Know Your Opponent: Florida State

The Gators first met the Seminoles on November 22, 1958.
The Seminoles were the first to score that day, shocking the
Florida Field crowd with a quick 85-yard drive into the
endzone. The Gators equalized late in the initial quarter after
Dave Hudson blocked a punt and returned it for the score. A
short time afterwards, Hudson made an interception that set
up an 89-yard Gator touchdown drive. On FSU's next
possession, they fumbled the ball away on their own 20-yard-
line. On fourth-and-goal from the eight, Gator quarterback
Jimmy Dunn scrambled for the score. The Gators held on from
there to secure the 21-7 victory. The Seminole

The Gators end their home schedule by playing their nearest rival, the Seminoles of Florida State University. The West Florida Seminary, the oldest predecessor of the modern Florida State University, opened for classes in 1857 in Tallahassee. The West Florida Seminary was reorganized into Florida State College in 1901. The Buckman Act of 1905 consolidated all public schools of higher education in the state of Florida, requiring three gender and racially segregated institutions – one for black men and women (the State Normal School for Colored Students, which later became Florida A&M University) located in Tallahassee, one for white men (the University of Florida) in Gainesville, and one for white women, also in Tallahassee. The latter institution became the Florida State College for Women. After the Second World War, the newly instituted G.I. Bill greatly increased the demand for higher education in the state of Florida. In 1947, FSCW became coeducational again and changed its name to "Florida State University". Florida State now enrolls nearly 42,000 students (including almost 33,000 undergrads). FSU’s school colors are garnet (a dark shade of red) and gold.

Despite being younger than many other successful and tradition-rich football programs (Florida State has only played football since 1947), the Seminoles have enjoyed tremendous success in their history. An independent for most of their history, the Seminoles were briefly members of the Dixie Conference (1948–50), before returning to non-affiliation. Florida State finally joined the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in 1992. Florida State has won 15 ACC titles, more than any other school (charter member Clemson, which has competed in the ACC since 1953, has just 14). Needless to say, Florida State has dominated their conference in the last two decades. The Seminoles play in Doak Campbell Stadium for home games; "Doak" has a capacity in excess of 82,000 spectators, with 84,409 being the official record-high attendance.

Florida State has won three consensus national championships (1993, 1999, and 2013) and has produced three Heisman Trophy winners (Charlie Ward in 1993, Chris Weinke in 2000, and Jameis Winston in 2013). Some would argue that defensive back and punt returner Deion Sanders (1986–88) was the greatest athlete to wear the Garnet and Gold. The flamboyant corner excelled on the gridiron, the baseball diamond, and the track. Sanders is the only person to have appeared in both the World Series and the Super Bowl. The 1999 Seminoles completed a perfect, 12-0 season and soundly defeated the Michael Vick-led Virginia Tech Hokies in the Sugar Bowl to secure the second-ever BCS championship. The 2013 Seminoles also won every game on their schedule, winning 14 games and the final championship before the playoff-era.

Any historical account of Florida State football in incomplete without mention of their greatest coach, Bobby Bowden. Under Bowden's leadership, FSU was transformed from a regional player to a national power in college football. When Bowden arrived in Tallahassee in 1976, the program had fallen on rough times, having only won four games in the previous three years. After posting a 5-6 record in his first year, Bowden never had another losing season. In just his second season, Bowden's Seminoles won a school-record 10 games (including FSU's first-ever blowout of rival Florida) and finished 14th in the AP poll. Between 1987 and 2000, the Seminoles were at or near the pinacle of college football every year, never losing more than twice in a season or finishing lower than fifth in the AP poll. Bowden led the Seminoles' first two national title teams and guided his program to 12 ACC titles (as many as Duke's Bill Murray and Clemson's Frank Howard, who are both tied for second, combined). During the first 18 years of the rivalry against Florida, the Seminoles had won only twice; Bowden turned around FSU's misfortunes against UF, winning 17 of 36 games against the Gators. No other coach was more successful against Florida's Steve Spurrier. Bowden finished with an 8-5-1 record against the Gators' "Head Ball Coach". After 34 seasons at FSU, Bowden retired in 2009, ending his career with 304* victories, 97 defeats, and four draws with the Seminoles.

Led by star quarterback Gary Huff, the 1972 Seminoles were
highly-ranked and heavily-favored coming into their matchup
against the struggling Gators. As it turned out, just about
everything went wrong for the Seminoles in front of a
capacity-crowd at Doak Campbell Stadium. FSU gave away
13 turnovers through fumbles and interceptions, dooming
themselves to a 42-13 defeat. The blowout victory marked the
Gators' 12th in 15 games against Florida State. The Seminole

Florida State's two most important rivals are undoubtedly those against Florida and Miami. The Hurricanes and the Seminoles first met in 1951, making this FSU's oldest rivalry. The schools have played every year since 1969 and have met on a total of 60 occasions. The series has been fiercely competitive through most of history, with an unusually high number of contests being decided by seven points or less (25, to be exact). Famously, between 1991 and 2002, Florida State lost four games on missed field goals during the last minute of the game. Miami leads the series with 31 wins to FSU's 29, although the Seminoles have won the last six.

Although not as old as Florida’s border rivalry with Georgia, the in-state Florida State rivalry is just as intense. In this rivalry, there are no conference implications, but often repercussions on the national championship instead. The Gators and Seminoles have played 59 times and every year since their first meeting in 1958. The Gators have only played Georgia, Auburn, Kentucky, and LSU more frequently, while the Seminoles have only played Miami more frequently. Florida leads the series with 34 victories; Florida State has won 23 games in the rivalry and twice have the teams tied. Florida State has been defeated by Florida more frequently than any other opponent. After losing in the regular season to the Seminoles, the 1996 Florida Gators defeated FSU in a rematch in the Sugar Bowl, securing their first national title. Later that year, in a game remembered by some as "The Greatest Game Ever Played at the Swamp", the Gators defeated the top-ranked, undefeated Seminoles 32-29 at home after a late-game touchdown drive ruined Florida State’s hopes for the 1997 title.

*316 victories on-the-field (12 wins from the 2006 and 2007 seasons were later vacated)