FSU's greatest rival is the Miami Hurricanes. Argue with your dog if you don't like it. The Seminoles and Hurricanes dominated such a long stretch of college football's growth period in the 1980s and 1990s that it's hard to look at any other school, even the Florida Gators, in the same light.
During the 70 games in the history of this in-state conflict, the Seminoles had some very important victories over the Hurricanes that helped the program reach a championship level or announce their return to college football's big stage.
Here are the five most important FSU wins over Miami:
This is the one that snapped a three-game win streak by the Hurricanes and solidified FSU's status as the No. 1 team in the country. It was another springboard for Charlie Ward's Heisman Trophy season, and it was the true coming out party for freshman running back Warrick Dunn. Devin Bush's pick six in the fourth quarter sealed the deal and erased many memories of wide-right kicks. And, oh yeah, we get to see Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson make a sad-faced cameo.
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Devin Bush may have been known for his big hits at Florida State, but I’ll never forget his pick-six against Miami in 1993 to seal the game for FSU. 🍢
— TJ Salomone (@TJSalomone) March 8, 2026
The camera zooming in on Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s sad expression was the best part. 😂 pic.twitter.com/wfdEvMgvPc
The Seminoles had lost four straight to Miami. The 26-25 loss in 1987 was a stinger, but not as much as the 31-0 season-opening loss in 1988. FSU had already dropped its first two games of 1989 and needed to get a big statement win. Under the lights at Doak Campbell Stadium, the Seminoles played lights out defense and went on to win their final 10 games of the season to finish inside the top five.
The Seminoles announced they were back under new head coach Jimbo Fisher, racking up nearly 300 rushing yards against the Hurricanes. This would be the start of a seven-game win streak over Miami. The most memorable part of this game came in the fourth quarter when Chris Thompson busted off an 80-yard touchdown run that was called back on a holding call, so Fisher called the same play again and Thompson ran for a 90-yard touchdown.
We had to get a Mike Norvell win in here and this game seemed like the right one. Jordan Travis had one of his best clutch performances up to that point in his career and the 4th-and-14 conversion to Andrew Parchment set up the game-winning touchdown. This game was the springboard that lead to the Seminoles' best run under Norvell, going 10-3 in 2022 and 13-1 in 2023 with an ACC championship.
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For many FSU fans, the win in 1989 was nice payback for the embarrassing loss the year before, but it was the 1997 blowout of the Hurricanes that really satisfied their appetite to see the Miami program get humbled. It was arguably the highest point for FSU and the lowest point for Miami in the history of the respective programs. The Seminoles had a thin, young Miami roster at their mercy and rightfully stuck a foot on their throats.
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