FSU Football’s Most Memorable Bowl Wins: No. 1
By Jason Parker
FSU football is heading back to another bowl game – here’s a look at the one of the more memorable postseason games in program history.
On January 2nd, 1950, the Florida State Seminoles made program history in just their third season of play. FSU football traveled from Tallahassee to Tampa to take on the Wofford Terriers in the Cigar Bowl – the first time the ‘Noles had been selected to play in a postseason bowl game since the program started.
This season, the Seminoles will take part in their 46th all-time bowl game when they play in the (bowl game) against the (opponent). It will be another in the list of memorable postseason contests for FSU football – a list that has taken the team everywhere from Miami to San Francisco and Atlanta to Dallas and points all over the place.
But, which bowl games have truly been the best ever for the Seminoles? Here’s a look at another memorable moment in the postseason for Florida State.
No. 1 – 1994 Orange Bowl (Florida State 18 Nebraska 16)
For all the great teams he had coached at Florida State in the years before, the 1993 team was going to be Bobby Bowden’s best chance at a national title. With a stellar offense led by quarterback and eventual Heisman winner Charlie Ward to go along with a ferocious defense that allowed just 38 points the first two months of the year, this was going to be the time a title game to Tallahassee.
Those hopes were dashed for one week after the ‘Noles lost the “Game of the Century” to Notre Dame by a touchdown. The following week, Notre Dame’s loss to Boston College opened the door back up as the Seminoles would get that chance with a meeting against undefeated Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Orange Bowl – where the teams had met the year before. This time, FSU football was a heavy favorite and expected to coast by some to a title.
Nebraska was having none of that as the game started, holding the high powered FSU football offense to just two field goals in the first half while finding the end zone themselves and taking a one point lead into the locker room. Florida State would add a William Floyd touchdown and field goal in the third to take the lead, but Nebraska would do the same in the fourth quarter and held a one point lead with just over a minute left.
Sensing his hero moment of a magical season, Ward led the ‘Noles down to the three yard line, as Scott Bentley would hit a short field goal to give Florida State the lead with 21 seconds left. For a moment, fans of the Seminoles and the players celebrated as if they had finally gotten the program’s first title.
Nebraska would get a final chance and get the ball down to the 28-yard line as the clock hit triple zeroes. However, since things couldn’t be easy for Bowden to get his first title, officials put one second back on the clock and gave the Cornhuskers another chance at the win. Thankfully, the 45-yard attempt when wide left and FSU could call themselves champs.
Just 47 seasons after the school started a football program recognized by the NCAA after becoming co-educational again, everyone from fans to alumni and all others associated with the Florida State Seminoles and FSU as a school could boast about being at the top of the college football game.