FSU Football: Top 10 best Nole games to re-watch this summer

No. 16 Florida State @  No. 3 Nebraska 1980, final score 18-14

“You are watching the beginning of everything,” said Momma Maines. I asked her to watch this one with me because I wanted to see it through her eyes, as someone who was at FSU at the time.

She told me stories about this game and built it up. I think it lived up to the hype. While watching, Momma Maines couldn’t go five minutes without talking about players she knew personally or telling stories about Thunderfoot and SuperToe.

The game commentary ages it a big way. They are much more descriptive compared to modern commentators who may not even talk about the game for five minutes. One quote that stood with me is, “So much red, you’d think you’re in Moscow.” It is such a lovely, cold war era reference, that does give you certain imagery that the grainy VHS recording doesn’t.

Visually, it’s a tough watch. You can still tell what’s going on to a degree but the camera moving across the field with the ball hurts the eyes. The screen wipe transitions gave me a chuckle in that it was very much of the era, and it felt like watching the original Star Wars: A New Hope.

It is the same feeling of establishing dominance and something grandiose that will survive for decades.

Game-wise it’s a typical Bowden underdog/comeback game. The tricks started early with a running back pass but other than that, the entire game was spent in the I-formation from both teams. The offenses started slowly, and there were plenty of turnovers.

Our defense earned the respect of the Cornhuskers, which is odd that a No. 16 ranked teams can be relatively unknown and have to earn respect. It was also wild that a 14-0 score was considered a blowout.

Defensively, we contained “Marvelous” Jarvis Redwine about as well as we could. Our offensive line allowed about five sacks before halftime, but of that, they drove the offense well but couldn’t convert in the red zone.

The physicality, helmet-to-helmet hits, the prevalence of spearing, and horse-collar tackles are a sign of the times. It is hilarious two-yard runs were considered great runs, and six-yard runs and 10-yard passes were thought to be big plays.

I didn’t notice a prevalence of jump cuts, spins, and plays like that. There were the special plays but no moves like that which have become a staple of the modern game. It became the “Sam Platt show” late in the second half, and the Seminoles finally got on the board with a field goal.

The Seminoles finally take the lead late in the third quarter. We did suffer some home cooking against us from the refs but still sealed the game on sack-fumble.

The game still gives you heavy heart palpitations, and it’s a one-in-a-million type game that can never happen again. It couldn’t unfold that same way today. The technical side is endearing for me, but it is hard to watch, but I adjusted.

The commentary is very of the era with references to the heavy drug and cold war references. As an aside, I love the old regalia and jerseys and it would be great for FSU to invest and bring back the sweaters and jerseys and make them available for purchase.

You could make it an event during rivalry week where everyone on campus wears older Seminoles garb for the week. I’d like to see the NCAA do what the NFL did with classic jerseys and allow them to be worn for a game. And this carries over to all the classic jersey combinations, for every team, throughout the years.

3 out of 5 footballs.