27 Days Until FSU Football: Three Hold FSU Record with 27 Made Field Goals

There are 27 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 Monday, it was former FSU running back Warrick Dunn, who wore No. 28 and made his mark on Florida State history and quite a difference off the field.

Today, it’s the FSU single-season record of 27 made field goals. That mark is held by three different Florida State kickers.

Two of those names probably come as no surprise. Lou Groza Award winners Sebastian Janikowski and Roberto Aguayo each accomplished the feat. Janikowski did so during his first of two Groza years in 1998, going 27-for-32 with a long of 53 yards. Aguayo went 27-for-30 in 2014 — the year after winning the Groza — with a long of 53 yards.

Sebastian Janikowski made 27 field goals for FSU in 1998. (Garnet and Great, FSU Archivist)

The third name is the one that may surprise many. Gary Cismesia, who came to be nicknamed “Weed”, went 27-for-34 during the 2007 campaign. Among those 27 makes was an FSU record 60-yard field goal in a loss to rival Florida.

Gary Cismesia was 27-for-34 on field goal attempts in 2007. (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

For the early parts of FSU’s ascension to college football prominence, the Seminoles were marred by missed kicks. Over the last two decades however, FSU has built a rich tradition when it comes to kickers.

The four Lou Groza Awards is two more than any other school. With Janikowski winning two awards in 1998 and 1999 and Aguayo winning the award in 2013, the other winner is Graham Gano, who won the award in 2008. Dustin Hopkins was a Groza finalist in 2012.

Janikowski would be selected in the first round of the 2000 NFL Draft by the Oakland Raiders, with whom he spent 18 years. Janikowski was elected into the FSU Hall of Fame in 2013.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers traded up to snag Aguayo in the second round of the 2015 NFL Draft, but his NFL career has not gone as planned. Cismesia spent some time with the New York Jets in 2009, but never made a regular season roster.

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