As Florida State Win Streak Hits 25, How Much Longer Can 'Noles Keep It Going?

Florida State is preparing for a rivalry game with Miami while in the middle of an attempt at a third straight ACC title and a shot in the College Football Playoff, where the No. 3 Seminoles will try to repeat as national champions.

So there's little time to reflect on a winning streak that has now hit 25 games.

FSU's last loss came on Nov. 22, 2012 at home to Florida. A week later, FSU won the ACC championship game and hasn't looked back.

Through it all—an Orange Bowl win on New Year's Day 2013, a dominating national title run last season and nine (often) close wins in 2014—the Seminoles have won games.

"Winning is hard," FSU coach Jimbo Fisher said. "Don't ever take it for granted."

But it also begs the obvious question: How much longer can the 'Noles keep it going?

The last three games of the regular season won't be easy, but they're all against unranked teams. FSU plays at Miami (6-3) on Saturday before returning back home to face Boston College (6-4) and finishing with Florida (5-3).

If FSU finishes the regular season perfect, the Seminoles could face a Coastal champion that would be ranked—possibly No. 19 Duke (8-1) or No. 24 Georgia Tech (8-2).

All of FSU's opponents down the stretch have shown improvement. But Miami has been inconsistent on defense and starts a true freshman in quarterback Brad Kaaya.

Boston College matches up well against FSU and is physical on both the offensive and defensive line, but the Seminoles' speed has usually been tough for the Eagles to contend with.

Florida again has a strong defense but has been shaky on offense, although things have turned around under true freshman Treon Harris.

Of those three opponents, Miami has the best chance to pull off the upset with a talented tailback in Duke Johnson and a massive offensive line.

Any of the three could win, but FSU will more than likely be moving toward the ACC championship game 12-0 (and pushing the winning streak up to 28 games).

Team	Years	Wins
1. Oklahoma	1953-57	47
2. Washington	1908-14	40
3. Yale	1890-93	37
3. Yale	1887-89	37
5. Toledo	1969-71	35

The ACC's Coastal Division isn't settled yet, but Georgia Tech or Duke would be difficult matchups. Georgia Tech's triple-option offense is a challenge to prepare for in just one week, and the Yellow Jackets are averaging 38 points per game.

Duke is averaging 34 points per game, and coach David Cutcliffe is a creative offensive mind. But another win would give FSU No. 29.

After that? It's too tough to predict how the top four of the playoff will shake out on Dec. 7. But Mississippi State, Oregon, Alabama, Baylor or TCU would be the toughest team FSU has faced.

There aren't enough common opponents for comparison, either. TCU demolished Oklahoma State 42-9 on Oct. 18, while FSU opened the season with a narrow 37-31 win over the Cowboys.

That could be an indication of TCU's strength, but it can also be rationalized that Oklahoma State isn't as good since quarterback J.W. Walsh went down for the season with an injury, or that FSU was still adjusting in Week 1 with five new defensive starters.

Will the streak be a burden to FSU? Larry Coker, who won 24 straight games at Miami from 2001-02, said he doesn't think so.

"I wouldn't say that the team really felt that much pressure on a week-to-week basis," said Coker, now the coach at Texas-San Antonio. "It was more the fact that the players did a great job having the mindset each week that they felt like they couldn't be beaten."

Each week, FSU players insist they have focused on the opponent and are not necessarily playing to extend a streak. But what they've done isn't lost on a senior like left tackle Cameron Erving.

Erving played for Moultrie (Georgia) Colquitt County, a program that he said had losing seasons until his senior year in 2009. Once the winning began, Erving loved it. And he didn't want to go back to losing, of course.

"Then I got here and we lost four games (in 2010)," Erving said of his redshirt season. "Since I've been here, I've lost 10 games. So I don't want to go back to doing that. I don't want to go back to mediocrity."

Bob Ferrante is the Florida State Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow Bob on Twitter. All stats courtesy of Seminoles.com and NCAA.org.