Reasons for Seminole Resurgence: #3 Winning the ACC

In one of the more dramatic finishes of the BCS era, Kelvin Benjamin’s 2-yard touchdown grab against Auburn gave Florida State its first national championship in 14 years. After what some consider a lost decade, Florida State’s rise back to the top of college football was a long, arduous journey. The Seminoles endured three six-loss seasons, an academic cheating scandal and the forcing out of a legend that built the program.

In what will be a 10-part series, we take a look back on events that led to Florida State’s resurgence back to the top of the college football world. After finishing in the top 5 every year from 1987 until 2000, the Seminoles went 13 years without winning a major bowl game. The countdown’s order is mostly chronological rather than in terms of importance. As we near the end of our series, we look at how Florida State’s return to the top of the ACC made way for its return to the top of college football.

Upon entering the ACC in 1992, Florida State instantly became the class of the conference. FSU won the conference in each of its first nine seasons in the ACC and 12 of its first 15.

One of the more improbable conference championships for Florida State came in 2005. In the first ever ACC Championship, the Seminoles entered their match-up with fifth-ranked Virginia Tech as 14-point underdogs and on a three-game losing streak.

With a team loaded with freshmen including at quarterback, Florida State scored 24 unanswered points in the second half before holding off the Hokies, 27-22. FSU would fall in the Orange Bowl to third-ranked Penn State in three overtimes less than a month later, but with a team loaded with young talent, ACC titles were expected to become routine.

In the years to come, the ACC had hardly become a football juggernaut, but returning to the top of it was very difficult for Florida State. While the FSU fan base eagerly awaited a return to national prominence, the Seminoles first needed to reclaim the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Despite returning a number of key pieces that helped the Seminoles win the ACC in 2005, Florida State finished just 7-6 in each of the next two seasons. Over those two years, FSU went just a combined 7-9 in conference play.

The 2008 season looked to be one in which Florida State would regain its control of the ACC. After a 6-1 start however, the Seminoles would drop three of their final five regular season games. That stretch included a 27-17 loss to Boston College at home that would ultimately give the Eagles the Atlantic division crown.

In 2009, the ACC title was out of reach almost immediately for the Seminoles. Florida State began the season just 2-4 overall and dropped each of its first three ACC games. FSU would win five of its final seven games to avoid its first losing season in 33 years, but finished the year 7-6 for a third time in four seasons.

In Jimbo Fisher’s first season as Florida State’s head coach, the Seminoles collected their first 10-win season in seven years. The 2010 regular season could not have concluded in a better way as FSU beat rival Florida for the first time since 2003. That same day, Florida State earned a spot in the ACC Championship thanks to a Maryland victory over N.C. State.

In its return to the ACC’s title game, Florida State once again met Virginia Tech, but the Seminoles had no answer for quarterback Tyrod Taylor. Taylor made plays with his arm and feet all night long as the Hokies racked up 442 yards and converted 13 of 18 third downs in a 44-33 win over FSU.

After finishing in the top 20 in 2010, big things were expected of Florida State in 2011. The Seminoles began the season ranked in the top 10 in both major polls and were seen as a national championship dark-horse.

A hard-fought loss to top-ranked Oklahoma in September ended FSU’s national championship aspirations, but the Seminoles’ ACC hopes would die shortly after in the weeks to come. Florida State dropped back-to-back road games to Clemson and Wake Forest by identical 35-30 scores to fall to 2-3 on the year and 0-2 in the ACC. Florida State would win seven of its final eight games, but the ACC crown once again eluded the Seminoles.

After a 3-0 start to 2012, Florida State picked up its most significant ACC win in a long time. Against 10th-ranked and reigning ACC champion Clemson at home, the Seminoles overcame a 28-14 deficit to down the Tigers, 49-37.

Florida State would be tripped up by N.C. State later in the year, but remained in control of its own destiny in the ACC. On November 8th in Blacksburg however, FSU’s title hopes were quickly slipping away.

It had been a year to forget for Virginia Tech, but with under a minute to play, the Hokies led Florida State 22-20. After a tough run from James Wilder Jr. converted a fourth down, quarterback E.J. Manuel found receiver Rashad Greene on over the middle. Greene outran defenders for a 39-yard touchdown as FSU escaped, 28-22.

After downing Maryland to win the Atlantic, the Seminoles looked to be rolling in their return to the ACC Championship. Florida State raced to a 21-3 lead over a 6-6 Georgia Tech team in Charlotte, but the Yellow Jackets managed to chip away.

In the waning moments, Georgia Tech trailed just 21-15 and had the ball with a chance to win the game. With the conference crown slowly slipping away, safety Karlos Williams stepped in front of a Tevin Washington pass and tipped it to himself. The pick sealed the victory and Florida State’s first ACC championship in seven years.

FSU would go on to beat Northern Illinois in the Orange Bowl before finishing a perfect 14-0 and as national championships in 2013. On the first Saturday in December, Florida State pounded Duke 45-7 to win back-to-back ACC championships for the first time since 2002 and 2003.

Although the ACC has been a largely maligned conference on the football field, it was one that Florida State struggled to take control of for the better part of six years. While fans of teams in other conferences sometimes scoff at the ACC, winning the conference’s championship was a big step along the way for Florida State to win bigger championships. After a 34-31 victory over Auburn in the final BCS National Championship to end the SEC’s string of seven straight titles, folks have little room for criticism when mentioning the ACC’s best team.

Reasons for Seminole Resurgence: #4 Ability to Rise to the Occasion
Reasons for Seminole Resurgence: #5 Beating Florida
Reasons for Seminole Resurgence: #6 Fisher’s First Class
Reasons for Seminole Resurgence: #7 Emphasizing Defense
Reasons for Seminole Resurgence: #8 Maintaining a Championship Atmosphere
Reasons for Seminole Resurgence: #9 2009′s Strong Finish
Reasons for Seminole Resurgence: #10 Hiring Jimbo Fisher