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TALLAHASSEE - Most of the current Seminoles were in middle school in 1993, yet all know about the "Game of the Century" between No. 1 FSU and No. 2 Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind.
They also know the outcome: Notre Dame 31, FSU 24.
How could they not? Bobby Bowden and past players haven't forgotten that day and have reminded the current group as they prepare for Saturday's game at Notre Dame, the team's first since that Nov. 13 loss.
"It was the greatest atmosphere I've ever been in," Bowden said. "We've had great atmospheres at Nebraska. We've had great atmospheres at Ohio State, Michigan, LSU, Auburn, Florida, Miami.
"But boy, that was the most electrifying I've ever been in. It was thick. You could feel it."
So many fans crowded the playing field and sidelines, one would have believed far more than 59,075 were in attendance.
"I remember the fans being this close to you," former FSU offensive lineman Jesus Hernandez said, holding his thumb and index finger mere inches apart. "I was a puppy back then. You're so overwhelmed."
Bowden also said that affected the Seminoles on the final play. Quarterback Charlie Ward had led the Seminoles to the Notre Dame 14. With three seconds left, he rolled left and tried to fire a pass to Kevin Knox in the back of the end zone. (Tailback Warrick Dunn came streaking across about 5 yards in front of Knox.) But reserve defensive back Shawn Wooden batted down the pass.
"When Charlie scrambled that last play, (Tamarick) Vanover was all by himself over there (on the right)," Bowden said. "But you couldn't spot him because there were thousands of people around."
Ward, however, said the way he and his teammates rallied at the end paid dividends later. FSU held on to nip Nebraska 18-16 in the Orange Bowl to win the national title.
"That game showed us what kind of team we had," he said. "We worked together. The guys really came together. For the year, it did define what type of character we had."
A lesson current Seminoles would do well to remember.
ANOTHER GOOD SHOWING: Sophomore linebacker A.J. Nicholson started for the second time last weekend in place of injured star Kendyll Pope (right knee sprain) and could be there again against the Irish. Not that that concerns the coaches.
"He's a complete football player," linebackers coach Kevin Steele said. "That's the beauty of coaching at a place like Florida State. A starter goes down, and you have another starter to put in."
BIG GAME: The women's soccer team, 10-1-1 in its past 12, ends the regular season Friday and prepares for next week's ACC tournament at powerhouse North Carolina.
"It's the biggest test every year," coach Patrick Baker said. "The biggest thing is you want to make sure your girls don't get psyched out before the kickoff because there's so much history there and they're so good there. But we've played well against them the last two times, and that's real encouraging.
"We have to contain their three front (players). If you do, you stand a really great chance of being in the game. If you don't contain their three front (players), it's going to be a long night."
RUN FOR GLORY: The NCAA region meet Nov. 15 is the race. It does determine the field for the national meet, but cross country coach Bob Braman still sees Saturday's ACC meet as a "measuring stick" for his men's and women's teams.
"In the ACC, you do judge your progress against so many nationally ranked teams," he said. "We want to see how we match up."
Led by junior Joep Tigchelaar, the men, who have never finished better than fifth, could be on the heels of perennial league champ North Carolina State. Vicky Gill and the women's team should improve on last year's sixth-place finish (six of the league's nine schools reached the NCAAs) and, perhaps, crack the top 4.
- Brian Landman covers Florida State athletics. He can be reached at 813 226-3347 or by e-mail at landman@sptimes.com