1987
The 1987 Florida State Seminoles were just minutes and then just inches away from a probable National Championship. The lone loss on the year was to the #3 and eventual National Champion Miami Hurricanes in game were the Noles had the 4th quarter lead and after letting it slip away had the chance for the win going for 2 with under a minute to play. The one point loss would prove the difference as the Noles ran the table the rest of the year in finishing #2 in the nation. The ’87 team was literally a whos-who of some of the greatest FSU players of all time: Deion Sanders, Paul McGowan, Odell Haggins, LeRoy Butler, Sammie Smith, Dexter Carter, Edgar Bennett, Pat Carter, Danny McManus and on and on. The wins included a 34-6 beatdown of a #6 Auburn team that would finish 7th in the country and a 31-3 thrashing of a Michigan State team that would finish #8 in the country. They capped off the season with a victory over #5 Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl.
1999
The 1999 Florida State Seminoles were the first wire-to-wire #1 team in AP Poll history. The ’99 Noles featured an FSU record 4 NCAA Consensus All-Americans representing each unit on the football field. Corey Simon represented the defense, Peter Warrick and Jason Whitaker the offense, and Sebastian Janikowski the special teams. On defense, an excellent linebacker trio led the team in tackles with Tommy Polley (109), Brian Allen (101), and Bradley Jennings (92) finishing one, two, three on the team. Jamal Reynolds also had an excellent season registering 7 sacks. Offensively, Chris Weinke guided the team throwing for 3,103 yards and 25 touchdowns. Along with Warrick, Ron Dugans made for an excellent pair for Weinke to target. Travis Minor had an 815 yards season on the ground for the Noles. Florida State would roll up 40+ points in each of the first 5 games, including victories over #10 Georgia Tech and #20 NC State. The Noles would go on to beat 19th ranked Miami and squeak out a 17-14 win at Clemson in the first “Bowden Bowl”. The final game of the regular season pitted familiar foes #1 FSU and #3 Florida for the chance to go to the BCS National Championship. The game, a classic back and forth affair, was all but put away with 6:03 left when Weinke found Snoop Minnis for a 27 yard score to go up 30-16 and the Noles would hang on 30-23 in one of only 3 games on the season decided by single digits. Peter Warrick would put on a show in the National Championship game with 163 yards receiving and 2 touchdowns and returning a punt 59 yards for a touchdown as the Noles won their 2nd National Championship.
JUST THE FACTS
| 1987 | 1999 | |
| Record | 11-1 | 12-0 |
| Final Rank | #2 | #1 |
| Top 25 Record (Gametime) | 2-1 | 5-0 |
| Scoring Offense | 40.9 | 37.5 |
| Scoring Defense | 12.3 | 15.6 |
| Total Offense | 487.4 | 426.4 |
| Total Defense | 274.2 | 304.6 |
| Off Yards Per Play | 6.3 | 5.8 |
| Def Yards Per Play | 4.1 | 4.8 |
| Passing Offense | 215.1 | 302.9 |
| Passing Defense | 142.1 | 205.8 |
| Rushing Offense | 272.3 | 123.5 |
| Rushing Defense | 132.1 | 98.8 |
| Turnover Margin | +7 | +8 |
| All-Americans | 11 | 6 |