36 Days Until FSU Football: Florida State’s Bowl Streak Alive at 36 Straight Years

There are 36 days left until Florida State football starts the 2018 season. As part of the offseason, we’re highlighting players, games, and specific moments from FSU football history.

On Saturday, it was Dexter Carter’s 37-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage to ignite a 24-10 home win over eventual national champion Miami in 1989.

Today, it’s Florida State’s current bowl streak that sits at 36 straight appearances.

Ronald Reagan had been U.S. president for less than a year, portable 19-inch color televisions were going for $600 and “Physical” by Olivia Newton-John was the No. 1 song in America. That’s what was going on the last time that the Seminoles failed to make a bowl game.

This streak is disputed — mostly by some folks from Blacksburg — since FSU’s 44-27 win over UCLA in the 2006 Emerald Bowl was vacated. Still, many outlets, including the Associated Press have acknowledged that FSU’s streak is an FBS record.

Nyqwan Murray scored a pair of touchdowns in FSU’s 2016 Orange Bowl victory over Michigan. (wlpearce.com/FSU athletics)

Not only has FSU appeared in 36 straight bowls, but it has found success in them. The Seminoles are 26-9-1 in those contests. Included in those victories are three wins that secured national championships. FSU has lost consecutive bowls just twice over the last 36 years, but has never lost three straight bowl games.

The bowl streak for Florida State has had some close calls. FSU won four of its final six games to become bowl-eligible in 2009 and its last three games of the regular season to accomplish the feat last season. It capped the year with a 42-13 win over Southern Mississippi in the Independence Bowl.

Over the last 36 years, Florida State has played in 14 different bowl games, 12 different cities and eight different states. Whether or not one acknowledges the streak or is a Virginia Tech fan, the Seminoles have played in a bowl game in every year since 1982. That’s a span longer than any FBS program has reached in the history of the sport.

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