Dan Mowrey

Gerry Thomas

Gino Torretta

Lamar Thomas

Horace Copeland

Dennis Erickson

The '91 Seminoles entered their annual showdown with Miami on November 16 ranked #1 in the nation, a position they had held since the preseason.

• The Seminoles had survived all tests so far, although they were worn down physically and psychologically from the process. The game at LSU had particularly taken its toll.
• FSU hoped to extend its 16-game home winning streak. Still, the fans considered the previous ten games to be warmups for the final two against Miami and Florida. A sign in a Tallahassee business window said: Congrat­ulations FSU on a perfect 10-0 preseason record.
• One chink in the Seminoles' armor was kicking. Dan Mowrey missed eight PATs in the first six games, more than FSU had missed during the previous seven seasons. Bobby Bowden lamented: I can see now why the pros hate to draft kickers.
• Coach decided to use sophomore walk-on Gerry Thomas on conversions and continue with Mowrey on FGs. However, a few weeks later, Thomas took over the 3-point kicking as well.

This was the 26th matchup of the top two teams since the AP poll was inaugurated in 1936, but the first time the combatants hailed from the same state.

• It was FSU's first 1 vs 2 experience and UM's third, the Canes having lost to Penn State in the 1987 Fiesta Bowl and defeated Oklahoma in the '88 Orange Bowl.
• The Hurricanes had started the season at #3 but leapfrogged Michigan after starting the season with a 31-3 pasting of Arkansas and a 40-10 whipping of Houston. They had passed their only stern test of the season when they defeated Penn State 26-20 in the Orange Bowl.
• The Canes would attack FSU's third-ranked D with the nation's #1 O. QB Gino Torretta threw to a set of wideouts known as the "Ruthless Posse" - Lamar Thomas, Horace Copeland, and Kevin Williams. Torretta said earlier in the season: They make my job a whole lot easier. I just try to get them the ball as quickly as I can, and let them make the plays.

Arriving in the Florida capital, Miami coach Dennis Erickson pronounced the FSU-UM series as "the best rivalry in all of college football."

• The winner would not only keep or take over the top spot but earn a trip to the Orange Bowl to play the Big 8 champion for the national title.
• Noting that Miami owned several crowns while he had none, Bowden joked: Dennis ain't gonna let us have one to make us feel good.
• For what it was worth, Florida State was installed as a 3-point favorite, which means the oddsmakers considered the home field advantage as the difference between the teams.
• Perhaps they didn't take into account that fact that Miami had won four of its last five visits to Tallahassee. They also ignored the fact that the Canes had won seven straight against #1 teams.

The night before the game, Bowden addressed the team at the Holiday Inn in Thomasville GA.

Men, I'm tired of being intimidated by Miami. ... Miami hasn't been behind this year. You and I have played in the mud. You and I have been 13 points behind in a rainstorm. You ain't supposed to come back and win them kind.

We've played in freezing weather. We've played with a 30mph wind ... We've played before 105,000 people. Men, we've been tested. Miami hasn't been through the test. They'll get their test tomorrow.

It will be a sixty-minute fight. There's no way we can expect for anything to happen in that game that will cause it to be over in ten minutes. One of their LBs, [Michael] Barrow, said, "We're going to be so tired after the Florida State game that the cheerleaders will have to drag us off the field." That was pretty good. I hope we feel that way. That we give every drop.

Now show class tomorrow. Dennis is controlling those guys real well. They can't hardly stand it. They're not used to that. But don't try to outshowboat those guys. We don't want that image. Your momma don't want that image. Your daddy don't want it. If he pushes me, I walk away. If he cusses me, I walk away. If he slugs me, I walk away. Then I see him after the ball game. I'll let you out early if you want to do that. Hand the ball to the official. Show good sportsmanship.

Continued below ...

References: Sunshine Shootouts, Jeff Miller (1992)
Saint Bobby and the Barbarians: The Inside Story of a Tumultuous Season
with the Florida State Seminoles, Ben Brown (1992)
Top of Page

 
Gino Torretta runs for a first down.

References: Sunshine Shootouts, Jeff Miller (1992)
Saint Bobby and the Barbarians: The Inside Story of a Tumultuous Season
with the Florida State Seminoles, Ben Brown (1992)

Top of Page

Casey Weldon


Amp Lee

Shannon Baker


Lonnie Johnson


Joe Ostaszewski


Edgar Bennett


Marvin Jones


Sterling Palmer

 

Casey Weldon

Brad Johnson

Lonnie Johnson

 

 

Gino Torretta

• First, disaster struck when Corwin Francis sacked QB Casey Weldon from his blind side, knocking his wind out and forcing him to retire to the sidelines.
• Backup QB Brad Johnson entered and surprised the crowd by scrambling right and throwing back across the field to Amp Lee for 19y. Then Big Brad, all 6'6" 215lb of him, ran for 9y to midfield.
• After Lee gained 4, Weldon returned and was promptly sacked again,Miami's fourth for the day.
• Casey rallied to throw three straight completions, including one that broke FSU's 0-for-6 streak on third down conversions, gave the Noles a first down at the 8.
• After Lee slipped and lost two, TE Lonnie Johnson was flagged for holding, pushing the ball back to the 22 and visibly angering Bobby Bowden.
• FB Edgar Bennett got back 8 of the yards, but Weldon's pass to a leaping Ryan Baker in the EZ sailed through his hands.
• So Gerry Thomas booted a 31y FG to increase the lead to 13-7.

Miami mounted a drive of its own.

• Starting on their 28 after the kickoff, the Canes made it to the FSU 34 before bogging down. Carlos Huerta came on to try a 51-yarder. A split second before he kicked the ball short and to the right, FSU called timeout. Coach Dennis Erickson then sent on the punt team, causing Huerta to fling his helmet to the ground behind the bench.
• Using trap plays up the middle against the aggressive D-line, FSU moved methodically to a first down at the 10 with just seconds remaining in Q3.
• In any close contest, a key to victory is converting opportunities into 7 points and not just 3. FSU had a chance to extend its lead to 13 points.
• But the D dug in and stopped Lee for no gain, then stopped Johnson on the 4 after he took a short pass over the middle. On third down, Bennett tried slanting to his left but could gain only a yard.
• With a chance to at least get more than one TD ahead, Bowden elected for another Thomas FG to make it 16-7 with 14:22 remaining.

Miami mixed passes and runs to move into scoring range.

• They moved deftly to the FSU 13. Then a false-start penalty and two straight sacks of Gino Torretta, FSU's fifth and sixth of the afternoon, pushed them back to the 27.
• So Erickson settled for Huerta's 45y FG to pull within six, 16-10, with 9:48 on the clock.

Errol McCorvey

Terrell Buckley

Eric Turral

• The Noles made one first down, then on third down, Baker was open 15y downfield on a curl pattern but dropped the pass. The WR would see no more action. So the Canes took the punt back to their 42 with 7:20 to go.
• For the third straight play from scrimmage, the Seminoles sacked Torretta. But Gino fought back with a 22y completion to a leaping TE Coleman Bell over CB Errol McCorvey to the FSU 41.
• Stephen McGuire swept LE for 8, then broke up the middle for 17 more to the 16.
• Torretta basically threw the ball away when he saw that CB Terrell Buckley had Horace Copeland well covered in the EZ.
• After McGuire gained 4, Miami faced a crucial third-and-6 at the 12. Torretta went to the out pattern again, this time to RB Kevin Williams, who slipped after making his cut and fell down. That brought up fourth-and-6. With the clock under four minutes, Erickson chose to go for it.
• FSU D-coordinator Mickey Andrews thought about putting his corners in bump-and-run coverage. But he decided not to take a chance on a TD pass over them.
• As the Canes lined up, Buckley positioned himself at the 5 across from Copeland, who hadn't caught a ball all day. At the snap, Terrel backpedaled to the goal line. So Copeland ran past the first-down marker, turned, and took in Gino's pass a second before Buckley drove him backward. The motion motion made it a first down on the 3.
• Miami then ran three straight plays at the right side of the Seminole line. McGuire gained 1, then 1 again. On third down, the FB and TE lined up in the backfield to the QB's left with Larry Jones right behind Torretta. Jones took the handout and burrowed into the EZ to tie the game with 3:01 left.
• Unknown to the Seminoles, Miami faced a challenge on the PAT. The regular snapper had left the game with a strained knee. So DL Rusty Medearis, the backup snapper on punts, took over for the crucial play. Even though he had never hiked for a placekick in a game, he did his job, and Huerta booted the EP to make it 17-16.
• Some Seminoles fans remembered that exact score eight years earlier when Miami won in Tallahassee to earn an Orange Bowl berth against #1 Nebraska.

• ABC TV announcer Keith Jackson reminded the audience:

All they need is three. Their history in place kicking has not been pronounced.

• Starting from the 20 after a touchback, Weldon connected with Kez McCorvey for 9, then Lee gained 4 for a first down.
• An 11y aerial to Eric Turral on an out pattern moved the chains and stopped the clock with 2:27 showing. DT Eric Miller sacked Weldon for a 3y loss. FSU used its second timeout. 2:18 to go.
• Bennett gained 6 to the 47. Then Weldon floated a pass over the middle to Edgar for 6 more to make it 4th-and-1. After precious seconds ticked away while the officials decided whether Bennett went out of bounds or made the first down, Bowden used his last timeout, knowing that the next play was essential to victory.
• Both of his kickers, Thomas and Dan Mowrey, warmed up on the sidelines in hopes of being called on. But they wouldn't be needed if FSU didn't make this first down.
• Bowden didn't try anything fancy, just a handoff to Bennett around RE for 7 to keep the championship hopes alive. They even got a break when an injury to Medearis stopped the clock at the 1:10 mark.
• Weldon then made a clutch play. Rolling right but not seeing anyone open on that side, he threw back to the left side to Bennett who got out of bounds at the 33. Six more seconds had elapsed.
• After an incompletion on second down, Weldon went for the home run on third down. Turral broke away from one-on-one coverage by Ryan McNeil and was open 20y downfield. However, E. T. had gone inside when the route called for an outside move. So Casey hesitated a fraction of a second before lofting the ball toward the EZ halfway between the corner of the EZ and the post. Turral went to the corner after all, but the inside throw allowed McNeil to jump into him and draw an interference penalty rather than allow the sure TD.
• The 15y penalty made it first down at the 18 with 53 seconds remaining. That meant a 35y FG if no more yards were gained or lost. Thomas's longest of the season was 40.
• The game is won, Bowden thought. Don't do anything stupid to lose it. So he called a run to the right to position the ball more in the center of the field. Lee took the handoff but, seeing no room, instinctively veered left, gaining just a yard and putting the ball on the left hash mark.
• Weldon lost his shoe on the play and knelt to replace it with the clock running. So Bowden directed O-coordinator Brad Scott to signal Casey to kill the clock.
• With 40 whole seconds left, the QB indicated he wanted to run 46, a toss sweep to Lee. He planned to remind the TB to keep the ball in the center of the field.
• But Scott didn't change his mind. Spike it. Weldon did as instructed.

The situation showed 3rd-and-9 at the 19 with 29 seconds left.

• Running the ball was out of the question with no timeouts available. And passing would raise the specter of a disastrous sixth sack.
• So Bowden sent in the FG unit. Brad Johnson knelt at the 24 to take the snap.

Let's pause in our narrative to review something that happened in the summer of 1991.

• The NCAA Football Rules Committee was disturbed that many coaches were content to settle for three points instead of advancing for TDs.
• So in its wisdom, the committee narrowed the width of the goalpost from 23' 4" to 18' 6".

As FSU lined up for the FG, Jackson announced to the TV audience:

And this is for a win. And this could be for a national championship.

• The snap and hold were fine. Thomas's boot sailed toward the right upright with plenty of distance. It would be close either way.
• Many of the Seminole fans were so certain it was on target that they began to celebrate.
• Johnson jumped up and raised his arms to signal the FG was good. But Thomas, standing behind him, made no gesture. He could see the ball drifting to the right.
• Bowden, confused by the crowd, reminded himself to restrain his players so they wouldn't get a celebration penalty.
• Jackson proclaimed:

It's up. ... Missed it to the right!

• Bowden jogged toward the South End Zone with a grin on his face only to pull up short when he saw the officials signaling no good. The coach said to no one in particular:

What's goin' on? I thought it was good.

• A few moments after reporting the miss, Jackson noted:

You know what just ran through my mind - and Todd Berry reminded me of it - last year, that kick is good.

L: Thomas after Wide Right; R: Bowden greets Erickson afterwards

Miami had beaten FSU by a single point for the fourth time since 1980.

• Thomas stood on the sideline as the Hurricanes celebrated to the point of drawing a 15y penalty.
• When the game ended, the Miami players danced in victory and saluted their fans. Some carved up slices of the turf to take back home. Maybe they'd start their own Sod Cemetery, they told reporters.

The Seminoles couldn't get to the locker room fast enough.

• Some banged their helmets into lockers. Some kicked stools and ripped off their gear in frustration.
• Do we have to score for them too? yelled DE Toddrick McIntosh, angry at the offense.
• Most players, however, stumbled in like zombies. Many cried openly; others had glistening eyes.
• When Bowden finally addressed the team, he told them:

There was only one difference today. You probably fought as hard as they fought. They made one more big play than we did.

• Thomas faced reporters teary-eyed and accepted blame for the defeat: I didn't do my job.
• Across the way, Erickson pronounced it the greatest win I've ever been involved with.

Aftermath

• Miami edged Boston College the next week before closing with a romp over San Diego State. A 22-0 pasting of Nebraska in the Orange Bowl clinched their national championship.
• The Seminoles lost the next week at Florida, then won a lackluster Cotton Bowl in frigid conditions over Texas A&M to finish #4.
• 23 Seminoles and 18 Hurricanes who suited out that day made NFL rosters, purportedly the most ever in a single game.

Charlie Ward and Bobby Bowden

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lou Holtz

Rick Minter

Mickey Andrews

• #1 Florida State had won all nine of its games by 18 or more points.
• The #2 Fighting Irish sported the same record, their only close game being a 27-23 victory in Ann Arbor.
• The Noles averaged a national-best 44.3 ppg while ND weighed in at 37 ppg. FSU also led the nation in scoring D as well (6.4).

The game had special meaning to Bobby Bowden.

• He recalled listening to Notre Dame football on the radio when he was growing up in Birmingham. In particular, he idolized QB Angelo Bertelli, 1943 Heisman Trophy winner.
• His Noles had won their only meeting with the Irish in 1981, one of the many road games on the brutal schedules of his early years in Tallahassee.

Bobby had several major concerns heading into the clash.

• Notre Dame had two weeks to prepare for the Seminole invasion.
• Bobby's star QB Charlie Ward still suffered from sore ribs from the hit he suffered in the Wake Forest game two weeks earlier. Charlie sat out the Maryland game to make sure he was as healthy as possible for the Irish.
• Charlie had a philosophical attitude toward the matchup:

If we won all of our games, and they won all their games, we would have ended up playing them anyway [in a bowl].

The Seminole players seemed to go out of their way to deemphasize the Notre Dame mystique.

• Ward: It's just another game. It's Notre Dame, of course, and they have a lot of tradition, and I understand that. I've heard a lot of people talking about the tradition, and South Bend. I'm sure it's a lovely town. I'm going there to play a football game. I'm not going there to sightsee. We're going out of town to play. It's no different than going to the Orange Bowl. It's no different than going to Florida Field. It's no different than going to North Carolina.
• Two of his teammates gave the identical answer when asked about classic Notre Dame names they had heard. "Rock Knutne," said WR Kez McCorvey. "Rock Knutne," replied LB Chris Cowart.
• When asked about the Fighting Irish tradition, CB Clifton Abraham said: Things like that don't impress me. I'm not living in the 1940's. I'm living in the 1990's.
• Another Seminole referred to "the Three Horsemen." WR Tamarick Vanover asked, "What's the Gipper?"
• When the Seminoles went through a light workout in Notre Dame Stadium the day before the contest, they wore green FSU baseball caps with shamrocks on them.

Irish Coach Lou Holtz had all the bulletin board material he needed.

• Yet his players had also provided the Noles with extra motivation by questioning their class and brainpower. A popular t-shirt on campus read CATHOLICS VS. CREMINOLES.
• The oddsmakers did FSU no favors by installing Notre Dame as 14-point underdogs on their home field despite their #2 ranking. Holtz used the lack of respect to spur his team.

Holtz and his D-coordinator Rick Minter set three lofty goals for their senior-laden defensive unit.

• Keep Ward under 10y rushing.
• Keep FSU under 100y rushing.
• Prevent the Seminoles from gaining more than 50y after pass receptions (what today is called "YAC," yards after catch).

Lou had this to say about Ward and his "Fast Break" offense.

We just have to be patient. We aren't going to stop them. We've played pretty well on defense this year, but we've never faced a team that runs and throws and has the overall skill and talent, and the confidence level, of Florida State. ... We aren't going to confuse Charlie Ward. Here's a fifth-year senior. He's seen all the coverages. The blitz isn't going to faze him, the full-court press, he's been under pressure in basketball. He knows what he's doing.

DE Brian Hamilton:

We've played some good QBs, but Charlie Ward does bring a new dimension. We know we can't let him get outside of the pocket. We're emphasizing keeping him in the pocket, but we also have some things to get some pressure on him.

On the other side, Mickey Andrews' D had to contain the Irish's #5-ranked rushing O averaging over 275y per game.

• The Golden Domers did nothing fancy, just batter opponents behind a fearsome O line that weighed in at over 1,400 pounds. The smallest member was C Tim Ruddy, a mere 286. But he compensated by being the strongest player on the team, bench pressing better than 500 pounds.
• The Seminoles would face that bulk with a three-man front whose biggest player was 268lb E Toddrick McIntosh. Andrews would try to neutralize the size with speed. Bowden:

In this Notre Dame team, I can see a lot of Woody Hayes. There's power in everything they do. This team is dominated by blue-chip athletes. They play a different style than what we're used to. It's like a black-and-blue division game.

Speed is nice, but when they run right straight at you, how can you pursue something that comes at you? You pursue things that run away from you. Notre Dame don't like to run away from people all that much.

FSU hoped the weather would not be too bad on the south shore of Lake Michigan. In that, they got a break. The day was gray and chilly but without the rain that was forecast. Let the game begin!

References: No. 1 Noles! FSU's National Championship Season,
The Tallahassee Democrat (1994)
Top of Page

A typical fall day in South Bend with a chill in the air, the leaves turned brown, and 59,075 fans watching "The Game of the Century" - 9-0 Florida State (#1) vs 9-0 Notre Dame (#2).

• For the first time, ESPN's seven-year-old College Game Day program left the studio and set up shop outside the stadium even though the game was televised by Notre Dame's network, NBC. Lee Corso picked his alma mater to win 31-30. He came within a few seconds of almost nailing the score.
• The game attracted celebrities, including Spike Lee, a friend of FSU QB Charlie Ward, and talk show host and ND grad Phil Donahue.
• Scalpers were selling end zone seats for $400 and sidelines for $1,000.
• NBC's sideline reporter, O. J. Simpson, interviewed Coach Bowden right before the game.
• Ten years later, Bobby called it:

  Greatest atmosphere I've ever been in. That was the most electrifying one I've ever been in. I mean, man, was it thick. You could feel it.

The Seminoles, showing no signs of intimidation, started the game with a bang.

• The D held the Irish and forced a punt to the 11.
• From there, Ward conducted a clinic to score in 10 plays. He scrambled twice for 34y and completed all five of his passes, the last one a 12y TD toss over a blitz to Kevin Knox, who made the catch at the 8 and spun past the defender.
• The Noles would not score again until less than 5 minutes remained in Q3.

The Irishwasted no time in tying the game.

• After the kickoff went into the EZ, QB Kevin McDougal cranked up an 80y drive, 70 of which came on the ground.
• When ND reached the FSU 32, Coach Lou Holtz pulled some dipsy-doo. Taking advantage of the Noles' great pursuit, he called a reverse that worked perfectly. The ball carrier started left, then gave the pigskin to flanker Adrian Jarrell who raced untouched to pay dirt. It was Jarrell's fourth carry of his college career.
• LB Derrick Brooks, in particular, bit hard on the play, following the blockers and FB to his right.

They surprised me on that reverse when they used my speed against me. Our line was doing the job of getting to their guys, and then we'd miss tackles or overrun plays.

• Jarrett wouldn't have scored without the block of LT Aaron Taylor, who ran 30y from the other side of the field to clear out the last defender. RT Todd Norman jokingly explained afterwards:

He's supposed to fall down on the other side of the field, but he comes all the way across and makes my block. He was moving pretty good for a ma of his obesity.

• Flushed from the pocket but completing passes on the run, Ward led a drive past midfield. But a third down sack led to a missed 54y FG by Scott Bentley that gave ND good field position.

Lee Corso picks FSU over ND 1993

Kevin Knox

Kevin McDougal

L: Adrian Jarrell scores first ND TD; R: Charlie Ward scrambles

The game moved into Q2, which proved to be an unmitigated disaster for FSU.

• When Notre Dame faced fourth-and-1 at the FSU 30 early in the period, Holtz went for it, but the Noles stuffed McDougal on a sneak to take possession.
• The FSU O found the going tough against the wind. Also, ND D coordinator Rick Minter had installed a scheme that involved three and four linemen pressuring Ward without blitzes. That allowed the LBs and secondary to sit back and cover the receivers.
• So the Irish came right back, pounding the ball on the ground as Bowden feared. Lee Becton's 26y run produced a 14-7 lead with 10:42 left in the half. Lee had already gained 100y for a school-record fifth straight game.
• The Irish capitalized on a turnover to make it 21-7. With the ball on his own 6, thanks to a disastrous double lateral that lost 14y, Ward rolled right in the EZ and lofted a pass toward Knox behind the secondary. But the strong wind held the ball up, and John Covington intercepted to put the Irish only 39y from another six. The INT doubled Charlie's count for the season, breaking a streak of 159 attempts without a pick. Four plays later, Jeff Burris, an All-American candidate at safety who was used as a runner in goal-line situations, ran in from the 6 after breaking an arm tackle by Toddrick McIntosh and bouncing off Brooks.

John Covington intercepts Ward's pass intended for Kevin Knox

 
L: Jeff Burris scores Notre Dame's third TD. R: Ray Zellars rambles.

The Seminoles faced their biggest deficit since trailing Georgia Tech by the same score in 1992. Ward had led a scintillating comeback in that game that established the "Fastbreak Offense" as Bowden's preferred mode of attack. Could Charlie work his magic again?

• After an exchange of punts, FSU began running the ball effectively, Sean Jackson and William Floyd doing the damage. But Knox fumbled after a completion to halt the momentum.
• When the period mercifully ended after another punt swap, the Noles found themselves behind at intermission for the first time in 23 games, dating to the Florida game in 1991.
• With an O line that outweighed the FSU defensive front by 42 pounds per man, the Irish gained 165y on the ground in the half, a pace that would allow them to exceed their 275y average per game. With a lead, there was no need for Holtz to deviate from his rush-first game plan in the second half.
• Also, ND had sacked Ward twice after he had been snared only seven times in the first nine games.
• Averaging 565y per game, FSU was held to a measly 39 in Q2.

L: Kevin McDougal pitches out. R: One of the many missed tackles - Zellars eludes Clifton Abraham.

With Florida State receiving to start the second half, Holtz chose to put the Noles against the wind for another 15 minutes.

• The plan worked beautifully as the Irish held, then drove into FSU territory to set up Kevin Pendergast's 47y FG with the wind, the longest of his career.
• The Tribe O finally came to life on the next possession, mounting a drive that culminated in Ward's pass in the left flat to freshman RB Warrick Dunn who scampered into the EZ from 6y out.

Doing a much better job of defensing the Irish, the Seminoles drew closer in Q4.

• With 10:40 left in the game, Scott Bentley booted a 24y FG with the wind to cut the lead to 24-17. Ward found Kez McCorvey four times for 38y and went 7-for-8 on the scoring drive.
• With all the momentum on the side of the Noles, Notre Dame mounted a classic nine-play, 80y drive that ended in Burris's 11y TD run to take a seemingly insurmountable 31-17 with only 4:05 on the clock.
• On all four Fighting Irish TDs, the runner was upright when he crossed the goal line.

Staying calm as he always did, Ward directed another drive.

• With the D tiring, the Seminoles reached the ND 5, but a pair of penalties made it fourth and goal from the 20.
• Charlie spotted McCorvey in the back of the EZ, but didn't see S Brian Magee. Fortunately, Magee tipped the ball into McCorvey's grasp to cut the margin in half with 2:26 left.
• After wasting two timeouts earlier in the half, the Noles had only one left. After a failed onside kick, the Nole D forced an Irish punt after three plays, using the timeout in the process. The partially-blocked punt against the wind netted just 5y, giving Ward & Company possession at their 37 with 0:51 showing.
• Charlie began the desperation drive by flipping the ball to McCovey for 9. Then Charlie hit Dunn for 4 and a first down. Then followed two more completions to McCorvey, 18y each. Amazingly, the Noles had reached the ND 14 with 10 seconds left. Time for two passes.
• Ward's first attempt was batted down at the line, leaving but 3 ticks on the clock.
• Both Irish and Seminole fans will remember the final play to their dying day. FSU LB Ken Alexander knelt near the bench on the 30y line and closed his eyes, unable to watch.
• Knowing he had to throw the ball into the EZ, Charlie scrambled out of the pocket to his left. He didn't see an open Matt Frier but instead locked on Dunn in the back of the EZ. Warrick, whose eyes got big as the ball came toward him, never got a chance to snag the TD because DB Shawn Wooden cut in front at the 2 and knocked it down.
• The fans stormed the field to celebrate their Irish taking over the #1 spot.

The post-mortems included recriminations and talk of a rematch.

Video highlights of the game

Continued below ...

References: "Round 1 to the Irish," Austin Murphy, Sports Illustrated,
November 22, 1993
"No. 1 FSU can't stop No. 2 Notre Dame, now hopes for rematch," Steve Ellis, Tallahassee Democrat, November 14, 1993

Aaron Taylor exults in front of Devin Bush after ND's fourth TD

Brian Magee

 

Lou Holtz

Bobby Bowden

Derrick Alexander

Warrick Dunn

BC Kicks Winning FG at ND

After his team won the "Game of the Century" 31-24, Notre Dame Coach Lou Holtz praised his opponent.

Florida State is the best football team we have beaten since I've been coaching.

All we were doing was trying to be the best football team in the stadium, not the country. That was our objective.

• Lou also pointed out a shortcoming that some Seminoles agreed with: I did think they'd try to run the ball more.
• Notre Dame did just exactly what FSU feared they would: run right at them behind their huge O line that outweighed the defensive front 39lb a man. Said LG Mark Zatavesi of 6'4" 299lb LT Aaron Taylor, 6'5" 273lb RT Todd Norman, and 6'3" 295lb C Tim Ruddy: That's really the core of the team, right there. You can run anything behind those three guys.
• Lee Becton turned in his fifth straight 100y rushing game, gaining 122, more than all Seminoles runners combined, on 26 carries.

FSU's reign as #1 ended after 12 weeks, the longest streak in school history.

• Bobby Bowden:

You all asked me about Notre Dame, and I'm not making any excuses or alibis. They won because they were the better team. Today.
I'm sure some will say the "big one" got away. After six years, I finally found out what the big one is - it's the one you lose. The Miami game this year [a 28-10 victory] wasn't a big one. This was a big one.
I'd like to be Lou Holtz tonight. He'll have a good time.

• DE Derrick Alexander summarized the game like this:

The reason we lost was missed tackles. If we missed a hundred of them, I would not be surprised at all. So many were in third-down situations where we had made the play. They have great backs, and they ran through us like they said they would.

There was much talk by the media and even the players in those pre-BCS days of a rematch in a bowl game.

• Sports Illustrated's article on the game was headlined, "Round 1 to the Irish."
• FSU FB William Floyd used the same term right after the game: We're hoping this was just Round 1.
• Not all Noles were that optimistic. RB Warrick Dunn recalled:

We thought we deserved to be in the national championship game. But we thought that loss ended our chances. We were wondering how far we'd drop in the polls. We didn't drop far. [#2]

Some aspects of the game stuck in the craw of some FSU players and Coach Bowden a decade or more afterwards.

• WR Kez McCorvey, who caught 10 passes for 124y in the second half:

When we pulled up to the stadium and, as we walked onto the field, we noticed they had turned the sprinkler system on. I was thinking to myself, "Who would turn the sprinkler system on before a game?" Only at Notre Dame ... As the game progressed, we kind of saw how that water advantage came into play. They were stronger up the middle, they were a bigger team; they weren't as fast but they were powerful up the middle. We were a quicker team, but we had bd footing the whole game. ...
My high school coach sent me some long spikes. I was the only one on our side of the field that had good footing.

• Bowden remembered the last minute of the game when there were people standing in the back of the end zone, making it difficult for his QB, Charlie Ward, to find an open receiver.

I've never played a team that crowds the end zone like that. I mean it's nearly unfair. If the end zone would have been open, it's not unlike Ward to have spotted [an open Tamarick Vanover] - there's a body over there, instead of 1,000 bodies. That's the thing I'll remember about that doggone game.

• Bobby made a major admission to a reporter writing an article on FSU's first visit to South Bend since the '93 game (a contest the Noles won 37-0 over Ty Willingham's Not-So-Fighting Irish).

I did nothing right that week. I tried to downplay their spirit. I knew [Notre Dame] thrives off that. But they made us eat everything that was said.

• He also rued having his players wear green hats with FSU on them for the workout the day before the game.

I thought that would be a nice gesture for them. "We'll wear Notre Dame's colors with Florida State on them. That'd be nice." Well, they jumped all over that thing. You have to hand a lot of that to Lou Holtz. He was a master at getting his team up for you.

To the same writer, Holtz recalled his team's motivation.

We were No. 2 in the country, but we were a two-touchdown underdog. I thought that was sort of a lack of respect for our program.

• He said his biggest problem was keeping his players' excitement under control.

We were loose and had great preparation so all you had to do was keep the players from getting too excited too early and that's when you really know you're home with your program.

Notre Dame's stay at #1 lasted only a week.

• Boston College upset the Irish 41-39 in South Bend on a last-second FG to drop ND to #4 in the AP poll and put Florida State back on top with undefeated Nebraska #2.
• However, 1993 was the second season of the Bowl Coalition poll, which was inaugurated by five conferences (SEC, Big 8, SWC, ACC, Big East) and Notre Dame and six bowl games (Orange, Sugar, Cotton, Fiesta, Gator, and John Hancock) to ensure quality post-season matchups, including a #1 vs #2 clash if bowl contracts allowed it.
  • The Coalition Poll had the Cornhuskers #1 and FSU #2. When both teams won their season finales against their archrivals Oklahoma and Florida to keep their top spots in both polls, they accepted bids to meet in the Orange Bowl in what amounted to the National Championship Game.

It didn't take long after the 1993 loss in South Bend for Florida State to play another Top Two contest.

• This time the Seminoles were #2 playing #1 Nebraska in the Orange Bowl to end the season.
• Bobby Bowden got a second chance at winning his elusive first national championship because Notre Dame lost to Boston College at home the week after the Irish upset the Noles.

Both coaches suffered from the same stigma: outstanding records year after year but no national championship - "Can't win the big one" syndrome.

• Nebraska coach Tom Osborne, the winningest active Division I-A coach (206-45-3, .814 in 21 seasons): I want to win the game very much, and I hope we can have that trophy. However, he added: If you're donig something for 31 years, you hope it doesn't come down to one game to define what you did or didn't do. I'm not obsessed with this game. My main obsession is to have the team play the best it can play.
• Pregame talk included the possibility that FSU could win and still have to share the championship with 11-0 West Virginia should the Mountaineers beat Florida in the Sugar Bowl. "Share the championship" meant one team finished atop the AP poll and the other was #1 in the USA Today-CNN rankings.
• Bowden, the second winningest coach (238-78-3 in 28 years) in the top division, said he'd settle for a piece of the title: You'd like to be so good that you could win it all. But if it didn't happen, I'm sure i could survive by winning one of them.
• Because of their 11-0 record, the Cornhuskers were expected to finish atop both rankings should they emerge victorious in Miami regardless of what WVU did.
• #4 Notre Dame was considered to have little to no chance of finishing on top of either poll even if they beat Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl.
• Despite their #2 ranking, the Noles were favored by 17 points, a betting line that disturbed both coaches.
  Osborne: If the gamblers know what they're talking about, it's an uncomfortable feeling.
  Bowden: When you're favored like we are, you're not supposed to worry. But I worry more. You're always afraid that the kids and the coaches might underestimate the opponent.
  Still, he added: The closer to the game I get, the looser I get.

The two programs had opposite bowl streaks entering the game.

• The Seminoles hoped to extend their eight-game winning streak and 11-game non-losing streak in bowl games.
• Nebraska, on the other hand, wanted to end its six-game slide in postseason games, including a 27-14 loss to FSU in the 1993 Orange Bowl.
• That victory gave Bowden a 1-2 record in Orange Bowl games, but that topped Osborne's dismal 1-6 mark in Miami.
• Bobby enjoyed a 4-1 advantage in head-to-head matchups with Dr. Tom.

Osborne's decision at the end of the 1984 Orange Bowl still provided fodder for discussion.

• Undefeated and ranked #1 that season just as they were ten years later, the Huskers roared back from a 17-point deficit to Miami to pull within a point with 48 seconds left. Tom decided to go for two, but QB Turner Gill's pass was knocked down in the EZ. Most observers felt that a tie would have clinched the top spot for Nebraska.
• When asked about it before the '94 Orange Bowl, Tom replied: You can call it courageous, but to be courageous, you have to be aware of the choicees. I didn't know there was a choice. I didn't waiver or agonize over that decision. I just thought we had to win it.
• When a reporter asked him if he'd make the same decision if the situation arose against FSU, Osborne said: I suppose I'd do the same thing. I suppose my instinct wouild still be to try and win it. But I can't tell you that for sure.
• If Tom had any regrets, he had kept them to himself. The only thing I have now that I didn't have then is an understanding of how things work. A lot of people have told me since then that if we took the tie, we would have won the national championship. It's not like I'm going to step off the end of the earth if we don't win this one.

The teams were healthy entering the fray.

• Bowden had a slight concern when QB Charlie Ward missed most of practice two days before the game because of a sore throat and slight fever. But the Heisman Trophy winner was expected to be 100% by kickoff.
• Both teams boasted All-American LBs, Trev Alberts for Nebraska and Derrick Brooks of FSU.

The teams had achieved their lofty perches with contrasting offensive styles.

• Osborne's philosophy was run, run, and run some more. I-back Calvin Jones led the Big Eight with 1,043y rushing on 185 carries. QB Tommie Frazier ran the option deftly (704y on 126 carries) but could also pass (77-of-162 for 1,159y). However, NU's leading receiver, Abdul Muhammad, had only 25 receptions for 383y.
• FSU's Ward, by contrast, had thrown the ball over twice as many times as Frazier, connecting on 264-of-380 for 3,032y. His favorite receiver, Kez McCorvey, had 74 receptions for 966y. FSU fielded two TBs with more than 500y rushing - Sean Jackson (825) and Warrick Dunn (511).
• Nebraska's "Black Shirts" D allowed 16 points and 307.6 yards per game while the Seminoles surrendered a mere 9.4 points and 284.5y per game.

The highly-anticipated match would not disappoint.

Tom Osborne and Bobby Bowden before their first meeting, in Lincoln in 1980

Charlie Ward and Bowden

Trev Alberts

Derrick Brooks

Calvin Jones

Tommie Frazier

Abdul Muhammad

• Maybe it was the pressure of trying to win their coach's first national championship or the pressure applied by the Black Shirt D or both, but FSU's O line "went out and played like large lumps of Limburger cheese" (Rick Reilly in SI).
• Charlie Ward played like the Heisman Trophy Jinx - the last four winners had lost their bowl games - was alive and well. Reilly:

All week he had his own police officer protecting him everywhere he went, but where was that guy now?

• Nebraska sacked Ward four times in the first half alone, two of them by LB Trev Alberts.
• Knowing Charlie played basketball as well as football, the Cornhusker fans gleefully shouted "N...B...A!"
• Coach Bowden gave another reason for his star QB's ineffectiveness.

Charlie was dead tired from the Heisman and all those dadgum distractions.

An officiating ruling in the first half has caused controversy ever afterwards.

• Nebraska's Corey Dixon ran a punt back 71y for a TD, but the Big East officiating crew called a clip. NBC announcer Bob Trumpy, in those days before officials identified the offender on a penalty, assume the culprit was CB Tyrone Williams and pointed out that the replay showed Williams did not clip.
• After the game, an NBC spokesman told The Miami Herald:
  
  The officials obviously don't have the benefit of instant replay, but none of our replays show a conclusive clip. We looked at it four or five times from different angles and could not find a clip.
  
  
• Reilly, however, wrote:

Well, they looked in the wrong place. Williams didn't clip anyone - FB Lance Gray did.

That bad break was counterbalanced by a good break.

• The only TD of the first half came on a 34y pass from QB Tommie Frazier that bounced off the hands of FSU S Devin Bush into those of SE Reggie Baul, a backup who hadn't made a catch in five games. The 7 on Baul's jersey was lucky that night.
• That made the score 7-3 after Scott Bentley hit a 34y FG earlier in Q2.
• Bentley scored again with a 25y boot with 0:29 left to make it 7-6 Huskers at the half.

The Seminoles dominated Q3.

• Culminating the opening drive of the half, William Floyd scored from the 1 on another controversial play as he fumbled at the goal line. But officials ruled he had broken the plan first.
• Leading 12-7, Bowden went for 2 but Ward's pass fell incomplete.
• With 3:06 left in the period, Bentley's 25y FG made it 15-7.

That set the stage for an eventful final quarter, which ended twice.

Continued below ...

References: "Wide Left," Rick Reilly, Sports Illustrated, January 10, 1994
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L-R: Corey Dixon; Tommy Frazier; Devin Bush; William Floyd fumbles while scoring.

Florida State entered the final 15 minutes leading 15-7. Hold on and Bobby Bowden would win his first national championship.

• The lead almost ended on the very first play of Q4, Nebraska RB Lawrence Phillips scored on a 12y run.
• Tom Osborne didn't hesitate to order a two-point conversion despite haunting memories of a failed two-point conversion at the end of the 1984 Orange Bowl that cost him the national championship to Miami on the same South end of the field.
• QB Tommie Frazier rolled to his right and, not noticing a receiver open in the right rear corner of the EZ, chose to run. But LB Ken Alexander and DE Derrick Alexander knocked him out of bounds on the 1 to preserve the two-point lead.

Nebraska played without its leading rusher, Calvin Jones, and leading receiver, Abdul Muhammad, both of whom were forced to the sidelines with injuries.

• Still, with the D keeping Charlie Ward & Company at bay, the Huskers drove to the FSU 22. On third down and 9, a first-down run by Frazier was nullified when most of the O line moved before the snap.
• Set back to the 29, on the edge of FG range, Frazier made his most costly mistake of an otherwise brilliant evening. Richard Coes stepped in front of Tommie's pass intended for WR Clester Johnson.
• But FSU couldn't make much headway and had to punt the ball back to the Huskers with four minutes left.

Frazier drove his unit downfield again.

• The key play in the drive came on second-and-2 at the FSU 40 when Frazier rambled 32y on an option play. Half the distance to the goal was added becaues of a face mask penalty.
• The Noles dug in and stuffed two runs for before NG Jon Nance dropped the RB for a 5y loss to the 10 to forced a FG attempt.
• Byron Bennett put NU ahead 16-15 with just 1:16 left, sparking a celebration by the 17-point underdogs and their fans, who thought they had finally triumphed in that hexed stadium.
• But in the immortal words that another Seminole was making popular at that time, "Not so fast, my friend."

Needing just a 3-pointer to retake the lead, FSU stormed back with the help of not one but two 15y penalties.

• The first break came right away when the kickoff went out of bounds to give possession on the 35. Afterwards, Ward recalled the huddle: Everyone was looking at me. I got no problem with that. I know I'm going to have to make a play sooner or later.
• A few plays later, Charlie hit RB Warrick Dunn, his roomate, on a down and out route, and he scampered clear across the field 21y to the 33. As he went out of bounds, Barron Miles pushed him, drawing a 15y roughness penalty that Osborne strongly objected to. However, replay showed Warrick was 2y out of bounds when Miles made contact.
• From the 18, Ward threw an incomplete pass intended for Kez McCorvey. Charlie then spotted McCorvey as he raced toward the EZ. But Kez was tripped at the goal line, drawing an interference penalty that put the ball at the 3.
• TB Sean Jackson lost 2 before Bowden decided not to take a chance and sent out the FG unit despite his many Wide Right and Wide Left experiences. However, caught up in the excitement, he called timeout too soon when he could have let another 10 ticks count off, a mistake that nearly cost him the game.
• K Scott Bentley recalled: It was like everyone expected me to miss. It's like, if it comes down to Bentley, he'll miss it.
• In the stands, his father sat while all around him stood screaming. His mother just felt sick. His brother, a junior at Creighton who tended bar in Omaha, thought that tips would be low in 1994 if Scott made it.
• But that's what he did, booming a 22-yarder through the uprights with 21 seconds to send the Garnet and Gold into ecstacy.
• In Dallas where they had won the Cotton Bowl that afternoon, Notre Dame players watching on TV leaped to their feet and cheered because they thought a Seminole win would give the Irish the national championship since they had beaten FSU in November.

But the game wasn't over.

• A 15y walkoff for excessive celebration forced Scott to kick off from the 20.
• From his 43 after the runback, Frazier threw an incomplete pass to Trumane Bell. But his next pass connected with Bell down the middle to the FSU 28.
• Pandemonium broke lose when the clock read 0:00. Bowden started across to shake hands with Osborne, as he recalled years later.

They hit me in the head with that stinkin' ice [from the POWERade container]. I don't know if people realize it or not, but that liked to knock me out. ... They hit me with that bucket in the head. If you look at the film, I start to go down. Gosh, that hurt.

But Bobby wouldn't be allowed to enjoy his first national championship just yet.

We go out there to around midfield, and I start to shake hands with Tom; the crowd is all around us. And the official comes up there and says, "Coach Bowden, we got to put one more second on the clock."

I said, "Where is the ball?" And they said on something like the 33y line. Well, their kicker had never kicked one over 47y. I knew what his range was, and this was going to be five yards further than that - 50 or maybe more. So I'm thinking, "No sweat. This kid can't kick one over 47y."

• The officials cleared the field and placed the ball at the 34. Bowden:

Now we're back on the sidelines, and the official comes up to me again and says, "Coach, we were wrong. We got to move the ball up five more yards. The press box said the ball was supposed to be up here." And now I'm thinking, "Now they are in range."

Can you believe this? Not only did they get one second back, but they got five yards out of it. It was really unbelievable. ... You're trying to get everybody focusing on the kick, trying to block that kick. I didn't really say anything to the officials. They call what they see, and once they call it, that's the way it is. I just remember people behind me were cussing the officials. Administrators. There were some upset people on the sidelines. It did cross my mind, "Good gracious, we could lose this thing on all of this."

• In the stands, Bobby's wife Anne was in tears as the Seminoles FG-defense team took off their national championship caps and laid down their national championship t-shirts to try to block the kick.
• Bennett set up for a 45y FG that would end decades of heartbreak for his coach. Just my luck, he thought. I have to reprove myself a few minutes later.
• He slipped on the wet field and hooked the boot badly. Now FSU could rejoice!

After the game, Bobby talked about the second ending to the game: It seemed like some kind of cruel joke to me. Really, the crudest joke ever played on me.

• Still, It was very sweet winning here. It was just our time.
  
• Concerning his calling timeout too soon before Bentley's winning kick: We weren't organized. Tom did a better job than I did. Nebraska played as good or better than us. We're very thankful we won that game. You could say we could have lost. You could say we should have lost. We didn't play very well on offense, but I'll take it.
• The Cornhuskers outgained FSU on the ground 183-47 and 389-333 overall. Osborne: As far as I'm concerned, we won.
• Bennett philosophied: You wait all your life for a chance to kick the winning FG, and it just didn't happen. I think maybe God has something better for me in my life. The two head coaches, both devout Christians, would have commended his attitude. Bentley said of his counterpart: That guy had nothing going for him. With one second left, we had already been on the field celebrating. Then they had to reset everything, plus the angle, plus the wind and the circumstances. He had everything going against him. I felt really bad for him, but I couldn't feel too bad.
• Some Huskers were not so stoic about the Big East officiating crew. LB Trev Alberts: It didn't seem like we got any calls. I was absolutely amazed by some of the officiating. I think it was the worst I've ever seen.

Now the debate turned to who should be voted #1.

• Florida State became the first team since Oklahoma in 1975 to win the national championship after losing a game in November. The Noles' margin was greater in the AP voting than in the coaches' poll.
• The person most upset by that result was Notre Dame Coach Lou Holtz. I didn't think there was any possibility that we wouldn't win it. I guess [the ND win over FSU] didn't count for anything. Everybody said it was the Game of the Century. I guess it's only the Game of the Century if the right team wins it. I hurt. I hurt as bad as I've ever hurt for our players.
• Bowden knew what Lou was going through. I've been there. He might have deserved it more than when I was there, but that's the way the poll works. You got to look at the season overall. Can't just look at one game. We didn't lose to the No. 16 team in the nation at home.

References: "Wide Left," Rick Reilly, Sports Illustrated, January 10, 1994
Bobby Bowden's Tales from the Seminoles Sideline, Bobby Bowden with Steve Ellis (2004)
No. 1 Noles! FSU's National Championship Season, The Tallahassee Democrat (1994)
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Lawrence Phillips

Derrick Alexander

Ken Alexander

John Nance

Tommie Frazier

Richard Coes

Coach Bowden after the second ending

Despondent Cornhusker

There's never been a bigger Florida State game than this one.

Bobby Bowden, not known for hyperbole, spoke those words several days before undefeated Florida, ranked #1, met #2 Florida State, also undefeated, in Tallahassee.

• FSU LB Daryl Bush added his two cents: The winner of this game can go on to the national championship game. And with all this build-up, it'll probably be the biggest game in the schools' history.
• Leave it to Keith Jackson, the voice of ABC College Football, to put it more into perspective: It's the game of the century - this week.

Both teams had roared through their first ten games.

• The closest anyone had come to upending the Seminoles had been Virginia, which lost 31-24 on October 26. Bowden's offensive juggernaut had exceeded 43 points in six games and topped 30 in three others.
• Yet the Gators' slate was more impressive if only because they played in a tougher conference. Steve Spurrier's offense had scored 62 and 65 points as well as 56, 55, 52, 51, 47, and 42. Or, to put it another way, opponents had held UF under 42 just twice (35 against Tennessee and a measly 28 against Vanderbilt). Led by Heisman Trophy candidate Danny Wuerffel, the most accurate passer in NCAA history, Florida averaged nearly 500y per game.
• Danny was a Florida State fan while in high school in Fort Walton Beach. So I definitely was considering playing for Coach Bobby Bowden, Wuerffel recalled later. There were two things that made me decide on Florida. One, Coach Spurrier had so much success; and, two, if I weren't playing football there was no question I'd have gone to Florida. It's funny because my sister was at FSU and I actually went to more of their games when I was in high school. I was naturally and emotionally tied to Florida State. But I wanted to think this through. I leaned on my mind.

The teams' offensive stats would normally point toward a high-scoring, last-team-with-the-ball-wins kind of game except that the two defenses were also among the best in the nation.

• DE's Peter Boulware and Reinard Wilson led the FSU D with 19 and 12 sacks respectively. Bowden on Wuerffel: If we don't harass him some, we won't be able to stop them. Heis so good at finding his open receivers.
• Spurrier in his usual coy, understated style: No one has gone up and down the field on FSU, and that's why they're the No. 1 defense. Hopefully, we can make some yards here and there, run a little and throw a little and see what happens.
• The Gator D geared up to stop RB Warrick Dunn, whom they had not checked in the previous four meetings - including the rematch in the 1995 Sugar Bowl. LB Mike Peterson: You've just go to ... hold him down. Mike added: This is like the Super Bowl.
• A challenge for the Gators that wasn't talked about leading into the game was the fact that both tackles were out: Zach Piller and Mo Collins. A sophomore, Cooper Carlisle, would have to block Boulware. FSU D coordinator Mickey Andrews knew this and planned to take advantage to make it a tough day for Wuerffel.

For the first time since 1987, FSU was an underdog on its home field, with the visitors favored by 2 1/2 points.

• A victory would send the Seminoles to the Sugar Bowl for the national title game on January 2, most likely against the winner of Nebraska-Colorado.
• Florida, the SEC East champions, would meet Alabama in the conference title game the following Saturday. If the Gators won out, they would get the Sugar Bowl slot.
• Spurrier and his players wanted another crack at Nebraska, who had humiliated them in the Bowl Alliance championship game in the Fiesta Bowl the year before, 62-24.

Steve summarized the Game of the Century like this: We don't like FSU and they don't like us. That's the way it should be.

Continued below ...

Reference: Game of My Life: Florida Gators, Pat Dooley (2011)
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