Ranking the Top 131 College Football Programs of the Last 40 Years: 3. Florida State
The Kings of Florida
Florida State, welcome to the top 3. You are the true kings of Florida. There have been many great dynasties in college football, but none quite like Bobby Bowden’s run at Florida State. The Seminoles finished in the AP Top 4 for 13 straight seasons from 1987-99. To put that in perspective, if you account for Top 5 finishes instead of Top 4, Florida State has 14 from 1987-2000, while the second longest in history, USC (2002-08), has just 7. Even the Alabama dynasty under Nick Saban’s longest streak is 5 (2014-18). If there was a 4 team Playoff in the 90s, FSU probably wins more than the 2 national titles they won in that span. Florida State also holds the longest consecutive bowl appearance streak in NCAA history at 36 games, spanning from 1982-2017.
Best Seasons and Highlights
+------+---------------+------+--------------+--------+
| rank | team | year | resume score | record |
+------+---------------+------+--------------+--------+
| 1 | Florida State | 2013 | 62.55 | 14-0 |
| 1 | Florida State | 1993 | 57.313 | 12-1 |
| 1 | Florida State | 1999 | 55.909 | 12-0 |
| 2 | Florida State | 1996 | 48.861 | 11-1 |
| 3 | Florida State | 1997 | 48.626 | 11-1 |
| 3 | Florida State | 2000 | 48.291 | 11-2 |
| 2 | Florida State | 1992 | 47.665 | 11-1 |
| 2 | Florida State | 1987 | 47.534 | 11-1 |
| 3 | Florida State | 1998 | 47.2 | 11-2 |
| 3 | Florida State | 1994 | 47.094 | 10-1-1 |
| 4 | Florida State | 2014 | 44.155 | 13-1 |
| 3 | Florida State | 1988 | 43.554 | 11-1 |
| 4 | Florida State | 1989 | 42.174 | 10-2 |
| 4 | Florida State | 1991 | 40.558 | 11-2 |
| 5 | Florida State | 1995 | 38.124 | 10-2 |
| 11 | Florida State | 2012 | 36.314 | 12-2 |
| 7 | Florida State | 1990 | 33.67 | 10-2 |
| 9 | Florida State | 2016 | 33.022 | 10-3 |
| 12 | Florida State | 2003 | 31.984 | 10-3 |
| 14 | Florida State | 2022 | 25.964 | 10-3 |
| 17 | Florida State | 2015 | 25.943 | 10-3 |
| 17 | Florida State | 2010 | 23.468 | 10-4 |
| 16 | Florida State | 2004 | 22.435 | 9-3 |
| 17 | Florida State | 2002 | 21.9 | 9-5 |
| 15 | Florida State | 2001 | 20.464 | 8-4 |
| 22 | Florida State | 2008 | 19.73 | 9-4 |
| 23 | Florida State | 1985 | 19.576 | 9-3 |
| 19 | Florida State | 1984 | 17.212 | 7-3-2 |
| 25 | Florida State | 2011 | 17.176 | 9-4 |
| 26 | Florida State | 1986 | 10.81 | 7-4-1 |
| 24 | Florida State | 2005 | 10.21 | 8-5 |
| 36 | Florida State | 1983 | 7.027 | 7-5 |
| 39 | Florida State | 2009 | 5.946 | 7-6 |
| 41 | Florida State | 2006 | 4.135 | 7-6 |
| 46 | Florida State | 2017 | 1.888 | 7-6 |
| 50 | Florida State | 2007 | 0.914 | 7-6 |
| 60 | Florida State | 2019 | -8.902 | 6-7 |
| 72 | Florida State | 2021 | -10.737 | 5-7 |
| 84 | Florida State | 2018 | -15.192 | 5-7 |
| 97 | Florida State | 2020 | -24.7 | 3-6 |
+------+---------------+------+--------------+--------+
Overall Score: 47571 (3rd)370-129-4 record
3 national titles
15 conference titles
26-10-1 bowl record
41 consensus All-Americans
204 NFL players drafted
Florida State has 10 of my top 100 seasons since 1983, accounting for 10% of the top 100 while the average team statistically accounts for just 0.8%. Florida State is my #1 program of the 90s, just beating out Nebraska at #2 and Florida at #3. If you’ve been impressed with the recent Dabo Swinney dynasty at Clemson, which has won 7 of the last 8 ACC titles, consider that Florida State won 9 straight ACC titles from 1992-2000, and 11 of 12 from 1992-2003. Not to mention, Florida State won 11 straight bowl games from 1985-95, and were unbeaten for 14 straight bowls (13-0-1) from 1982-95. The numbers from the mid 80s to 2000 are staggering.
Consensus All-Americans we won’t mention below are RB Greg Allen (1983) who finished 7th in Heisman voting, OL Jamie Dukes (1985) who was an analyst on NFL Network for many years, CB Deion Sanders (1987, 1988) who, simply put, is one of the most famous players to ever play the game, DB LeRoy Butler (1989) who’s in the NFL Hall of Fame, DB Terrell Buckley (1991) who won the Thorpe Award, LB Marvin Jones (1991, 1992), DB Clifton Abraham (1994), OL Clay Shiver (1995), DE Jamal Reynolds (2000) who won the Lombardi Award, WR Snoop Minnis (2000) who was Heisman winner Chris Weinke’s favorite target, DB Tay Cody (2000), OT Alex Barron (2003, 2004), OG Rodney Hudson (2010), P Shawn Powell (2011) who led the NCAA with 47.0 yards per punt, DE Bjoern Werner (2012) who won ACC Defensive POTY, TE Nick O’Leary (2014) who won the Mackey Award, OL Tre’ Jackson (2014), K Roberto Aguayo (2014), DB Jalen Ramsey (2015), DE Demarcus Walker (2016) who won ACC Defensive POTY with 16 sacks, and RB Dalvin Cook (2016) who had 2253 yards and 20 TD from scrimmage.
Top NFL players include CB Deion Sanders, LB Derrick Brooks, OT Walter Jones, DB LeRoy Butler, RB Warrick Dunn, WR Anquan Boldin, CB Jalen Ramsey, RB Dalvin Cook, S Derwin James, DB Antonio Cromartie, DB Samari Rolle, C Rodney Hudson, LB Peter Boulware, QB Brad Johnson, OT Tra Thomas, LB Lawrence Timmons, DT Darnell Lockett, WR Laveranues Coles, QB Jameis Winston, RB Devonta Freeman, CB Xavier Rhodes, DT Corey Simon, DE Brian Burns, K Sebastian Janikowski, LB Telvin Smith, OT Kyle Long, RS Leon Washington, DE Josh Sweat, and CB Asante Samuel Jr..
Top 5 Seasons
Worst Season: 2020 (3-6 overall, 2-6 ACC)
Poetic that Florida State’s 4 worst seasons were all under Willie Taggart and Mike Norvell. Norvell gets the distinction of the worst team in his first year (2020), but I don’t think this season was as bad of an experience as 2018 (going down 3-59 to Clemson) and 2021 (losing to Jacksonville State). Especially because it was the weird Covid season. The Norvell era started with a 10-0 lead over Georgia Tech, but a 13-16 final. Norvell missed the next game after testing positive for Covid (10-52 loss to Miami (FL)), but returned for his first win in Tallahassee, 41-24 over Jacksonville State, a game that should always be a win by Florida State standards. The Jordan Travis era began after the win, going 2-4 the rest of the way with a 31-28 upset win over #5 North Carolina and 56-35 win over Duke. Most losses were bad, with the last 3 being 16-48 to Louisville, 17-41 to Pittsburgh, and 22-38 to NC State, but the season was a bit of a wash due to cleaning up Taggart’s mess and Covid weirdness. CB Asante Samuel Jr. was the team’s only 1st Team All-ACC selection, intercepting 3 passes in 8 games. Projected 1st round DT Marvin Wilson had a disappointing year, still managing to earn 2nd Team All-ACC but went undrafted in the 2021 NFL Draft. WR Tamorrion Terry was supposed to be one of the best receivers in the country after a 1200 yard season in 2019, but was kicked off the team after 7 games, and has not had the best track record since then.
5. 1997 (11-1 overall, 8-0 ACC)
I’m gonna be honest, coming into this I have NO idea what the difference between all the 90’s Florida State teams are, so let’s find out together. Heading into 1997, Florida State was ranked in the preseason AP Top 5 for the 8th straight year, having finished in the AP top 4 for 10 straight seasons. “Thad Busby” was the QB, with one of the best offensive lines in the country and a defense that featured 3 All-Americans. FSU’s defense showed out early, holding opponents to 7 points or less in 4 of their first 6 games. The 6-0 start featured 3 ranked wins of 14-7 over #23 USC, 35-28 over #16 Clemson, and 38-0 over #21 Georgia Tech. Competition was fierce in 1997, as Florida State, Nebraska, Michigan, Penn State, and North Carolina were all unbeaten going into November. Michigan knocked off Penn State, and Florida State knocked off #5 North Carolina 20-3, moving FSU into the #2 slot in the AP Poll. All that was left were Nebraska and Michigan, who would both end up unbeaten. #2 Florida State matched up with #10 Florida at the height of their powers, both coming off a national title game against each other in 1996, with Florida having won 52-20. Florida AGAIN got the last laugh, ending #2 FSU’s title hopes with a 32-29 Gator win. Florida State got a nice Sugar Bowl victory over #9 Ohio State 31-14 to keep their AP Top 4 streak alive, finishing the year at #3. But again, it was no national title for a team that had won only 1 in 11 straight years of 10+ wins.
Offensive coordinator Mark Richt coached QB Thad Busby to an ACC Offensive POTY season, throwing for 3317 yards with 25 TD 10 INT. WR EG Green was 2nd Team All-American with 1000 yards and 11 TD, while WR Peter Warrick provided electric play with 884 yards and 8 TD. The offensive line featured 2 All-Americans in OT Tra Thomas and C Kevin Long, while the defense had consensus All-Americans DE Andre Wadsworth, LB Sam Cowart, and 3rd Team All-American LB Daryl Bush.
1997 Florida State is my 66th best team since 1983.
4. 1996 (11-1 overall, 8-0 ACC)
Man, Florida fans are having a field day with these first 2 seasons. 1996 was another FANTASTIC year for Florida State that ended in disappointment at the hands of the Gators. The Noles’ attack featured more of a ground game with Heisman finalist RB Warrick Dunn, and a younger Thad Busby in his first year as the starting QB. The team was excellent early on, beating Duke, NC State, #11 North Carolina, and Clemson by an average of 36-7 to start 4-0. Florida State won for the 2nd year in a row against #6 Miami (FL), the first time they won 2 in a row against Miami since 1978-79, building momentum for what would be a 5 year win streak against the Canes from 1995-99. After beating #14 Virginia, an outstanding string of games saw them finish the regular season unbeaten, blowing out #25 Southern Miss 54-14, and more importantly, they scored a 24-21 win over #1 Florida on ESPN College GameDay. FSU ripped the #1 spot from the Gators’ jaws, finishing the regular season 11-0. Unfortunately, they got 2011 LSU’d, and had to play #3 Florida in an immediate rematch in the Sugar Bowl. This time the Gators had the better day, winning 52-20, winning the national title and pushing down FSU to #3.
At least you finished #2 in my rankings, FSU! Heisman finalist RB Warrick Dunn ran for 1000 yards for the 3rd straight season, adding 355 receiving yards for 1535 yards and 14 TD from scrimmage. He was fortunate enough to run behind an OT named Walter Jones, you heard of him? On the defensive line, Reinard Wilson and Peter Boulware were consensus All-Americans. Just another loaded FSU team from the Bowden era.
1996 Florida State is my 62nd best team since 1983.
3. 1999 (12-0 overall, 8-0 ACC)
No more Gator tears, let’s get into the national titles. Or should I say, unbeaten seasons, of which Florida has 0 and FSU has 2. WR Peter Warrick came back to school despite being projected as a top pick in the NFL Draft, and QB Chris Weinke returned for his 2nd season as a starter after going 9-1 in 1998. Florida State started out as #1 and wouldn’t budge all season long. A dominant 6-0 start featured 3 wins over ranked teams: 41-35 over #10 Georgia Tech, 42-11 over #20 NC State, and 31-21 over #19 Miami (FL). As Florida State kept winning they retained their #1 spot, setting up a #1 vs #3 grudge match with Florida in The Swamp. FSU got revenge for 1997, locking up their spot in the national title game with a 30-23 win over the Gators. Faced with the task of defending Michael Vick and #2 Virginia Tech, Florida State’s offense stepped up big in the National Championship, taking a 28-7 lead early. Vick led Virginia Tech back to a 29-28 lead by the start of the 4th, but ran out of gas, and FSU’s 18-0 4th quarter gave them a 46-29 victory for their 2nd ever national title. The game was essentially Michael Vick vs Peter Warrick, with Warrick doing enough in the end to get his team the win. When the Florida State rushing offense stagnated (23 carries for 30 yards), Warrick stepped up as usual, catching 6 passes for 163 yards and 2 TD, also returning a punt 59 yards for a TD.
Peter Warrick was a consensus All-American for the 2nd straight season, catching 71 passes for 934 yards and 8 TD in just 9 games, and was the 4th overall pick in the 2000 NFL Draft. Joining him as consensus All-Americans were OG Jason Whitaker, DT Corey Simon, and K Sebastian Janikowski, giving Florida State the most consensus AAs in the country with 4 out of the 26 players. Janikowski was drafted in the 1st round, blessed with a 260 lb Polish cannon for a leg.
1999 Florida State is one of my top 50 teams since 1983. The full list will be revealed as more teams come up.
2. 1993 (12-1 overall, 8-0 ACC)
A team that was so good, it beats out 1999 for the #2 spot despite having a loss. Expectations were sky high for the preseason #1 ranked Noles. And boy, were they good—this team gives 2013 a run for their money. The opening 5 games, against Kansas, Duke, #17 Clemson, #13 North Carolina, and Georgia Tech? A combined score of 228-14. 5-0 record. Yeah. Future CFB/NFL Hall of Fame LB Derrick Brooks outscored all 5 opponents combined. I’m not even kidding, he had 3 TDs through 5 games for 18 points, compared to the 14 that 5 Power 6 teams scored against FSU. Against #3 Miami (FL), the Canes had won 7 of the last 8 matchups between the two, but it was obvious that this FSU team was different, and the Noles won 28-10. Miami DT Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson got a sack on Heisman-winning FSU QB Charlie Ward, which is a neat trivia fact. Florida State continued to make mincemeat of everyone, beating #15 Virginia, Wake Forest, and Maryland by an average of 48-11. But as good as #1 Florida State had been, they still had to travel to South Bend to play #2 Notre Dame in one of the old “Game of the Century”s. Down 17-31 in the 4th quarter, Charlie Ward nearly pulled off the miraculous comeback, throwing a TD on 4th and 20 with 1:40 left to make it 24-31, then on the last play, 14 yards from the end zone, his final pass was batted down. Florida State only fell to #2 because of how good they’d been, and after a 62-3 win over NC State (who was 7-3 going into the game) and a Notre Dame loss to Boston College, FSU reclaimed the top spot. A 33-21 win over #7 Florida clinched the Heisman for Ward, and earned FSU a spot in the Orange Bowl to play #2 Nebraska for the title. In a chaotic ending where Bobby Bowden was given a gatorade bath before the final play, Nebraska missed a 45 yard FG as time expired to give Florida State an 18-16 win, the Noles’ first ever national title.
QB Charlie Ward won the Heisman in a landslide, receiving 740 first-place votes which is still the 4th most lopsided Heisman vote to this day. Ward had impeccable stats not just for 1993, but even by today’s standards, completing 70% of passes for 3000 yards with 27 TD 4 INT, and 339 rushing yards and 4 TD. Even backup QB Danny Kanell was really good, throwing for 7 TD 0 INT. It really doesn’t get talked about enough because of how absurd it is, but after winning the Heisman, Ward didn’t go on to play in the NFL, instead playing in the NBA(!!!) for 11 seasons. He was even the starting PG for the 1998-99 New York Knicks NBA Finals squad. Back to FSU, RB Sean Jackson ran for 825 yards while true freshman RB Warrick Dunn ran for 500 yards on 7.5 YPC, with 350 receiving yards and 10 total TD. In a full circle moment, the 2nd leading WR on 1993 Florida State was Kevin Knox…who is the dad of 2018 Knicks 1st round pick Kevin Knox II, the same team Ward played for in the NBA. While the offense led the country with 41.2 PPG, so did the defense, giving up just 9.9 PPG with consensus All-American LB Derrick Brooks, consensus All-American DB Corey Sawyer, and 3rd Team All-American DL Derrick Alexander. If this team goes unbeaten, they’re the best team in Florida State history and one of the best in college football history.
1993 Florida State is one of my top 50 teams since 1983. The full list will be revealed as more teams come up.
1. 2013 (14-0 overall, 8-0 ACC)
Most people know how dominant they were, and how much NFL talent they had. But a trip down memory lane is worth venturing. Nobody really saw a national title coming from this team: Florida State had toiled in mediocrity for most of the 2000s, and even though Jimbo Fisher seemed to be improving them from 2010-12, he had just lost 11 players to the 2013 NFL Draft including 3 first rounders and starting QB EJ Manuel. It wasn’t going to be too difficult to be an upgrade over Manuel, but FSU was still starting a freshman at QB in Jameis Winston. Florida State dominated the competition early, and Winston put his name in Heisman contention with dazzling plays against Boston College and Maryland. #25 Maryland was having a nice 4-0 start to the year until they ran into the Seminole buzzsaw, FSU winning 63-0 and outgaining Maryland by nearly 400 yards. Florida State was #5 and dominating opponents, but everyone was interested to see how they’d do on the road against #3 Clemson. Fans settled in for a close game with the Seminoles as 3 point favorites…and it was over by halftime. Florida State poured it on, taking a 51-7 lead in the 4th quarter before ultimately winning 51-14, proving that this team was no joke, and more similar to FSU of the 90s rather than FSU of the 2000s. Florida State won their next 5 games (which included #7 Miami (FL)) by an average of 58-10, moving up to #2 behind Alabama. After a 37-7 win over Florida and Alabama loss to Auburn on the Kick Six, FSU moved into the #1 slot, destroying #20 Duke 45-7 in the ACC Championship. Think twice before you step on the field with the Seminoles, nerds. Apparently #2 Auburn knew the plays FSU was calling in the National Championship, taking a 21-3 lead, but Florida State still fought back to win 34-31 in one of the most underrated games of the BCS era.
They only played the 59th ranked strength of schedule, but were ridiculously dominant, scoring 51.6 PPG while allowing 12.1 PPG. Games against Top 25 opponents were 63-0 over #25 Maryland, 51-14 over #3 Clemson, 41-14 over #7 Miami (FL), 45-7 over #20 Duke, and 34-31 over #2 Auburn. All 22 starters on offense and defense made the NFL, including QB Jameis Winston, RB Devonta Freeman, WR Kelvin Benjamin, OT Cam Erving, CB Jalen Ramsey, CB Ronald Darby, S PJ Williams, S Lamarcus Joyner, and DE Timmy Jernigan. Even K Roberto Aguayo was a 2nd round draft pick. The talent level on this team was stupid. At QB was Heisman winner Jameis Winston, throwing to 1st Team All-American WR Kelvin Benjamin and 2014 Mackey Award winning TE Nick O’Leary, while being blocked by Rimington Award winner and consensus All-American C Bryan Stork and 1st Team All-American OT Cam Erving. On defense you were met with 1st Team All-American DE Timmy Jernigan, and consensus All-American S Lamarcus Joyner, 1st Team All-American DB Terrence Brooks, and 2015 consensus All-American DB Jalen Ramsey in the secondary. K Robert Aguayo was nearly perfect as a freshman, winning the Lou Groza Award and earning 1st Team All-American by hitting 21 of 22 FGs. Even the ball boy “Red Lightning” was an All-American in our hearts.
2013 Florida State is one of my top 50 teams since 1983. The full list will be revealed as more teams come up.
5th Quarter
How would you rank FSU’s top 5 seasons? Does the 2013 team have a case to be the best in college football history? How unstoppable would FSU have been if Randy Moss actually played with them? Who was the best QB at FSU; Jameis Winston, Charlie Ward, or Chris Weinke? WHO IS NUMBER 1, ALABAMA OR OHIO STATE?
Ranking the Top 131 College Football Programs of the Last 40 Years - Main Hub
