FSU football will be heading back to the Bayou State for the first time in close to a decade and a half when they play in the Independence Bowl.
In the 71 season history of FSU football, the Seminoles have played games all across the country. From the Sunshine State to Arizona and California to New York, the Noles have given fans in garnet and gold from across the country a chance to see Florida State in action – including in the fellow Gulf Coast state of Louisiana.
This season, the Seminoles will get a chance to add to a growing history of games played just hours to the west of Tallahassee when they face off against Southern Miss in the Independence Bowl on December 27th. While it will be the first time playing in the bowl and the city of Shreveport, the Noles are no stranger to games in the state.
All time, FSU football has played 15 times previous in the state – with the last game coming in the Sugar Bowl following the 2002 season when the Noles lost to Georgia. The last regular season game for the Seminoles in the state was before they joined the ACC – when Florida State defeated LSU during the 1991 season.
Over their history, the Seminoles have an impressive 14-4 record when playing games in Louisiana. Against the Tigers, FSU football is 6-1 all time in Baton Rouge, while they have a 4-0 record against Tulane in New Orleans and a 4-2 tally in the Sugar Bowl – including a national title following the 1999 season by beating Virginia Tech.
The other loss? You have to go all the way back to 1953 when the Seminoles played their closest game to Shreveport – an eleven point setback to the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs in a game played just 70 miles away in Ruston, LA.
Games in Louisiana have been influential on the program as well. Aside from the national title win over the Hokies as well as Sugar Bowl wins over Auburn, Florida and Ohio State, the 1979 win at LSU has been attributed by legendary head coach Bobby Bowden as the reason he stayed in Tallahassee – knowing he had a team that could compete with the SEC.
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This year’s Independence Bowl game might not be the biggest postseason game on paper, but with a 40 season streak of finishing above .500 on the line, you can be willing to bet FSU football would add it to the list of important moments in the boot shaped state.