It was good year for Florida State football. The Seminoles got a taste of the glory days for the program by winning an ACC title and a victory in a BCS bowl game, even if it was against BCS buster Northern Illinois in the Orange Bowl. The Seminoles fell a little short of my preseason expectations in 2012 but I feel they might be capable of another run through the ACC this upcoming season, which kicks off in Pittsburgh against a new conference foe in week one.
We now know what the celebratory and honorary bling that accompanies these milestone victories look like, thanks to some nice CAD video showcasing the designs for Florida State’s ACC and Orange Bowl championship rings. What, no ring for winning the ACC Atlantic Division?
First, Florida State’s ACC Championship ring design…
The ACC Championship Game may already be a distant memory to some, but for those looking to witness the game from my point of view, here is your chance. Below is the photo set I set up on Flickr today.
It was acold evening in Charlotte for the ACC championship game. Not so much for me and my northern blood traveling south for the day, but certainly for anyone from the deeper south than I. Like Florida State head coach Jimbo Fisher, for instance.
Moments after the final seconds ticked off the clock to wrap up Florida State’s first ACC championship since 2005, holding on to beat Georgia Tech 20-15, Fisher was given the standard postgame sports drink bath by a couple of his players.
How did it feel?
“Whoo, is that cold!”
Better you than I coach. Here is a brief look at the on-field celebration as Florida State clinched a spot in the Orange Bowl.
Charlie Ward is still one of the best college football players I remember watching.
I first really started to pay attention and follow college football in 1993. I had been to games in State College years prior but my sports brain never truly developed until 1993, when my beloved Philadelphia Phillies sparked a new passion for me with sports. As I studied up on baseball over that wild summer, I picked up college football n the fall like never before by watching games more frequently with my dad on those fall Saturdays.
In 1993 I focused mostly on Penn State with my dad but I also paid attention to the headlines and polls more and became somewhat familiar with the national scene. That was the season that saw No. 2 Notre Dame host No. 1 Florida State, a game of such epic magnitude that it forced ESPN’s little College Game Day program to pack up their set and make a trip out of the Bristol, Connecticut studio and put together a live, on-scene show. It was never done before this game, and it would become a staple of one of ESPN’s top programs behind SportsCenter. It is somewhat fitting that I mention this game because it was also the particular moment when the beloved Beano Cook made his somewhat infamous prediction that Notre Dame would win at least two national championships and quarterback Ron Powlus would win two Heisman Trophies over the next four years. Beano Cook passed away in his sleep this week, which caused the entire college football world to mourn and recall favorite Beano stories.
Outside of Penn State making their Big Ten debut that season, I was drawn to the play of a special athlete at Florida State, quarterback Charlie Ward. His incredible skills were awe-inspiring with his touch and his ability to run with the football. As someone who had started learning about the sport of college football by watching Penn State, watching Charlie Ward at times was like watching a completely different sport. Kerry Collins was never one to tuck and run. Ward’s brilliance paralleled the success of the Seminoles in 1993 as well, because they were playing a different game at the time against most of their competition. … Continue Reading
Which team has the best chance to snap the SEC’s BCS Championship streak this January? Four weeks in to the season you may find an answer on both sides of the country with Florida State and Oregon.
The Seminoles were dealt with adversity for the first time this season against Clemson, trailing 21-14 at halftime, but Jimbo Fisher’s team responded in a big way. Florida State made Clemson feel like they were back in the Orange Bowl last January by scoring 35 second-half points to win 49-37 in a crucial ACC Atlantic Division match-up.
For Florida State the task is to now avoid any sort of let down, with a non-conference game at South Florida next week followed by a road trip to North Carolina State. The Seminoles also have road games at Virginia Tech and Miami before the end of the regular season, which wraps up with a home game against the SEC’s Florida Gators – a game that continues to become more interesting by the week with Florida State and Florida putting together some early wins. There is a lot of football to be played, but if Florida State can somehow keep this moving along they will have an excellent chance to represent the ACC in the BCS Championship game for the first time since 2000 (also the last time the ACC was in the championship game).
Meanwhile, on the other side of the country, Oregon put together a statement victory against one of the revitalized programs in the Pac-12 by dominating Arizona 49-0 late Saturday night. With the win the Ducks showed they can play lockdown defense when it counts, forcing five turnovers and stopping the Wildcats any time they sniffed around the red zone.
Oregon seems to have an easier path to their second BCS Championship Game, but must go on the road in five of their final eight games, including a trip to USC on November 3 and the regular season finale against rival Oregon State, who is now 2-0 with a win at UCLA. Oregon also hosts Stanford on November 17, but if things continue to follow the trend they currently show, the Ducks are still the team to beat in the Pac 12 and they are very capable of running the table all the way to the BCS Championship Game.
Here is this week’s highlight package. You can continue reading after the jump.
