To say that Miami had the upper-hand on Florida State to start the new millennium would be an understatement. From 2000-04, the Hurricanes won six straight over the Seminoles, but at Doak Campbell Stadium on September 5th, 2005, that would all change.
“It was an unbelievable atmosphere,” said wide receiver De’Cody Fagg, who had two of FSU’s eight receptions that night. “From the beginning of the game until the end of the game, the crowd was into it.”
It was the second straight season that FSU and Miami opened the year against one another. The Seminoles had let a 10-0 fourth quarter lead slip away in a 16-10 overtime loss at the Orange Bowl the previous year and had become accustomed to losing to Miami in heartbreaking fashion.
“The four games I played Miami before that were real close,” said fullback James Coleman, who was a senior on the 2005 team. “Most we had an opportunity to win and couldn’t finish.”
Coleman helped get the 14th-ranked Seminoles off to a strong start. His short touchdown run followed by a Gary Cismesia field goal gave Florida State an early 10-0 lead, but from there on out, the offense would struggle. The No. 9 Hurricanes would cut the deficit to 10-7 before halftime on a touchdown pass from Kyle Wright to Ryan Moore.
Florida State squandered a scoring opportunity early the third quarter after blocking a Miami punt. The Seminoles began the drive inside the Miami 10, but the Hurricanes held and Cismesia missed a short field goal.
With more than 10 minutes to play in the fourth quarter, the Hurricanes mounted a drive that gave FSU fans that eerily similar feeling that Miami was about to again rip their hearts out. Miami moved from its own 3-yard-line to the Seminoles’ 3 and appeared to be on its way to the go-ahead touchdown, but FSU’s ninth sack of the night pushed the Hurricanes back to the 11-yard-line.
Throughout the years, Florida State’s rivalry with Miami was marred by missed field goals in the waning seconds. The Seminoles fell to the Hurricanes in 1991, 1992, 2000, 2002 and in the Orange Bowl following the 2003 season as a result of missed kicks. But the 28-yard kick Miami’s Jon Peattie was about to attempt seemed like a sure thing.
Unfortunately for Peattie, his attempt never got away as punter and holder Brian Monroe mishandled the snap and the Seminoles took over. FSU freshman quarterback Drew Weatherford finished the night just 7-for-24 passing, but his quarterback sneak for a first down following a 9-yard Leon Washington rush sealed the 10-7 victory. Despite only 170 yards of offense, the Miami monkey was off of the Seminoles’ back.
“The defense did an awesome job,” said Fagg. “It was just an enjoyable moment.”
The Seminoles finished just 8-5 that season, but would upset Virginia Tech to win their 12th ACC championship in 14 years. Since the 6-game skid to Miami, Florida State has managed to go 8-2 against the Hurricanes beginning with 2005 season-opener. Among the lasting memories from that FSU victory 10 years ago are players celebrating in the stands, particularly Fagg and fellow wide receiver Greg Carr.
“After the game, the crowd was still in the stands and Greg Carr and I jumped up into the stands and the fans held us up and celebrated with us,” Fagg said. “Unto this day, I still don’t know exactly how I got into the stands.”
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