The past few months have seen talk turn into legal action as both Florida State and Clemson attempt to leave the Atlantic Coast Conference for a more lucrative conference, that being either the Southeast Conference or the Big Ten Conference.
Financially, the tv money would be better in either conference than the ACC. Historically though, how has Florida State fared against the schools in the Big Ten in football?
As head coach at Florida State Mike Norvell hasn’t yet faced a Big Ten team. The Seminoles last true road trip to a Big Ten School was in September 1991 to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to face the Wolverines. Here’s a breakdown of Florida State’s football history against each Big Ten school:
ILLINOIS – The Seminoles have never faced the Illini on the gridiron.
INDIANA – Florida State defeated the Hoosiers in the 1986 All-American Bowl in Birmingham, Alabama, 27-13 in the only meeting between the two schools.
IOWA – Florida State has never played Iowa, and Seminoles fans have yet to experience the newest and warmest of college football traditions in The Hawkeye Wave tradition, started in 2017. At the end of the first quarter, where everybody stands, and in unison wave to the pediatric patients watching the game at the University of Iowa’s Stead Family Children’s Hospital.
MARYLAND – Florida State has dominated the series with the Maryland Terrapins leading 21-2. The last game between former ACC foes was in 2013, with FSU winning 63-0. Maryland joined the Big Ten Conference in 2014.
The first time FSU played Maryland was in 1966, a 45-21 win for the Seminoles in Tallahassee and FSU would win the first 14 games in the series.
MICHIGAN – Former Florida State head coach Bobby Bowden was willing to take his Seminoles anywhere any time to face anyone and in 1986 took Florida State to Ann Arbor to face Michigan in the Big House. Michigan would go on to win 20-18.
Five years later in 1991, the Seminoles returned to Ann Arbor and came away with an exciting 51-31 win. The two schools would meet in the 2016 Orange Bowl with Florida State coming away victorious 33-32.
MICHIGAN STATE – Florida State won both of the games against the Michigan State Spartans in a home-and-home series that took place in 1987 in East Lansing, Michigan, 31-3, and in 1988 in Tallahassee 30-7.
MINNESOTA – Florida State has never played the Golden Gophers.
NEBRASKA – Nebraska joined the Big Ten Conference in 2011. Therefore, all the Florida State-Nebraska games were not against a true Big Ten opponent. Florida State leads the series against the Cornhuskers, six games to two.
The first four games were all played in Lincoln, Nebraska. The first taking place in 1980, an 18-14 FSU victory, and the last in 1986, a 34-17 Nebraska victory. The last four meetings have all been bowl games with Florida State winning the 1988 and 1990 Fiesta Bowls and then winning the 1993 and 1994 Orange Bowls. Nebraska is due for a trip to Tallahassee.
NORTHWESTERN – Florida State has never played Northwestern.
OHIO STATE – Florida State has won all three meetings against the Buckeyes winning by the scores of 36-27, 34-17, and 31-14 with the first two victories both taking place in Columbus in 1981 and 1982 and the most recent game was the 1998 Sugar Bowl. The Buckeyes are definitely due for a trip to Tallahassee. Ohio Stadium is often referred to as the “Shoe” or Horseshoe due to its shape and as one might imagine it’s a very difficult place for opposing teams to play and come away with a victory. Best-selling author and Michigan alum John Bacon has described Ohio State fans as “being raised by wolves.”
OREGON – Seminoles fans remember the only time Florida State played against the Oregon Ducks, although they’d probably like to forget it. Oregon dashed all hopes of a Florida State national championship repeat and ended the Seminoles 29-game winning streak with a 59-20 win in a 2014 college football playoff semi-final game in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day in 2015.
Autzen Stadium is considered one of the best venues to watch a game in college football. Where else can you see a person dressed like a duck riding a motorcycle on to the field?
PENN STATE – This series against Penn State is all even at 1-1-1. The last meeting against the Nittany Lions was the very memorable 2006 Orange Bowl that lasted three overtimes with Penn State coming out on top 26-23.
The other two meetings Penn State wasn’t a Big 10 member as of yet. One was the 1990 Blockbuster Bowl which the Seminoles won 24-17 and the first meeting was the 1967 Gator Bowl which ended in a 17-17 tie.
If you think a trip to the Swamp in Gainesville is tough, former Florida Gators and Ohio State Coach Urban Meyer, who visited for four White Out games, has said that atmosphere is worth a 10-point advantage for the Nittany Lions. A White Out game should be on every college football fan’s bucket list.
PURDUE – Florida State has never faced the Boilermakers.
Purdue University is called the cradle of astronauts and their band has a 10-foot tall, 565-pound drum.
RUTGERS –Florida State has never played the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers. Unless you really want to visit New Jersey, you’re not missing anything.
UCLA – Florida State won the only game played between the two schools and that was the 2006 Emerald Bowl in San Francisco 44-27.
A road trip to play UCLA in Pasadena and the historic Rose Bowl Stadium is one of the more photogenic and great settings in all of college football.
USC – Do you remember when Florida State had a home-and-home two-game series against the Trojans? In 1997, Florida State made the trip to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and came away with 14-7 victory. The following year, USC came to Tallahassee and again the Seminoles triumphed 30-10. Apparently, USC wanted no more of that smoke and the two schools haven’t faced each other since.
WASHINGTON – Florida State has never faced the Washington Huskies. Seminoles nation hasn’t experienced the views in and around Husky Stadium. If the Seattle Seahawks are home the next day, that’s a football bonus, but you might want to take ear plugs.
WISCONSIN – Florida State won the only game played between the two schools that being the 2008 Champs Sports Bowl 42-13.
if you enjoy beer, sausages and cheese curds, Madison, Wisconsin is the place for you. If you think about Camp Randall Stadium, everyone thinks about the Jump Around that takes place at the end of the third quarter. Even the visiting team players jump around. Cardiovascular exercise is a good thing after all that beer, sausages and cheese curds.
Many Big 10 college football fans haven’t experienced Osceola and Renegade in person and would certainly look forward to leaving the cold midwestern plains to take a warm-weather trip to the Sunshine State in November.
Considering just the games against those schools that were in the Big Ten when they played Florida State, the Seminoles have an impressive 9-2 record with the last game against a Big Ten school being the 2016 Orange Bowl against Michigan. Being in the Big 10 would bring new challenges and be more difficult than facing their current ACC opponents with some chilly November road trips. Get your Florida State winter coat ready.
John Baranowski is a sports historian and contributor to newspapers, sports publications, and sports websites. This and other articles written by him can be found on his blog: https://johnbaranowski.wordpress.com/
Ohio Stadium Photo Credit: fensterbme on VisualHunt.com
UCLA Rose Bowl Stadium Photo Credit: Neilwill on Visualhunt
USC Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Photo Credit: Ken Lund on Visualhunt.com
Camp Randall Stadium Photo Credit: Jim Bauer on VisualHunt.com
Florida State Photo credit: Lance McCord on Visualhunt
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