Program Profile: Florida State

1955 (ACC)
Colors: Garnet and Gold
Mascot: Seminoles

Were this to be written last century, FSU would hardly need an entry. They won nearly 90% of their games in the 1990’s claiming two NCs in that time frame. They also set all sorts of records for wins and top poll finishes and blah blah blah. I mean, I hate to legitimize some of this because it’s all so biased, but even I have to admit it’s mildly impressive for a team to be ranked #1 every week from pre-season through the national championship; in 1999 they became the only team to ever achieve this. And that doesn’t include conference championships.

But this means little nowadays. Oh sure, there’s a slight glimmer of recognition, but it’s like remembering France used to be good at fighting wars. The century peaked for them in 2003 with 10 wins and has steadily fallen, reaching a low of 7 in 2006. Luckily, the Seminoles don’t play just for national glory. They fight for the Jefferson-Eppes Trophy against Virginia, the Governer’s Cup in the “Sunshine Showdown” against Florida, and the Florida Cup- a three way competition involving the traditional Florida powerhouses (UF, FSU, UM).

And win or lose, they do put on a good show. I find the war chant and chop officially called “massacre” (incidentally introduced at an Auburn game the year I was born…truly all of football revolves around the SEC) and the flaming arrow obnoxious, but that’s just because I hate Florida State. It’s kind of cool and definitely intimidating and that’s what football’s about. And to add to the creepiness factor, the stadium even has a “Sod Cemetary.” After really important away games, the ‘Noles take a piece of grass from the field and bury it in theirs. They probably do virgin sacrifices at the full moon, too. Whatever. They have real traditions rooted in history. I give them credit for that.

Lee Corso- ESPN’s most entertaining analyst- played for them. So did Deion Sanders who is now an NFL commentator. But the only thing you really need to know is the University of Tennessee totally beat them for the first ever BCS National Championship.

They have one of the most famous mascots in football: Chief Osceoloa a Seminole who rides on his horse Renegade. The connection is pretty clear: Seminoles used to live in Florida. What’s not so clear is the connection with Garnet and Gold. It’s a little complicated. Back near the turn of the century FSU was Florida State College and the football team won a championship wearing purple and gold. In 1905, the women came in, kicked the men out (the boys went to school in Gainesville), and changed the colors to crimson (see folks, girls shouldn’t go to college. Crimson is not more than one color). So then the administration took advantage of the art department and combined purple and crimson and come up with garnet. Whew.