FSU Football: Recent success vs. SEC a positive sign heading into opener

While FSU football has a losing record all time against the conference, the Seminoles have been nothing but dominate in recent years vs. the conference.

Over the 70 seasons that FSU football has fielded a team, the Seminoles have not been shy about playing schools from the SEC. Aside from the yearly rivalry game with the Florida Gators, the Noles have gone head to head with schools like Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee to go along with regular series with schools such as LSU, Auburn and South Carolina.

Recent years have been good for the Seminoles against their foes from the conference. Since Jimbo Fisher took over as the head coach of Florida State seven seasons ago, FSU football has gone 9-1 against SEC opponents – which includes six wins over the Gators and a national title win over Auburn after the 2013 season.

With the opener against Alabama coming up in just a matter of weeks, the turnaround in success for the Seminoles against the SEC has been something that was desperately needed. From the time Florida State took the field against Georgia Tech – then in the conference – in 1952 until the end of the 1969 season, the Noles went a combined 12-29-5 over the span which included just one win in the first 17 games.

The success against the Gators since Bobby Bowden’s arrival in the 1976 season – a combined 23-19-1 record over that bitter rivals over that span – has helped out the Seminoles’ overall record during that time. The game against the Crimson Tide will be special for the Seminoles in that it will be just the second time FSU football has opened against a SEC opponent.

The only other time? Last season, when the Seminoles came back to get a convincing win over Ole Miss in Orlando.

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There is no doubt that the Crimson Tide are a cut above the rest of the SEC at this point and comparing them to other schools might be crazy. At the same time, Fisher and the Seminoles have shown they are not afraid of the “mighty” SEC and can hang with them at any time. It’s a good thing to have confidence in what could be the biggest opener in the sport’s history – and another chance to get a resume win over that other conference.