A tie, in the grand scheme of things, was essentially viewed as a loss. And for a pair of top-5 teams with national-championship aspirations, nobody wanted a tie.
In the 1987 Miami-Florida State game, the Seminoles scored with 42 seconds left on Ronald Lewis' 18-yard catch from Danny McManus. Miami's lead was just 26-25.
Now, every coach would kick the extra point and go to overtime. But 26 years ago, there was no overtime in college football.
Florida State players urged coach Bobby Bowden to consider his options, and Bowden called a timeout.
"He's a winner, he knew how hard we had worked and how much the players on that team wanted to win the game," Florida State running back Sammie Smith told FOX Sports Florida. "We didn't want to tie. We were both highly ranked. A tie was just not in our DNA. Coach Bowden brought us over and said, 'Men, what do you want to do?' We said, 'We want to win this game.'"
McManus' pass, under pressure from a Miami blitz, was broken up and fell incomplete. The Hurricanes won and went on to win the national title in 1987.
Saturday's matchup between No. 6 Miami and No. 3 Florida State will be the 14th time that the two teams have faced off as top-10 opponents. Here's a look back at those previous 13 games:
With dozens of future NFL players on both rosters, No. 3 Miami held on for a 26-25 win over No. 4 Florida State on Oct. 3 in Tallahassee. Miami's Steve Walsh connected with Michael Irvin for a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns that put the Hurricanes ahead 26-19. FSU rallied as Danny McManus found Ronald Lewis for a touchdown in the closing seconds, but FSU trailed 26-25. Florida State went for two, but McManus' pass that was intended for Pat Carter went incomplete. The Hurricanes went on to win the national title that season.
Florida State opened with a No. 1 ranking for the first time in school history. The Seminoles had even produced a rap video (starring Deion Sanders, amongst others) in the summer that only ramped up the hype. But the Sept. 8 matchup against the No. 8 Hurricanes was a one-sided affair at the Orange Bowl. Miami QB Steve Walsh threw for 228 yards and two touchdowns as Miami cruised to victory.
Dexter Carter ran for 142 yards and No. 9 Florida State defeated No. 2 Miami on Oct. 28 in Tallahassee. The Seminoles ran for 220 yards against Miami, which had the nation's top defense coming into the game. Florida State also forced six turnovers against the Hurricanes, who scored 10 points in the first quarter but were shut down the rest of the way. Miami rebounded from the loss to win the national title.
No. 9 Miami jumped out to a 20-0 lead in the first half and never looked back against the No. 2 Seminoles on Oct. 6 in Miami. Leonard Conley had 144 rushing yards and two touchdowns for the Hurricanes. Brad Johnson threw for 251 yards and a touchdown for Florida State, but the Seminoles were held to just 57 rushing yards on 23 carries.
It was billed as a Game of the Century, a matchup of No. 1 Florida State vs. No. 2 Miami. When it was over, everyone remembered it as Wide Right. Florida State's Gerry Thomas missed a 34-yard field goal as time expired and Miami hung on for the win on Nov. 16. What's forgotten? Thomas made three short field goals earlier in the game when Florida State drives stalled out in Miami's red zone. Stephen McGuire ran for 142 yards and a touchdown for Miami, which went on to win the national title.
Just like a year before, Florida State had a chance to make a field goal in the final seconds. Only this time it was to tie the game. But Dan Mowrey's 39-yard attempt went wide right and the No. 2 Hurricanes held on for a win at home over the No. 3 Seminoles. Gino Toretta tossed a pair of touchdown passes for Miami. The Seminoles' only touchdown came on a Tamarick Vanover kickoff return in the first quarter.
This time, Florida State doesn't need a kick. The Seminoles used two long touchdowns – a 69-yard run by Sean Jackson and a 72-yard pass from Charlie Ward to Matt Frier – as No. 1 Florida State got some revenge against No. 3 Miami. Frank Costa found Donnell Bennett for the Hurricanes' lone TD. Florida State went on to win the national title.
No. 3 Florida State ended a 12-year drought against Miami at the Orange Bowl as Warrick Dunn ran for 163 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown, to defeat No. 6 Miami on Oct. 12. The Seminoles forced three turnovers and sacked Miami's Ryan Clement eight times.
In a game that saw No. 1 Florida State and No. 7 Miami combine for more than 1,000 yards, the Oct. 7 game again came down to a kick. This one was much longer than the 1991 and '92 kicks, however, but Matt Munyon's 49-yard attempt sailed, yep, wide right. Ken Dorsey threw for 328 yards and had two touchdown passes for Miami, while Chris Weinke threw for 496 yards and three touchdowns.
Top-ranked Miami escaped again with a missed Florida State kick. This time it was wide left, as Xavier Beitia's 43-yard kick missed as time expired for the No. 9 Seminoles on Oct. 12 in Miami. Ken Dorsey threw for 362 yards and two touchdowns for Miami. Greg Jones ran for 189 yards and a TD for Florida State.
Before his first college start, Miami's Jarrett Payton put on his father Walter's No. 34 Chicago Bears jersey. And the next day, Oct. 11, he did a spot on impersonation of "Sweetness," running for 97 yards and grabbing a 14-yard touchdown pass as Miami cruised in Tallahassee. No. 2 Miami led 22-0 in the third quarter before Chris Rix tossed two touchdown passes, but it was far too late for the No. 5 Seminoles.
In the only bowl game the teams have played, Jarrett Payton ran for 131 yards as No. 10 Miami defeated No. 9 Florida State on Jan. 1. It was the Hurricanes' fifth straight win in the series. Miami shut out Florida State in the second half, and Xavier Beitia missed a 39-yard field goal with 5:30 left that could have given the Seminoles the win.
In an ugly season opener on Sept. 10 that was lacking in offense, the No. 5 Hurricanes won in overtime on Frank Gore's 18-yard touchdown run. Florida State had the ball first in overtime, but Chris Rix fumbled and Miami recovered. It was Miami's first ACC game, and the Hurricanes extended their winning streak over Florida State to six games.
Contact Bob Ferrante at bobferrante17@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @bobferrante.
