FSU Football: Jimbo Fisher wants rivalry games on same weekend each year

FSU football again will be playing two of their biggest rivalry games on different weekends this year – and the head Seminole would like that to change.

When the schedule came out for FSU football entering the 2017 season, it was a known fact that the ‘Noles were going to open the season in Atlanta against Alabama and close the year on the road against Florida, where they have played the Gators each and every regular season as the finale since the 1977 season.

After that, it was a wait and see situation involving most of the other 10 games – including two big ones against in-state and ACC rival Miami as well as another ACC opponent who has reached near rival status of late, Clemson. While the Seminoles played the Hurricanes the last two years during the second weekend in October (the traditional spot), the teams will play during the third week of September.

As for the Seminoles and Tigers, a game that has been played as early as September 20th over the last five years and as late as November 7th will be even later this year – as the teams will play on November 11th, which is two weeks later than last year.

While other conferences have set weeks in which big rivalry games take place, the ACC tends to ignore that for FSU football and the other 13 member schools. Seminoles head coach Jimbo Fisher, along with Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, spoke at the conference’s Football Kickoff last week and expressed how they would like for there to be some more uniformity when it comes to rivalry games (h/t Tampa Bay Times):

"“That’s one thing that we like about the SEC…” Swinney said. “You know when you’re playing some of these bigger games.”“We play them (Miami) in the third game,” Fisher said. “We’ve played them at the end. We’ve played them in the middle. I’d like to see that the same.”"

With everyone basically thinking that it’s going to be FSU football’s conference to lose this season, having the Seminoles and Tigers play so late in the year pretty much guarantees that the ACC will only have one team eligible for the College Football Playoff yet again. If the teams played earlier in the year, it would give a slight chance that the ACC could do the impossible and get two teams in if the loser bounces back.

Next: Top Rivalry Wins For FSU Over Florida and Miami

As for the game between Florida State and Miami, this year’s meeting will be the earliest non-opener the schools have played since the 1984 season – when the Seminoles blew out the defending national champs 38-3. Since they, the teams have opened the year against each other five times with Miami holding a 3-2 edge.