The Seminoles really became a powerhouse in the late 1980's.Florida State only began playing big time football in the mid 1950's.The origins of the university go back to various names until Florida State was established in 1905 as a college for women.Men were admitted under the GI Bill in 1946 as Florida's university enrollment exploded after World War II.Football wise the program had some good teams in the 1960's and secured its first final ranking in the major polls in 1967.Florida State would then participate in the inaugral Peach Bowl in 1968 and the inaugral Fiesta Bowl in 1971.But after rising as high as #13 in 1972,Florida State would meet #3 Alabama in October of 1974 in the midst of a 16 game losing streak having gone winless in 1973. But that 1974 game almost became college football's version of Virginia vs Chaminade.
Still, the Seminoles did have some respectable history in their brief tenure as a Division 1 school prior to the 16 game losing skid going into Tuscaloosa that day.In an era without many bowls, Florida State did play in 6 bowls from 1958 through the winless '73 season.Alabama meanwhile led the nation in bowl appearances with 27 and had played in 15 straight going back to the 1959 season.Oddly enough the Tide was invited to a bowl in 1958 and turned it down. The ill-fated and once played Bluegrass Bowl in Louisville invited Alabama to play Florida State.Alabama had flirted with the bid for a week but really gave no specific reason.It would have been their first bowl outside of the 'Big Four' Rose,Cotton,Sugar and Orange.Oddly enough in 1959 and 1960 Alabama would play in inaugral bowls, the Liberty and Bluebonnet.Florida State had won its first game against an SEC opponent in school history with a 10-0 win in Knoxville over the Vols.One of the victorious 'Noles that afternoon at Neyland Stadium was Joe Majors, the brother of Johnny,Bill and Bobby.Florida State would go on to lose that Bluegrass Bowl to Oklahoma State,15-6 on ABC-TV in Howard Cosell's national debut.
1958 marked the return of Paul W. "Bear" Bryant to Alabama as "Mama called' after successful stints at Maryland,Kentucky and Texas A&M.Alabama had suffered its own winless season in 1955 and won only 8 games from 1954-1957.In Bryant's fourth year his 1961 squad wen 11-0 and won the National Title.From 1961 through 1966 Alabama won three National titles and won 60 games in six years. But the Tide briefly hit another detour starting in 1967 in their season opener vs Florida State.
The 1966 Tide shutout six opponents and allowed only 37 points in the entire regular season.In the game at Legion Field vs the Seminoles, Alabama allowed a late touchdown and the two tied 37-37.That was actually Florida State's second game as they had opened with Houston.The Seminoles would lose the following week to NC State and then win the rest of their games before tying Penn State in the Gator Bowl earning the Seminoles their first final poll ranking.Florida State's first three opponents in the '67 season would be ranked either 2nd or 3rd in the polls at some point during the season.
Tying Florida State in and of itself was no cause for alarm by Alabama. But the 37 points the Seminoles scored were. While Alabama would go on to an 8-2-1 mark and Cotton Bowl game, the defense the next two years wasn't as dominating as it had been and the offense became more of a passing team. 8 win seasons in 1967 and 1968 were followed with 6 win seasons in 1969 and 1970 which included a loss to Vanderbilt and blowout losses to Tennessee,Auburn and Southern California.
A change to the emerging Wishbone in 1971 returned Alabama to its dominate ways while rolling up huge point totals, yardage and a return to suffocating defenses.The 1970 Tide gave up 240 points while the '71 Tide only allowed 84.The 1967-1970 period was followed up by an 11-1 season, 10-2 in 1972 and 11-1 in 1973 and share of the National Title as well as three straight SEC Titles which the Tide had not won or shared since 1966.Suffice it to say starting with the Southern Cal game in Los Angeles in 1971 when Bear introduced his Wishbone, the Tide was back.
The 1967 Seminoles were led by Bill Peterson who led the program from 1960 through 1970.Under Peterson, the program moved from a "promising" program to a solid program that could compete and play with anyone.The '64 squad went 9-1-1 including a decisive win over Oklahoma in the Gator Bowl and finished 11th in the nation.After the brutal start to the '67 campaign including the tie with Alabama, the Seminoles went back to the Gator Bowl in a season where they won in Gainesville for the first time.The 1968 edition went 8-2 in the regular season and downed Houston, 40-20 the week after the Cougars had humiliated Tulsa,100-6. The season ended in Atlanta with a 31-27 loss to LSU in the inaugral Peach Bowl. Peterson faced his old fellow assistant Charlie McClendon when both were under Paul Dietzel during LSU's 1958 National title season.
A late touchdown gave LSU a 31-27 win over Florida State in the inaugral Peach Bowl in 1968. Starting with this one, 9 of the first 10 Peach Bowls were played in thunderstorms,snow or freezing temps.No dome until the mid 1990's
Peterson was a colorful coach and after 6 an 7 win seasons in '69 and '70 left Florida State for Rice in Houston as the Owls tried to recapture some of their glory from the 1940's and 1950's.Some of Peterson's quotes were legendary. "Just remember the words of Henry Patrick (sic) kill me or let me live."Once he started a team prayer with, "now I lay me down to sleep.."While inconceivable today, in 1971 Rice had had enough prior success and resources where Peterson felt he couldn't turn it down. Plus while Florida State's football team had started producing a quality program, the facilities were those of a team still getting started.
The Seminoles turned to Larry Jones, and up and coming assistant from Tennessee. In 1971 Florida State went 8-3 and was ranked two different weeks in the top 20.Helping Jones was the that two holdover assistants didn't follow Peterson to Houston--Steve Sloan and Bill Parcells.The Seminoles were selected to play in the inaugural Fiesta Bowl vs home standing Arizona State. In a wild shoot out, the Sun Devils held off the Seminoles, 45-38. The '72 Seminoles were ranked throughout the season and came to Auburn ranked 17th and were 6-1 to face the #12 Tigers on ABC regional television. Auburn roared out to a 27-0 lead. Two fourth quarter Florida State touchdowns made the final score a somewhat more respectable, 27-14 win in Auburn's favor.
Auburn had its way with Florida State in a regionally televised game in '72. The 1972 season ended with 3 losses in the Seminoles' final 4 games setting the stage for a disastrous 1973 season
But in 1973 Alabama and Florida State's programs went in completely opposite directions.The 1973 Tide went 11-0 in the regular season winning the SEC title and was crowned National Champion by UPI.Alabama rolled up 454 points while giving up only 89.The Tide had three games decided by 14 points while the rest were much more lopsided.Three times Alabama scored 35 points and then would put up 42,43,44,66 and a stunning 77 on Virginia Tech.The Tide rushed for 748 yards on 73 carries vs VPI finishing with 833 yards total .Four different Alabama quarterbacks rushed for over 100 yards each.
Florida State's woes go back to late in the '72 campaign.After a once promising season ended on a thud with only one win in their last four games, Coach Jones felt it was time to toughen the Seminoles up some.(Lack of depth had taken a toll on the Seminoles late in the '72 campaign as one defensive player after another missed time to injuries. Things were so bad in the lone November win against Tulsa, that scout team player Sam Cowart was summoned out of the student section to dress out for the game.)Some players felt the toughening went too far.The players were "encouraged" to take a PE class that started early every morning that was basically a brutal workout every day. A Sports Illustrated article later that summer reported that Florida State was hardly the only program that had a forced class assigned to conditioning.But what got Jones' program unwanted attention were the wrestling matches held with chicken wire hanging about 4 feet over the mat to simulate how the linemen needed to stay low at the line of scrimmage. Players complained that "PE-117" was dehumanizing.After the last game of the '72 season 30 players either quit or had their scholarships taken away prior to the start of the 1973 season. Only 6 seniors were on the 1973 team by the start of the system and it went bad in a hurry
In 1973 Florida State went 0-11-0.As in "zero" wins.None.Four of the eleven losses were somewhat respectable.Wake Forest edged the Seminoles, 9-7 to win its lone game that season.Baylor won,21-14 for one of its two wins.The highlight of the season was probably a 13-10 loss to 8-3 Memphis State.But the other losses were solid beatdowns by teams that were a far cry from what Florida State faces now in the ACC.
Two weeks after suffering that humiliating 77-6 loss to Alabama,Virginia Tech defeated Florida State, 36-13. The ultimate indignity was in the season finale in Gainesville.Tangerine Bowl bound Florida pounded Florida State, 49-0 . The Gators' fans pelted the Seminoles players with tangerines and serenaded them with "oh, thank heaven for 0-11" and take off on the popular 7-11 convenience store jingle.
Florida State and Jones soon parted ways. But now what? Florida State's athletic department was $700,000 in the red in '73. Football was a big part of it,but the facilities were terrible. There was no weight room and players were living wherever there was room all over campus. Some even kicked around the idea of dropping football.Florida State baseball was quite successful and the basketball team had played in the NCAA Championship game in 1972.
Of course, Florida State did not eliminate football. They hired a coach who had won at the small college level and big time. Darrell Mudra was hired away from Western Illinois to lead the Seminoles in 1974. In and ironic sort of way, Mudra played a part in Florida State playing in the Fiesta Bowl in 1971.Prior to going to Western Illinois, Mudra was Arizona's head coach in 1967 and 1968 while the Wildcats were members of the Western Athletic Conference. The WAC had no bowl tie-ins, so with few bowls at the time, a bowl opportunity was huge.
Going into the regular season finale of the 1968 season, Arizona was 8-1 and rival Arizona State was 7-2. The Sun Bowl had selected Auburn as one of its teams and had insinuated they won take the Sun Devil - Wildcat winner in Tuscon.Mudra, without the university's blessing, told the Sun "take us now, or we aren't coming."For whatever reason, the Sun agreed to Mudra's demands and took Arizona. Arizona State came to Tuscon and leveled Arizona, 30-7. Auburn then embarrassed the Wildcats, 34-10. In Arizona sports folklore, this became known as the "Ultimatum Bowl." 8-2 Arizona State stayed home as the 1967 8-2 Sun Devils had.
Phoenix area civic and business leaders--not to mention the Arizona State fanbase--were miffed that once again the Sun Devils had put together a fine team with no bowl to show for it. The idea had been kicked around for awhile to have a bowl in "The Valley of the Sun" and used the Sun's snub to jump start and put together a bowl bid that would provide for a deserving WAC team to have a bowl to go to.Three years later at Sun Devil Stadium in suburban Tempe, Arizona State faced off with Florida State in the inaugural Fiesta Bowl.
1974 rolled around and Alabama was the overwhelming favorite to win its 4th straight SEC title and was pre-season 4th in the nation. Florida State just wanted to win,period.But the Seminoles' schedule was brutal. It would have been challenging enough for most teams,but for a winless team it was almost criminal. There were games against six bowl teams from 1973 and another game against a Baylor team that would win the Southwest Conference in 1974 and go to the Cotton Bowl.
Alabama started off in College Park ,Maryland where Bear Bryant started his head coaching career at the University of Maryland. Maryland and Claiborne would be the first of four teams with head coaches that played for Bryant. Vanderbilt's Steve Sloan and Tennessee's Bill Battle played for Bryant at Alabama while LSU's Charlie McClendon played for Bryant at Kentucky as did Jerry Claiborne.
Two touchdown favorite Alabama held on and downed #14 Maryland, 21-16. The game shouldn't have been that close as the Tide almost doubled up the Terps in total offense,but was sloppy with the football. Meanwhile Florida State gave #13 Pittsburgh everything it wanted before losing 9-6. The Seminoles did hold running back Tony Dorsett to 81 yards, well below his 142 yard average from 1973.
Alabama returned to dominance the following week pounding Southern Miss, 52-0 at Legion Field. Alabama rolled up 643 total yards with over 500 coming on the ground. Southern Miss' starting quarterback Jeff Bower, who would return to Legion Field in 2000 as USM's head coach in a stunning 21-0 win over the Tide, was injured early and the Golden Eagles couldn't do anything.In Tallahassee, Florida State fell to Colorado State, 14-7 in a game where the Seminoles figured they could end the streak.
An improving Vanderbilt squad came to Tuscaloosa for Alabama's first true home game.Through the 1987 season Legion Field held at least 12,000 more seats than Bryant-Denny Stadium so more times than not Alabama played its 'big games' in Birmingham.The Commodores under Bryant protégé' and former Florida State assistant Steve Sloan were blown out in Nashville the year before, 44-0 as Bryant took mercy on his former QB.But Vandy gave Alabama all they wanted in '74 losing, 23-10.
At Lawrence,Kansas that day Kansas dominated Florida State ,40-9. KU seemed to be headed in the right direction at the time. The win gave the Jayhawks a 2-1 mark which would go to 4-1 and a ranking of #13. However, the following week #12 Nebraska downed the #13 Jayhawks, 56-0..in Lawrence. Kansas then lost its final 5 games and Don Fambrough "resigned" and was replaced by Bud Moore who had played and coached for Bear Bryant at Alabama.
The week before the Seminoles and Tide would meet, it looked like Florida State was finally going to win. The Seminoles led Baylor, 17-0 at halftime.But Baylor who would go on to win their first Southwest Conference title, stormed back and won 21-17 on a touchdown with less than seven minutes left. Florida State's losing streak was now 16.
Meanwhile in Jackson, Alabama came from behind to down Ole Miss, 35-21 on regional television. Once again Alabama piled up lots of yardage,but 8 fumbles losing 4 and sloppy tackling made the game closer than it should have. Also quarterback Richard Todd suffered an injury and having been battered all year looked doubtful for the Florida State game.
As Alabama and Florida State prepared for their October 12th tilt, Las Vegas established the Tide as a 34 point favorite.While the #3 team in the nation favored over a team that lost 16 straight wasn't unusual, the fact that Alabama was going to start its 3rd or 4th string QB made the point spread even more unusual. More times than not when a team gets to its third team QB the bookies will scrap that game. Gary Rutledge was hurt late in fall camp and Richard Todd was battered around by all four opponents that Bryant thought it wise to sit him vs the Seminoles.Todd actually suffered an embarrassing moment as well physical pain vs Ole Miss.While being treated on the sidelines for a hip and thigh bruise,ABC's camera's briefly caught him on the bench with his trousers and pads pulled down as he received treatment with a view of a lot of flesh in private areas.
Alabama would start either Robert Fraley or Jack O'Rear. Fraley was recruited to Alabama by Steve Sloan while Alabama assistant. When Sloan left for Florida State in '71 Fraley wanted to transfer to the Seminoles but Sloan talked him out of it.Both Fraley and O'Rear had been banged up to,but couldn't wait to face Florida State.
The Tide said all the right things about taking the winless, hapless Seminoles seriously.But Alabama had been sloppy at times all year and this team was 0-16.Even with back up quarterbacks, sloppy play and over confidence shouldn't impact a 34 point favorite.
Game program. Tide led by future Miss State coach, Sylvester Croom (59)
Well, for whatever reason the 1974 Florida State-Alabama game was the Tide's closest regular season game in 1973 or 1974. While notions of some 1973 scores like 66-0,44-0 and 77-6 came to Tide...and Seminole fans alike it didn't happen.And except for a questionable decision by the Seminoles' staff, this would have been Alabama's first loss in Tuscaloosa since 1963.
Florida State took the opening kickoff and promptly marched 78 yards in nine plays and scored on freshman Larry Keys' 6 yard touchdown run. Ahmet Askin,a soccer style kicker from Turkey made the conversion and Florida State led ,7-0. While surprising its not that unusual for big underdog to score first in a game. On this same field two years earlier Vandy led Alabama 7-6 after one period only to see Alabama score four touchdowns in the second quarter as the Tide won, 48-21.
Freshman Larry Keys rushed for 123 yards and scored the lone td in the 1974 game
Alabama didn't even get four first downs in the second quarter of this game as the halftime score stayed 7-0, visitors.Florida State had twice as many yards and first downs as Fraley,who started and O'Rear struggled against the upbeat Seminoles. The Tide finally got on the scoreboard after Bob Baumhower recovered a fumble on the Florida State 31.The Tide was prepared to go for a first on fourth and one,but center Sylvester Croom forgot to snap the ball. From the 27, Bucky Berrey made a 44 yard field goal to cut the lead to 7-3. with three minutes left in the third.
The Seminoles came right back and had first and goal at the start of the fourth quarter. The drive stalled at the two and Florida State settled for a short 19 yard field goal, a yard shorter than an extra point. Askin hooked it and the game stayed 7-3.Mudra, who was one of the few if only head coaches who sat in the press box felt it was good,however his opinion didn't matter.Askin was far from automatic as this was the third field goal he missed.
Florida State's Darrell Mudra coached from the press box... and caused some damage to the visitor's coaching booth near the end of the '74 Florida State-Alabama game
After an exchange of punts, Florida State fumbled at its 29 with 6:28 to play. The Tide quickly got a first down and was at the 19.But after a short run and two O'Rear incompletions, Fraley threw incomplete on fourth down. Florida State had a 7-3 lead with only 3:22 left in the game.On third and 3, quarterback Coppess lunges for a first down which should run out the clock.However, the Seminoles were called for illegal motion setting up 3rd and 8. Coppess is sacked by future Alabama head coach Mike DuBose--still Dubose in the press-- and it was now 4th and long at the Seminole 5. Here's where Florida State fortunes turned--badly in the short term and very good in the long run.
On 4th down, Mudra was convinced the only way Alabama would score a touchdown was to block the punt and recover in the end zone. A safety would make it 7-5 and Florida State could kick off or punt from the 20. However ,both kickers had done poorly including punter Joe Downey who had four punts for a 27 yard average.The decision was made and Downey fielded the ball in the endzone and stepped out of bounds for a safety. The Seminoles led only 7-5 with just 1:27 left in the game.But now Alabama only need a field goal.
Downey's free kick punt only went to the Alabama 45 and it was returned to the Seminole 48. Up until now Fraley and O'Rear had completed only three passes for 40 yards.On first down O'Rear hit freshman Ozzie Newsome for 32 yards to the Florida State 16.The Tide lost three yards on its next three plays setting up optimum field position. On 4th A13 Florida State called time out to ice kicker Berrey. If he makes this 36 yarder, Alabama survives. If he misses, the Tide suffers its most embarrassing loss ever.Berrey drills it and Alabama wins,8-7 as Florida State throws two desperation passes to end the game.
After the game Bryant expressed frustration as an alumnus of the university about the poor coaching praising the Seminoles' valiant effort.Also as athletic director, he deducted $600 from Florida State's game check for damage done to the visitor's coaching box as head coach Mudra and others had kicked and punched holes in the wall as Berrey's game winner sailed through.
Florida State would finally win four weeks later vs rival Miami and finished 1-10.Mudra went 3-8 in '75 and was dismissed.Florida State then hired Bobby Bowden from West Virginia who after a 5-6 start in 1976 took the Seminoles to unprecedented heights. He won two national titles and took the Seminoles to a bowl every year from 1979 through retirement in 2009. Had Florida State held on to win that '74 game Mudra might have been given an extension or the team could have started producing modest results.
Alabama meanwhile, recovered nicely after some "attitude adjustments" by Bryant and won the SEC again and finished the regular season 11-0-0. They narrowly lost the Orange Bowl to Notre Dame in Ara Parhegian's final game 13-11 denying the Tide a share of the National Title.
But for :33 this was the "on any given Saturday."
