutout. Wake Forest would go on to win the ACC while FSU would shake up the coaching staff, with the firing of offensive coordinator Jeff Bowden. That made way for Jimbo Fisher to take the job and ultimately, control of the program.

Jameis Winston passed for a career-high 444 yards in a 2013 win over Clemson. (USA Today Sports Images)

Clemson
2018 Date: Oct. 27
Most Significant Game: Oct. 19, 2013
Clemson was ranked No. 3 and at home as Florida State came to town in 2013. For future Heisman Trophy winner Jameis Winston and the Seminoles, the Tigers were simply no match. Winston passed for 444 yards and accounted for four total touchdowns as FSU scored more points at Death Valley than any visitor ever in a 51-14 rout. FSU tallied 565 yards of offense while Lamarcus Joyner was responsible for forcing three of Clemson’s four turnovers.

NC State
2018 Date: Nov. 3
Most Significant Game: Nov. 15, 2003
It was called a de facto ACC championship game as Philip Rivers and the Wolfpack came to Doak Campbell Stadium to wrap up ACC play in 2003. Against a stout FSU defense, Rivers passed for 422 yards and the Wolfpack put up 37 points in regulation. After Xavier Beitia had his game-winning field goal attempt blocked as the fourth quarter ended, the contest went to overtime. The teams traded touchdowns in the first overtime period, but the Seminoles managed a fourth-down stop in the second. It took Leon Washington just two plays to score from 12 yards out to give the Seminoles a 50-44 win and an 11th ACC crown in 12 years.

Notre Dame
2018 Date: Nov. 10
Most Significant Game: Nov. 13, 1993
It was dubbed the “Game of the Century” when No. 1 Florida State invaded South Bend to face second-ranked Notre Dame in 1993. 24 unanswered points gave Notre Dame a 24-7 lead early in the second half, but FSU twice crawled to within seven. On the final play of the game, FSU quarterback and eventual Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward’s heave toward the end zone was knocked down and the Fighting Irish prevailed, 31-24. Notre Dame would fall to Boston College the next week and it would be the Seminoles who wound up winning the national championship.

Boston College
2018 Date: Nov. 17
Most Significant Game: Sept. 17, 2005
Of the 16 meetings between Florida State and Boston College, the 2005 contest in Chestnut Hill — which happened to be the Eagles’ first as a member of the ACC — was the only one where both teams were ranked. Two early interceptions by FSU linebacker A.J. Nicholson — one of which was returned for a score — helped the Seminoles race to an early 14-0 lead, but BC stormed back with 17 unanswered points to lead early in the fourth quarter. Drew Weatherford’s second touchdown pass to Greg Carr put Florida State ahead for good before the Seminoles iced the game with a Lorenzo Booker 4-yard touchdown run and a late goal line stand in a 28-17 win. Both teams finished 5-3 in ACC play that season, but the head-to-head victory allowed the Seminoles to claim the Atlantic division and go on to win the first ACC title game.

Florida
2018 Date: Nov. 24
Most Significant Game: Jan. 2, 1997 (Sugar Bowl)
Florida State had defeated Florida 24-21 to conclude the 1996 regular season in a match-up of No. 1 vs. No. 2, but a Nebraska loss to Texas in the inaugural Big XII title game gave the third-ranked Gators a second chance at No. 1 FSU. The day prior, Ohio State knocked off No. 2 Arizona State in the Rose Bowl, making the Sugar Bowl contest one for all the marbles. Florida played from ahead most of the way and led 24-17 at halftime before FSU recorded a second half stop and field goal to pull within four. That would be the last time the Seminoles would score as Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerfel and company scored the game’s final 28 points in a 52-20 romp for Florida’s first national title.

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