The Daily Nole

On My Mind Monday: How Has FSU Football Fared in the State of Texas?

Damon Herota/FSU athletics

We’re just more than a week away from Florida State’s match-up with Arizona State in the Sun Bowl in El Paso. At 6-6, the Seminoles will need to win to notch and 42nd straight winning season in 43 years.

The contest will be just FSU’s 18th-ever game played in the state of Texas. The venue led us to wonder how the Seminoles had fared all-time in the Lone Star State.

Here’s a look at FSU’s history in the state of Texas. All games are road contests unless otherwise noted:

The Seminoles are just 7-9-1 all-time in the state of Texas and just 1-2 in bowl games. FSU is 0-2 all-time in the Sun Bowl with losses to what is now UTEP and Wyoming.

If you exclude games against Houston — against whom FSU is just 1-4-1 — the Seminoles are 6-5-1 all-time in Texas. Notable contests include a snow-filled thriller against what is now North Texas late in 1976, a comeback win over Texas A&M in 1967, a Cotton Bowl win over Texas A&M in a match-up of top-10 teams to close the 1991 season and a 37-31 shootout victory over Oklahoma State to open 2014.

Against Texas A&M in 1967 and North Texas in 1976, the Seminoles rallied for victory. In the 1967 win, Bill Moremen scored the game-winning touchdown on a 27-yard run with 3:14 remaining. Against Hayden Fry’s North Texas team in 1976, Jeff Leggett scored a 7-yard touchdown with just over two minutes to play before running back Larry Key found Kurt Unglaub for the winning 2-point conversion on a trick play in a 21-20 victory.

The 1992 Cotton Bowl saw the Seminoles and Aggies combine for 13 turnovers in a 10-2 victory for FSU. In the 2014 opener in Dallas, Jameis Winston passed for 370 yards as FSU held off Oklahoma State, 37-31. Rashad Greene finished with a career-high 203 yards receiving and a touchdown on 11 catches.

The lone shutout in Texas came early in the 1964 season as the Seminoles blanked TCU, 10-0. The highest scoring contest in Texas for FSU was a 42-33 win over Texas Tech in 1966 where Jim Mankins rushed for 111 yards and four touchdowns.

While FSU has traditionally not played well in Texas, it has won its last four there, but trips have been few and far between. The current winning streak in Texas dates back to 1975. That was before the legendary Bobby Bowden took over as head coach.

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson. Like The Daily Nole on Facebook. To pitch an idea, author a post or to learn more about The Daily Nole, email Mike Ferguson at Mike@TheDailyNole.com.

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