Few would argue that the Southeastern Conference is the best in all of college football. Prior to Florida State’s 34-31 victory over Auburn in which the Seminoles momentarily silenced the “SEC, SEC” chanters, the SEC had a stranglehold atop college football’s summit.
From 2006-12, the SEC won seven straight BCS titles and routinely dominated non-conference competition. Somewhere along the line, the fan bases throughout the SEC formed an obnoxious, unholy alliance that constantly downplayed accomplishments by any school unaffiliated with the almighty Southeastern Conference.
While Florida State’s come-from-behind victory in the final BCS National Championship gave credibility to the ACC and relief to anyone not associated with the juggernaut that is SEC football, it may have been the beginning of a rivalry between a resurgent football school and a conference that refuses to acknowledge legitimacy outside of it. Although fans of Clemson, Miami, North Carolina State and Wake Forest do not claim Florida State’s success, there are a lot of similarities between the Seminoles and many of the powers in the SEC.
As is the case with schools like Alabama, Auburn, Georgia and LSU, Florida State has top-notch facilities, recruits the best players in the country, has a strong fan base and some of the best traditions in college football. FSU may not have the grueling conference schedule that SEC fans tend to rave about, but aside from that, there is nothing in terms of football prowess that the SEC has that Florida State does not.
The Seminoles’ in-state rivalry with Florida had national championship implications all throughout the 1990’s, but lost much of its luster a decade ago. With Florida’s return to national prominence and FSU’s noticeable decline, the contest was seen by Gator fans as one between a nationally prominent SEC team and a school simply not on the SEC’s level.
After losing six straight to Florida from 2004-09, Florida State’s 31-7 win over the Gators in November of 2010 served as a starting point for the Seminoles once again becoming a national power. Since Jimbo Fisher took over as Florida State’s head coach in 2010, the tables have certainly turned.
Under Fisher, Florida State is 5-1 against the SEC. The lone blemish was a 37-26 loss to Florida in 2012 in which FSU consistently shot itself in the foot by committing six turnovers.
The wins against the SEC include a victory over SEC East champion South Carolina in 2010 and over SEC champion Auburn for the national championships back in January. Of Florida State’s five wins over the SEC since 2010, only Auburn in the BCS title game, managed to stay within a single score of the Seminoles.
Against the 14 teams that currently form the ACC, Florida is just 1-5 over that same stretch. While few will put the ACC on par with the SEC, the Atlantic Coast Conference was the only conference to win multiple BCS games in 2013. Meanwhile, the SEC was the only conference to lose multiple BCS games.
Whether or not Florida State has staying power will remain to be seen in the years to come, but it has the look of one that does. Assuming the Seminoles’ return to the top remains intact, Florida State stands to make a number of new enemies. The SEC doesn’t appear to going anywhere anytime soon and with a four-team playoff coming into place for the 2014 season, the SEC and FSU could see quite a bit of one another in the years to come.
With Florida State being the team that ultimately ended the SEC’s monarchy on the BCS and the fact that Tallahassee is actually deeper in the Southeast than the overwhelming majority of SEC campuses, FSU looks to be a prime target for the nation’s loudest, proudest conference. Florida State and Florida have long have a heated rivalry, but with the brotherhood that the rest of the SEC has formed, the Seminoles are now a threat to more than just the rival Gators.
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