College Football

FSU Football's Most Memorable Bowl Wins: No. 5

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 11:22 p.m. ET

share

facebookxredditlink

Fansided, Jason Parker/FanSided via Chop Chat

FSU football is heading back to another bowl game – here’s a look at the one of the more memorable postseason games in program history.

On January 2nd, 1950, the Florida State Seminoles made program history in just their third season of play. FSU football traveled from Tallahassee to Tampa to take on the Wofford Terriers in the Cigar Bowl – the first time the ‘Noles had been selected to play in a postseason bowl game since the program started.

This season, the Seminoles will take part in their 46th all-time bowl game when they play in the (bowl game) against the (opponent). It will be another in the list of memorable postseason contests for FSU football – a list that has taken the team everywhere from Miami to San Francisco and Atlanta to Dallas and points all over the place.

But, which bowl games have truly been the best ever for the Seminoles? Here’s a look at another memorable moment in the postseason for Florida State.

No. 5 – 1996 Orange Bowl (Florida State 31 Notre Dame 26)

Entering the final game of the 1995 season, FSU football was in a little bit of trouble…well, trouble by the standards set during the dynasty era. Two regular season losses – including the first one to an ACC team when Warrick Dunn got robbed of a touchdown against Virginia – had the Seminoles in danger of their first season with less than 10 wins and finishing outside the top four of the polls since 1986.

The ‘Noles would end up in the Orange Bowl for the third time in a four season period, facing a Notre Dame team that they had split meetings with during the 1993 and 1994 seasons. Early on, things would be in favor of Florida State, with senior quarterback Danny Kanell hitting Andre Cooper for two first half scores and giving FSU a 14-10 lead at the break.

Things would quickly change as the Fighting Irish scored 16 unanswered points in the second half and seemed poised to run away with this game. In the fourth quarter, Florida State woke up as Kanell hit E.G. Green and Cooper for touchdowns within four minutes of each other to retake the lead. The Seminoles would cement the win as Notre Dame was called for intentional grounding, giving FSU two points and the 31-26 victory.

The game was bittersweet in that it was the final scheduled Orange Bowl game to be played at the iconic stadium in the heart of Miami’s Little Havana neighborhood. The 1999 game would be moved there due to a conflict with a Miami Dolphins playoff game, but it was the beginning of the end for a stadium that gave the Seminoles plenty of good and bad memories over its time.

More from Chop Chat

This article originally appeared on

share

Get more from College Football Follow your favorites to get information about games, news and more

in this topic

College Football

Florida State Seminoles

Notre Dame Fighting Irish

Virginia Cavaliers