1993 Florida State Seminoles football team

Updated on Dec 18, 2024

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Coaches No. 1 1993 record 12–1 (8–0 ACC)		AP No. 1 Offensive coordinator Brad Scott (4th year)

Conference Atlantic Coast Conference Head coach Bobby Bowden (18th year)

The 1993 Florida State Seminoles football team represented Florida State University and were the national champions of the 1993 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Bobby Bowden and played their home games at Doak Campbell Stadium.

The season gave the Seminoles their first national title as well as their first Heisman winner in quarterback Charlie Ward.

Season

FSU beat its first five opponents by an average score of 46–3, during which linebacker Derrick Brooks outscored all five opponents combined. The Seminoles' first real contest didn't come until October 9, when the third ranked Miami Hurricanes came to Tallahassee with a 31-game regular season win streak. That game was sealed when FSU safety Devin Bush picked off a Frank Costa pass and ran it back 40 yards for a Florida State touchdown, making the score 28–10 with 4:59 to play.

On November 13, 1993, Florida State played Notre Dame in a matchup of unbeaten teams. FSU was ranked #1 and Notre Dame was ranked #2. With the Bowl Coalition in place the winner of this game, at Notre Dame Stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana, seemed certain to play #3 Nebraska (which would then move up to #2) in the 1994 Orange Bowl for the National Championship.

In a matchup hailed as the "Game of the Century", the Seminoles bid for a perfect season fell short as Notre Dame prevailed, 31–24. The Irish had leads of 24–7 and 31–17 before the Seminoles scored late (on a pass tipped in the end zone) to cut the final margin to seven points. After that game, Notre Dame was voted #1, but FSU only dropped to #2.

However, #1 Notre Dame lost the following week to #17 Boston College 41–39 on a 41-yard field goal as time expired. The voters returned the Seminoles to the #1 spot, and they were matched against Nebraska (now #2) in the Orange Bowl. Florida State rallied late to eke out an 18–16 win, as Nebraska missed a potential game-winning 45-yard field goal on the game's final play. After the bowl games, 12–1 Florida State was voted #1 and 11–1 Notre Dame was voted #2 in both polls.