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Looking back: FSU was once king of the BCS
October 29th, 2008, 1:04 pm · Post a Comment · posted by Brad Milner
Struggles in 2006 and 2007 for Florida State have done nothing to erase history, and that for a time the Seminoles were at the top of the Bowl Championship Series Standings on an annual basis.
Florida State is ranked No. 15 in the second BCS Standings.
Entering this season, the 10th since the BCS was implemented and what will be the 11th round of BCS bowls, FSU is still tied for the top spot in appearances (6) with Oklahoma, Ohio State and USC. FSU has played in what was deemed three “national championship games” before the actual title affair was added two years ago.
FSU is 1-2 in those title games and 1-5 overall. The win is the lone one for the Atlantic Coast Conference, which is 1-9 in the BCS. That fact alone is one of the most damaging for the conference, which is far from being elite in today’s college football landscape.
FSU was in the championship hunt in each of the first three seasons of the BCS and has since scrambled for even a whiff of the BCS Standings, though it has broken back in this season and is steadily climbing.
It lost to No. 1 Tennessee 23-16 when the Seminoles were ranked second at the end of the 1998 season. FSU was No. 1 in the 2000 BCS and defeated Virginia Tech and Michael Vick, then No. 2, 46-29 for the championship, Bobby Bowden’s second at the school. In the 2001 BCS, No. 2 FSU lost to No. 1 Oklahoma 13-2 in the Orange Bowl in what was the highest rated BCS game (17.8 share) until the Texas-USC matchup in the 2006 Rose Bowl (21.7 share).
FSU’s last three appearances came after the 2002, 2003 and 2005 seasons. Many will remember the 2003 Sugar Bowl against Georgia, when starting quarterback Chris Rix was suspended when he missed class after failing to wake up to his alarm clock.
The Seminoles also played in the 2004 Orange Bowl, a 16-14 loss to Miami in a game that coaches on both sides would have rather not been made. And they had an improbable run to the ACC title in 2005 only to lose to Penn State in triple overtime in the 2006 Orange Bowl.
Advancing to six of the previous 10 BCS bowl matchups is pretty good. And playing for the national title three years in a row is also a good thing, but all of it is a harsh reminder that the glory days have passed FSU by.
The likelihood of a seventh BCS appearance is stronger given how well the Seminoles have started this season. They are No. 16 in the human polls and will continue to rise the more they win. However, it may take another ACC title run for FSU to break the BCS bowls, which is still a possibility.
Once they break back into the BCS bowl picture, whether this season or in 2009, the key will be to stay there. Few teams are able to do so, but the ones that are in the hunt each year are the ones who are talked about. The world has been quiet on FSU, something that has become an all too familiar situation.
