When dealing with a Florida State program that finished in the Top 5 nationally for 14 consecutive years (1987-2000), a feat earning it the NCAA's stamp as a dynasty, it's not easy choosing the four best squads in the past 20 years. You have to go with the two national championship teams (1993 and 1999) and then it gets far more subjective.
We're going with the 1987 and 1996 teams, both of which finished 11-1. Here's our best evidence:
The '87 team made an emphatic statement by beating No. 6 Auburn 34-6 on the road and would have played for the title had it not squandered a 19-3 third-quarter lead and lost 26-25 to No. 3 Miami in one of the games of the century. Eleven players earned All-America honors of some kind, led by cornerback Deion Sanders and linebacker Paul McGowan.
The '96 team completed the regular season undefeated and No. 1, beating five ranked opponents, including then No. 1 Florida in Tallahassee 24-21. Circumstances forced a rematch against the Gators in the Sugar Bowl and the 52-20 loss ended the Seminoles' title hopes. DEs Peter Boulware and Reinard Wilson, TB Warrick Dunn and OT Walter Jones, All-Americans, were chosen in the top half of the 1997 NFL draft's first round.
So, what would happen if these four teams met in a mini-Seminole playoff? Here's one admittedly subjective opinion.
Game 1 - No. 1 seed 1993 vs. No. 4 seed 1987. QB Danny McManus leads the '87 bunch to a 17-3 lead, but Heisman Trophy-winning QB Charlie Ward gets the fastbreak offense going in a frenzied final three minutes. After Ward throws a second touchdown to Ronald Lewis, Bobby Bowden, living up to his riverboat gambler reputation, eschews the PAT for a two-point try. Ward, in the shotgun, runs a delayed draw and dives across the goal line for an 18-17 win just as McGowan and S LeRoy Butler converge on him.
Game 2 - No. 2 seed 1999 vs. No. 3 seed 1996. The '96 defense lives up to its reputation and constantly harasses QB Chris Weinke and shuts down the high-powered offense. Not that '96 QB Thad Busby has much success, either. Down 6-0 midway through the third quarter, Weinke, just as he's leveled by Boulware, finds WR Peter Warrick for an 18-yard TD. The '96 Warrick answers with a punt return for a TD and a 13-7 lead. The '96 defense and late running by Dunn make that hold up.
Game 3 - 1993 vs. 1996. Ward's quickness and uncanny instincts bedevil the vaunted pass rush and his team's defense uses the speedy Derrick Brooks to shadow Dunn, containing the '96 team's best offensive option. Down 17-0, Bowden resorts to trickery and uses at QB, who caps a drive with a TD run. S Shevin Smith returns an INT for a score, but 1996 can get no closer. Scott Bentley hits a 22-yard FG and then CB Clifton Abraham seals 1993's 20-14 win with an INT.
