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FSU Football’s Best 15 Games Of The Last 40 Seasons: No. 11

By Jason Parker

Nov 29, 2014; Tallahassee, FL, USA; Florida State Seminoles mascot Chief Osceola rides Renaeade on to the field prior to the game against the Florida Gators at Doak Campbell Stadium. Florida State Seminoles defeated Florida Gators 24-19. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 29, 2014; Tallahassee, FL, USA; Florida State Seminoles mascot Chief Osceola rides Renaeade on to the field prior to the game against the Florida Gators at Doak Campbell Stadium. Florida State Seminoles defeated Florida Gators 24-19. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Here’s a look at one of the best 15 games over the last 40 seasons of FSU football.

For the four decades, two men have led FSU football: Bobby Bowden and Jimbo Fisher. Over that span, the Seminoles have gone from a football program that seemed to be just weeks from being cancelled to one of the top teams in the country and a known brand across the country and all over the world.

There have been everything from big road wins that set the tone for FSU football’s “play anyone at anytime” attitude to rivalry wins against Florida and Miami. The 34 seasons with Bowden at the helm saw two national titles won and one of the greatest dynasty eras in the history of the sport take place. The last six seasons under Fisher have seen the ‘Noles bring another title to Tallahassee and restored FSU football’s place as one of college football’s elite teams.

Of all the games over the past four decades, which are the ones that meant the most to where FSU football is today? Let’s take a look at the best games over the past 40 seasons the ‘Noles have taken the field.

No. 11 – Florida State 45 Miami 17 (October 9, 2010)

For head coach Jimbo Fisher, the job handed to him starting with the 2010 season was easier said than done: get FSU football back to where it once was a decade before. It was indeed lean times in Tallahassee, as the ‘Noles opened this season for the first time without Bobby Bowden as the team’s head coach since Gerald Ford was President of the United State.

One of the things that led to the end of the Bowden era was FSU’s failure in recent games against bitter rivals Florida and Miami. For the previous seven seasons, FSU football was a combined 4-11 against their hated foes, including three seasons where they lost to both teams (something that had happened just three times between 1986 and 2002). Fisher knew that one of the ways to get the ship righted in Tallahassee was to get back to winning against the Gators and the ‘Canes. Fisher got his chance in the second month of the 2010 season when the 23rd ranked Seminoles traveled south to take on the 13th ranked Hurricanes.

On Fisher’s 45th birthday, the ‘Noles gave him the perfect gift by clicking on all cylinders and gaining nearly 500 yards of total offense in the game. Early on, FSU football kept their foot on the pedal and jumped out to a 21-0 lead thanks to three touchdowns from running back Jermaine Thomas (two rushing and one through the air from Christian Ponder). FSU would take a 24-7 lead into the half and cruise in the second half, even when the ‘Canes cut their lead to 31-17 late in the third quarter. Ponder would connect with Miami native Rodney Smith for a fourth quarter touchdown, but the highlight would come one drive later. After a holding penalty negated a long touchdown run by Chris Thompson, the running back just did the same thing all over again and went 90 yards to put the final nail in the coffin.

FSU football would end up sweeping their series with the two in-state rivals, beating Florida 31-7 to end the regular season (the first of five sweeps in the six seasons since Fisher has been the head coach). After this game, then-Miami coach Randy Shannon drew heat from his fans for saying he couldn’t get his team ready to play FSU, something that rubbed the wrong way with ‘Canes boosters and helped lead to his firing at the end of the regular season.

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