With both ranked in Top 5, a national title could be on line.
By BRIAN LANDMAN
Published October 5, 2003
TALLAHASSEE - Back in the day, the Florida State-Miami game not only meant virtually everything in deciding football supremacy in Florida - sorry Gator fans - but also in the nation.
Four times between 1987 and 1993, the Seminoles and Hurricanes entered their annual showdown ranked among the Associated Press Top 5. Three of those times, the winner went on to win the national title. The fourth time, the winner reached the big game only to lose. "There's no doubt about it, during the late '80s and into the '90s, it was gaining favor as the national game of the year," FSU coach Bobby Bowden said.
Not Michigan-Ohio State. Not Alabama-Auburn. Not Nebraska-Oklahoma. Not Notre Dame-Southern California.
Then NCAA sanctions hit the 'Canes hard and the FSU game lost much of its national allure during the rest of the 1990s. Even the competitiveness waned. FSU whipped Miami 47-0 in 1997. When the Hurricanes rebounded to play in national title games in 2001 and 2002, winning once, the Seminoles suffered through 8-4 and 9-5 seasons. The two were out of synch.
Not now. For the first time in a decade, the game can again be called the game.
The Seminoles are 5-0 and No. 5, their highest ranking this late in the season since 2000. Despite needing a field goal in the waning seconds to beat West Virginia 22-20 on Thursday, the Hurricanes will come to Tallahassee on Saturday 5-0 and No. 2. ABC is televising the game coast-to-coast at noon. ESPN's College GameDay crew will be there. Not at Texas-Oklahoma. Not at LSU-Florida. Not at Georgia-Tennessee. "This is the game both of us circle on our calendars as a must-win," Miami offensive lineman Eric Winston said. "We all want to win this game for bragging rights in Florida. We've got a chance at the state championship by winning this game and that's one of our goals as a team for the season."
History tells us the team that takes the mythical state crown, an achievement not lost on recruits, takes a giant step toward a national crown.
Miami has five of those on display.
FSU owns two.
"To get to this game undefeated and for them to get to there undefeated reminds you of the old days," Bowden said. "And when we say old days, we're saying championship days."
Is his team back in that mix after two subpar seasons? He said this game will be telling.
Is Miami heading for a third straight Bowl Championship Series finale and a second title in that span? The 'Canes know this is not merely the next game on the schedule.
"There's no doubt about it, this is a measuring ball game; you can measure your quality by this game," Bowden said.
That is not to suggest the winner will have an easy road the rest of the way. Looming for the Seminoles are trips to Virginia, Notre Dame and Florida and a home date against ACC nemesis North Carolina State. The Hurricanes have a daunting November slate with games at Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh with a home date against Tennessee in between.
Then there is the possibility wrought by overlooking anyone in the age of parity. FSU needed two fourth-quarter touchdowns to eke out a 14-13 win at home against Georgia Tech. The 'Canes rallied from 23 down to nip visiting Florida 38-33 in Week 2 and needed another comeback Thursday. "It puts us in the mood where we know we have to get better," UM offensive lineman Joel Rodriguez said. "It might be a good thing for us the more I think about it because if we had come out here and blown out West Virginia by 30 or 40 points like everybody thought we would have, then we'd go to Tallahassee patting ourselves on the back saying, "We're great. We're awesome,' and we'd get an awakening.
"Hopefully this kind of abysmal offensive effort kind of wakes us up a little bit and shows us what's wrong and what we have to do. It's a different animal we're facing this week, a different breed."
The rivalry is that intense. It is that anticipated and the rankings and national implications are sauce. A rich, savory one.
"We both put ourselves in a nice position," said FSU cornerback Stanford Samuels, a Miami native. "It's a lot different this year. Everybody will be watching. This is what you come to Florida State for; this is what you go to UM for."
Like back in the day.
- Times correspondent Michael Snyder contributed to this report.
