1993 Florida State Seminoles football team

Schedule

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Rankings

Main article: 1993 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Season summary

FSU beat its first five opponents by an average score of 46–3, during which linebacker Derrick Brooks outscored the Noles' first five opponents combined. These victories included a 57-0 win over #17 Clemson and a 33-7 win over #13 North Carolina. The Seminoles' first competitive contest didn't come until October 9, when the third-ranked Miami Hurricanes came to Tallahassee with a 31-game regular season win streak. That game was sealed when FSU safety Devin Bush picked off a Frank Costa pass and ran it back 40 yards for a Florida State touchdown, making the score 28–10 with 4:59 to play.

On November 13, 1993, Florida State played Notre Dame in a matchup of unbeaten teams in an away game at Notre Dame Stadium, on a day where 20 mph winds created extra adversity for the pass-happy Noles. FSU was ranked #1 and Notre Dame was ranked #2. In a matchup hailed as the "Game of the Century", the Seminoles' bid for a perfect season fell short as Notre Dame prevailed, 31–24. The Irish had leads of 24–7 and 31–17 before the Seminoles scored late to cut the final margin to seven. The Noles then regained possession at their own 37-yard line with just 51 seconds left in the game. Three consecutive passes by Ward quickly led Florida State to the Notre Dame 14. On the last play of the game, Ward rolled out and had his pass attempt batted down in the end zone, leaving the Irish with a 31–24 victory. After that game, Notre Dame was voted #1 and FSU was voted #2.

The following week, #1 Notre Dame lost at home to #17 Boston College 41–39 on a 41-yard field goal as time expired, while the Seminoles beat NC State 62–3. The voters returned the Seminoles to the #1 spot in the AP poll, and they rose to #2 in the coaches' poll while Notre Dame fell to a ranking of fourth in both polls. The week afterwards, FSU travelled to Gainesville to face the 7th-ranked Florida Gators -- that season's SEC champions -- and defeated them 33–21. FSU finished the regular season #1 and was matched against #2 Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. In a hard-fought contest, Florida State rallied late to defeat Nebraska 18–16 after the Cornhuskers tried and missed a 45-yard field goal on the game's final play. After the bowl games, 12–1 Florida State was voted #1 in both polls, while 11–1 Notre Dame fell to #2 and 11-1 Nebraska dropped to 3rd in the polls respectively.

During the 1993 season, the Seminoles faced four teams in the top seven of the AP rankings when FSU played them -- #3 Miami in week 6, #2 Notre Dame in week 11, #7 Florida in week 13, and #2 Nebraska in the Orange Bowl -- and they went 3–1 against those teams, while playing only one home game in those four contests. The Noles also defeated three other top 25 teams that filled out their schedule, with Clemson ranked 17th, North Carolina ranked 13th, and Virginia ranked 15th when the Noles played them. By the end of season, FSU had faced six of the teams in the final AP top 25 poll, going 5-1 against them. These teams were #2 Notre Dame, #3 Nebraska, #5 Florida, #15 Miami, #19 North Carolina, and #23 Clemson. By the end of Notre Dame's season, the Irish had faced two teams ranked in the final AP top 25: #1 Florida State and #19 Michigan. In their Cotton Bowl meeting with #7 Texas A&M, Notre Dame won 24–21.

Game summaries

Kansas

At Duke

Clemson

At North Carolina

Georgia Tech

Miami (FL)

First quarter

• FSU – Sean Jackson 69-yard run (Scott Bentley kick), 11:17. ''Florida St 7–0. '''Drive: 3 plays, 80 yards, 1:04.'''''
• MIA – Donnell Bennett 6-yard pass from Frank Costa (Dane Prewitt kick), 4:09. ''Tie 7–7. '''Drive: 9 plays, 80 yards, 4:36.'''''
• FSU – Matt Frier 72-yard pass from Charlie Ward (Scott Bentley kick), 2:46. ''Florida St 14–7. '''Drive: 3 plays, 72 yards, 1:23.''''' Second quarter
• FSU – Charlie Ward 2-yard run (Scott Bentley kick), 13:37. ''Florida St 21–7. '''Drive: 8 plays, 59 yards, 2:56.''''' Third quarter
• No scoring Fourth quarter
• MIA – Dane Prewitt 23-yard field goal, 14:07. ''Florida St 21–10. '''Drive: 16 plays, 74 yards, 8:06.'''''
• FSU – Devin Bush 40-yard interception return (Scott Bentley kick), 4:59. Florida St 28–10. ;Top passers
• MIA – Frank Costa – 21/43, 193 yards, TD, INT
• FSU – Charlie Ward – 21/31, 256 yards, TD ;Top rushers
• MIA – Donnell Bennett – 21 rushes, 75 yards
• FSU – Sean Jackson – 10 rushes, 98 yards, TD ;Top receivers
• MIA – C.T. Jones – 7 receptions, 86 yards
• FSU – Matt Frier – 2 receptions, 81 yards, TD

Virginia

Wake Forest

At Maryland

At Notre Dame

Main article: 1993 Florida State vs. Notre Dame football game

NC State

At Florida

First quarter

• FSU – Tamarick Vanover 5-yard pass from Charlie Ward (Scott Bentley kick), 14:57. ''Florida St 7–0. '''Drive: 11 plays, 57 yards, 4:04.''''' Second quarter
• FSU – Scott Bentley 23-yard field goal, 14:57. ''Florida St 10–0. '''Drive: 13 plays, 72 yards, 5:39.'''''
• FSU – Scott Bentley 22-yard field goal, 7:20. ''Florida St 13–0. '''Drive: 14 plays, 70 yards, 5:30.'''''
• UF – Willie Jackson 11-yard pass from Danny Wuerffel (Judd Davis kick), 4:41. ''Florida St 13–7. '''Drive: 7 plays, 65 yards, 2:39.''''' Third quarter
• FSU – Kez McCorvey 7-yard pass from Charlie Ward (Scott Bentley kick), 11:27. ''Florida St 20–7. '''Drive: 10 plays, 65 yards, 3:53.'''''
• FSU – Kez McCorvey 16-yard pass from Charlie Ward (Scott Bentley kick), 0:21. ''Florida St 27–7. '''Drive: 3 plays, 35 yards, 0:55.''''' Fourth quarter
• UF – Willie Jackson 13-yard pass from Terry Dean (Judd Davis kick), 11:48. ''Florida St 27–14. '''Drive: 11 plays, 65 yards, 3:33.'''''
• UF – Jack Jackson 31-yard pass from Terry Dean (Judd Davis kick), 5:58. ''Florida St 27–21. '''Drive: 11 plays, 94 yards, 2:44.'''''
• FSU – Warrick Dunn 79-yard pass from Charlie Ward (pass failed), 5:28. ''Florida St 33–21. '''Drive: 3 plays, 79 yards, 0:30.''''' ;Top passers
• FSU – Charlie Ward – 38/53, 446 yards, 4 TD, 2 INT
• UF – Terry Dean – 14/33, 259 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT ;Top rushers
• FSU – Sean Jackson – 19 rushes, 48 yards
• UF – Errict Rhett – 7 rushes, 7 yards ;Top receivers
• FSU – Warrick Dunn – 8 receptions, 140 yards, TD
• UF – Willie Jackson – 7 receptions, 140 yards, 2 TD

Vs. Nebraska—Orange Bowl

Main article: 1994 Orange Bowl

Personnel

Roster

Starting lineup

Offense

Defense

Special teams

Awards and honors

• Charlie Ward, Heisman Trophy
• Charlie Ward, Johnny Unitas Award
• Charlie Ward, James E. Sullivan Award
• Charlie Ward, Walter Camp Award
• Charlie Ward, Maxwell Award
• Charlie Ward, Davey O'Brien Award

1993 team players in the NFL

The following were selected in the 1994 NFL draft.

The following played in the NFL in later years:

• Derrick Brooks
• Sam Cowart
• Kez McCorvey
• Warrick Dunn
• Derrick Alexander
• Tamarick Vanover
• Clay Shiver
• Danny Kanell

References

References

1. [http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/archive/fbs/1993team.pdf 1993 Team] ncaa.org
2. Kerkhoff, Blair. (August 29, 1993). "Jayhawks crash and burn in 42–0 thrashing". The Kansas City Star.
3. Harig, Bob. (September 5, 1993). "FSU rises above the muck". St. Petersburg Times.
4. (September 12, 1993). "No. 1 Florida State layes waste to Clemson, 57–0". The Baltimore Sun.
5. (September 19, 1993). "No. 1 Seminoles blow past Tar Heels". The Commercial Appeal.
6. (October 3, 1993). "Florida State crrushes Tech; now for Miami". Star Tribune.
7. (October 10, 1993). "It's FSU at last; Seminoles drop Miami 28–10". The Atlanta Journal & Constitution.
8. (October 17, 1993). "No. 15 Virginia can't Ward off Seminoles". The State.
9. (October 31, 1993). "Ward hurts ribs as No. 1 FSU steamrolls Deacs". Richmond Times-Dispatch.
10. (November 7, 1993). "Lackluster Florida State clinches first in ACC". The News and Observer.
11. (November 14, 1993). "Irish knock off No. 1 'Noles!". The Indianapolis Star.
12. (November 21, 1993). "FSU makes its points vs. North Carolina St.". South Florida Sun Sentinel.
13. (November 28, 1993). "Ward, Seminoles survive 'The Swamp'". The Times and Democrat.
14. (January 2, 1994). "So, who's #1? Freshman kicker gives FSU leg up, win over Nebraska". Chicago Tribune.
15. "1993 Florida State Seminoles Schedule and Results". Sports Reference LLC.
16. (April 4, 2020). "FULL GAME {{!}} THE GAME OF THE CENTURY {{!}} Notre Dame Football vs No. 1 Florida State (1993)".
17. "1994 Orange Bowl » Nebraska vs Florida State » HuskerMax game page".
18. "Heisman.com - Heisman Trophy".
19. "AAU Sullivan Award".
20. "1994 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com".