Best FSU Football bowl game for December 29th: 2011 Champs Sports

FSU football isn’t playing in a bowl game this season, so we’re taking a look back at some of the best postseason games for the Seminoles by date.

Over the history of the FSU football program, the Seminoles have developed some rivalries with a group of teams that are among the best in the game. Of course, the main rivalries are with in state foes Miami and Florida, but teams like Clemson and Georgia Tech have been added to that group thanks to playing in the ACC.

Another one of those teams would be the group of Fighting Irish from South Bend, Indiana known as the University of Notre Dame. Dating back to their first game in the 1981 season, the Seminoles and the Golden Domers have met several times with national titles and bowl championships on the line.

The teams had met once before in a bowl game – the 1995 season Orange Bowl won by the Seminoles thanks to a late comeback – but it would be their second meeting in a postseason contest that would be one that ended up being a milestone victory for those in garnet and gold.

Here’s a look at the best FSU football bowl game the program has played on December 29th

2011 Champs Sports Bowl – Florida State 18 Notre Dame 14

The second season under the last head coach for the Seminoles was one that started off solid with two straight wins followed by three losses – including a loss to then No. 1 Oklahoma – by a combined 20 points. Five straight wins, including holding on vs. Miami, were met by a loss to Virginia and a win over Florida where the Noles had less than 100 yards of offense.

With that, a battle of 8-4 teams took place in Central Florida and it lived up to the records of both teams early on. The only score in the first half was a touchdown that came off a FSU football fumble that was returned by Notre Dame for the score. The Fighting Irish would add another score  before the Seminoles would get on the board with a  Dustin Hopkins field goal.

The fourth quarter would belong to the Seminoles as E.J. Manuel found Bert Reed and Rashad Greene – one of 18 freshman to play in the game – for touchdowns. The Noles would add another Hopkins field goal, then virtually seal the game when Terrence Brooks intercepted a pass in the end zone that ended any momentum for the Fighting Irish.

Neither team was able to get to 300 yards of total offense in the game, but three interceptions by the FSU football defense essentially are what won the game for the Seminoles. Both teams would play for the national title in the following two seasons with Notre Dame losing to Alabama after the 2012 season and the Seminoles defeating Auburn following the 2013 season.

This victory would also be significant because of the growing rivalry with Notre Dame – it was just the seventh meeting between the programs – and it was the first time FSU football had defeated the Fighting Irish along with Miami and Florida in the same season. The Seminoles would do it again during the 2014 season.