Miami-FSU: A Florida College Football Tradition Like None Other
Somewhere up in Heaven, former Florida State coach Bobby Bowden and former University of Miami coach Howard Schnellenberger are getting ready for war. Bowden is probably drawing a line in the big blue sky and setting boundaries.
I would even be willing to bet Jimmy Johnson is going to be wearing orange and green on Saturday.
Saturday is when Miami and Florida State renew their rivalry. They kickoff at 7 pm ET from Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens.
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Those three coaches made the Miami-FSU game a rivalry.
While most teams would shy away from playing Miami during their glory days, Bowden never skipped a season. Whether he travelled with his team to the Orange Bowl or he hosted Miami at Doak S. Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, he never said no to the annual game.
Bowden, before he became a national championship winning coach, used to say it would be inscribed on his tombstone "At least he played Miami."
The one game which stands out to me the most in the history of the rivalry, was not either of the "Wide Right" games.
It was the 1987 game in Tallahassee. It was a hot sweaty day and Miami was trailing by more than two touchdowns.
It was in the fourth quarter when Michael Irvin and Steve Walsh took matters into their own hands and helped seal a trip to the national title game for the Hurricanes.
Irvin was covered tight the entire game by a hot-shot cornerback by the name of Deion Sanders. This was before he was the coach known as Prime. Sanders and Irvin battled all day. Sanders was getting the best of Irvin who could not shake Sanders off the line.
Sanders was mocking Irvin and the Hurricanes. He asked Irvin why he was trying so hard when the score was lopsided. Irvin responded by saying "I'm a Miami Hurricane and we never give up."
With that he scorched Sanders for a touchdown and then another. Miami won the game 27-26. Irvin scored two two touchdowns in the final stanza, one from 26 yards and the other from 73 yards.
FSU would make it a one-point game when Ronald Lewis scored on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Danny McManus. However, instead of going for the tie, Bowden went for the win. McManus' pass to Pat Carter for the two-point conversation was batted down by Selwyn Brown and Miami sealed the victory.
Bowden could have gone for the tie. There was no overtime back then. He was a real man and went for the win. If they tied, he might have won a title in 1987. However, he went all in and lost on the flop.
The Wide Right games are stories for another day.
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Scott Salomon joined On SI in April 2024 covering breaking news and analysis for the Miami Dolphins site, and has since contributed to the Miami Heat, Back in the Day NBA, Miami Hurricanes and San Antonio Spurs sites. Scott is based in South Florida and has been covering the local and national sports scene for 35 years. He's covered and has been credentialed for the Super Bowl, the NFL Combine, various Orange Bowls and college football championship games. Scott was also credentialed for the NBA All-Star game and covered the Miami Heat during their first six seasons for USA TODAY. Scott is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Communication and the St. Thomas University School of Law. Scott has two sons and his hobbies include watching sports on television and binge watching shows on various streaming services.