How FSU Football changed series history with Florida 30 years ago

FSU football had long been a team searching for a winning identity against one of their hated rivals – and one game in 1987 changed the way the series was.

For a certain segment of the FSU football population that has joined the garnet and gold within the last three decades, they may not quite understand how good they have it when it comes to the yearly meeting with the hated rival Florida Gators. As the Seminoles have won six of the last seven games in the series, some may think it’s always been that way.

When in fact, it couldn’t be further from the truth. For the first 29 meetings between the schools from 1958 until 1986, the Gators held a commanding 22-6-1 lead in the series, including winning streaks of six and nine games over that span. While Bobby Bowden led the Noles to four straight wins from 1977 to 1980, that six game losing streak hung over FSU football heading into the 1987 meeting.

Entering the game with a 9-1 record that including a one point loss to eventual national champion Miami, Florida State came into a game facing one of the top defensive teams when it came to stats in the SEC. Entering the game at 6-4, the Gators were still seen as a team that could extend the streak to seven games.

After going down 14-3 early, the Seminoles rattled off 25 straight points that included three field goals and two touchdown runs by Dayne Williams. FSU football nearly doubled their foes in total yardage (411 to 207) while sacking Florida three times and forcing one fumble.

Even bigger was how this win gave FSU redemption and swagger at the same time. With players like Deion Sanders, Sammie Smith, Paul McGowan and more, the Seminoles lived up to the hype they had been talking about in the past few seasons by finishing the year 11-1 and beginning the 14 season dynasty era that remains maybe the best in college football history.

Next: Top FSU wins over Miami and Florida

The redemption came with getting a win over their hated foes and changing the course of this series. In the last 32 games, FSU football holds a 19-12-1 series lead that included three more wins after this meeting and a four game winning streak they are currently on. No longer were the Seminoles the “little brothers” of their rivals from Gainesville – and they never would be that again.