Five defining moments of the Miami-Florida State rivalry originally appeared on The Sporting News
Five defining moments of the Miami-Florida State rivalry
The No. 3 Miami Hurricanes (4-0, 0-0 ACC) and the No. 18 Florida State Seminoles (3-1, 0-1 ACC) renew a rivalry Saturday night at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, FL, in the first top 25 meeting since 2016.
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Sporting News presents five defining moments of the Miami-Florida State series over the years.
Wide Right I
The late season clash on Nov. 16, 1991 at Doak Campbell Stadium pitted the top two teams in the country as the No. 1 Seminoles and the No. 2 Hurricanes met in a de facto elimination game in the hunt for the national championship.
“The Game of the Century” moniker would be given for the contest and lived up to the billing. Down 16-7 in the third quarter, Quarterback Gino Toretta and the Miami offense led a rally and took a 17-16 lead late in regulation.
With 3:01 left, quarterback Casey Weldon led Florida State down the field and managed to get into field goal range for placekicker Gerry Thomas, who converted three attempts earlier in the game. Thomas’ 34-yard kick had the distance, but sailed wide right as Miami escaped with the one-point win.
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The Hurricanes’ win propelled them to a split national championship with the Washington Huskies, while the Seminoles won the Cotton Bowl Classic to cap off the season.
Wide Right II
The Hurricanes rode a 58-game home win streak to the Oct. 3, 1992 contest against the Seminoles at Orange Bowl Stadium in Miami.
Florida State looked to exact revenge from the previous season’s loss from “Wide Right” and made an immediate statement as Tamarick Vanover took the opening kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown.
Both teams traded blows as the Hurricanes led 19-16 late in the fourth quarter. With 1:35 left in the game, quarterback Charlie Ward led the Seminoles 59 yards down into Hurricanes territory and set up a familiar scenario from the season before – a game deciding field goal attempt.
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Seminoles placekicker Dan Mowrey nailed three field goals earlier in the game and would be called on to make a fourth. Similar to the previous season, the kick went wide right once more as Mowrey fell to his knees in agony as the Hurricanes escaped with another heart-wrenching win.
Miami managed to get close to the national championship, but lost to Alabama in the Sugar Bowl, while Florida State went 11-1 and defeated the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Orange Bowl.
Wide Right III
The Oct. 7, 2000 edition of the rivalry came in as anything but one as the Seminoles rode a five-game win streak over the Hurricanes.
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The contest at the Orange Bowl proved to be nothing but fireworks on both of sides of the ball on offense. Three Florida State receivers eclipsed the 100-yard mark – Atrews Bell (146), Marvin Minnis (145) and Anquan Boldin (108), while Miami’s Santana Moss went for 115 yards on seven receptions.
Despite the flashy numbers, the game would come prove to be yet another fourth quarter nail biter with FSU down 27-24. Quarterback Chris Weinke drove the Seminoles into the field goal territory to set up placekicker Matt Munyon for the game-tying field goal to force overtime.
Munyon’s kick sailed wide right as time expired and became the next of FSU’s kickers to be known for missing the big one in a rivalry game.
Despite the Miami win, Florida State finished higher in the final BCS standings and earned a trip to the national championship game in the Orange Bowl – while Miami settled for the Sugar Bowl as the controversy erupted and would set in motion the eventual ending of the BCS system 13 years later.
All Or Nothing
The Miami-Florida State series elevated from another rivalry to one of the best in the sport on Oct. 3, 1987.
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The Seminoles controlled the first 44 minutes of the game as they led the Hurricanes 19-3 – until Melivn Bratton’s 49-yard touchdown reception and Brian Blades’ score on the two-point conversion gave new life to the game with 57 seconds left in the third quarter. Miami scored the next 15 and in the blink of an eye, held a 26-19 lead over Florida State late in the fourth quarter.
Quarterback Danny McManus led a late last-minute drive for Florida State – capped off by a touchdown pass to Ronald Lewis to make the score 26-25 – with 42 seconds left. Seminoles coach Bobby Bowden opted to go for the two-point conversion for a possible win after McManus and his teammates made the plea to not settle for an extra point for a potential tie.
FSU went for two as McManus dropped back and found tight end Pat Carter in the corner of the end zone, but defensive back Bubba McDowell broke up the pass as Miami escaped Doak Campbell Stadium by a thread.
Wide Left I
The Hurricanes entered the Oct. 12, 2002 meeting as the unstoppable force in college football with a 27-game win streak and a national championship defense under their belts as the Florida State Seminoles aimed to end the run.
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FSU led 27-14 early in the fourth quarter and appeared to be on the verge of ending Miami’s win-streak, but the eye of the hurricane developed. The Hurricanes stormed back with a pair of touchdowns to take a 28-27 lead with a little over five minutes left in regulation.
Quarterback Chris Rix drove Florida State into Miami territory to set up placekicker Xavier Beitia for a 43-yard field goal attempt with the game at stake. Beitia’s kick had all of the distance possible to convert, but the ball once more had other plans – wide left as time expired and Miami dodged yet another last second FSU field goal attempt.
Miami rode its win streak all the way to the national championship game at the Fiesta Bowl, but fell short to Ohio State in double overtime, while Florida State finished 9-5 and fell to Georgia in the Sugar Bowl.
