Florida State Football Rivalry with Notre Dame Proves History Repeats Itself

Fact: Larger than life legends Bobby Bowden and Lou Holtz no longer prowl the sidelines.

Also fact: History repeats itself.

For one thing, Florida State and Notre Dame are playing again in the Champs Sports Bowl. But a lot of the matchup will be determined not by psychology or playing schemes alone—but also the history of the rivalry.

Why?

Because over time, patterns seem to form when teams play each other. After FSU upset No. 3 Nebraska in 1980 (their first-ever match), the Seminoles proceeded to dominate the series through the 1980s and early 90s—going 6-2 overall and denying the Cornhuskers a national championship in their most recent fight in 1993.

The same goes with Oklahoma.

Bobby Bowden’s 1979 football team was undefeated in the regular season, but a loss to Barry Switzer’s Sooners in the bowl game derailed any hopes of a national championship. Florida State has not beat OU since: Losses came to Bob Stoops’ undefeated 2000 team in the national title game, and Jimbo Fisher has gone 0-2 against Stoops in a home-and-home series.

Seminole fans will be comforted, though, to know their football team leads the series 4-2. One can appreciate the rivalry, as each game has played a pivotal role in the evolution of Tallahassee’s flagship football team.

Most of the six matches have been nailbiters, and on the whole the saga has featured at least one of the team's with a national title at stake.

So, before the seventh chapter in this rivalry begins, it may help for you to look at the past. Some of these players have likely looked at the history of these struggles to find inspiration. You can bet the Seminole staff will remind their team of the 1993 Game of the Century against the Fighting Irish.

The question is, then, how will each team respond to the past?

1981: First Matchup

The 1981 matchup established Florida State not only as a successful team, but a future national power. Bobby Bowden became known as the “Road Warrior”, thanks to the scrappy and resilient 1981 crew.

For five straight games, the Seminoles fought respected powers Nebraska, Ohio State, LSU and the Dan Marino-led Pitt Panthers. Sandwiched in the middle of the killer “Octoberfest” schedule was an encounter with Notre Dame in South Bend.

This clash had the least at stake when it came to national title hopes. Notre Dame was limping into October wounded after a blowout loss to Michigan and being upset at Purdue. Florida State—on the other hand—had collected another victory against a big name team. The week before going to Notre Dame, the Seminoles had upended undefeated Ohio State in Columbus, but the week before that Nebraska had steamrolled the Seminoles 34-14.

Perhaps going to the Midwest had eased the Seminoles nerves, or maybe it was the inability for Notre Dame head coach Gerry Faust to win games against opponents they should have been able to clobber.

The ‘Noles left Indiana with leprechaun scalps and 19-13 upset for the ages.

1993: Game of the Century

No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchups were rare in the pre-BCS era.

Fortunately, 1993 allowed for such an occasion.

The top-ranked Seminoles returned to South Bend having beat national powerhouse Miami, while the hungry second-ranked Irish knew that a home win would guarantee them a trip to the national championship in the Orange Bowl.

Jumping out to an early 24-7 lead, Lou Holtz’s group prevented a Hail Mary from Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward, and seemingly derailed the Seminoles from the national title game.

As fate would have it, the Irish would suffer their first-ever loss to Boston College the next week on a last second field goal: The Seminoles took down Nebraska in the title game to win FSU its first national championship.

1994: Revenge?

Who really had more to get revenge for in 1994? The Fighting Irish had cost the Seminoles a perfect season, but Bobby Bowden’s team had won the bigger prize in the Orange Bowl.

The two teams agreed to play in the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, giving the Seminoles a strong home crowd advantage. Such a factor probably tilted the scales in the Seminoles’ favor, as they outlasted Lou Holtz and Notre Dame 23-16.

1996: The Bowl Game

The 1995 season had been a disappointment for both national powers. FSU had lost its first ACC game ever, and had suffered at the hands of the Florida Gators in Gainesville, falling to ninth. Lou Holtz and company had been shocked by Northwestern and lost to Ohio State, but had rebounded to eighth with a 38-10 pasting of fifth-ranked USC.

Fortunately, the Seminoles were more hungry New Year’s night and rode out to a 31-26 victory in Miami. The Seminoles would soon go on to appear in four national title games in the following five years, while Notre Dame began to become a national afterthought.

2002: New Era for Irish

Bobby Bowden’s twilight phase had begun, as the Seminole dynasty ended in 2001. The Seminoles were still competitive, coming to face Notre Dame. The week before, the Noles had lost to top-ranked Miami by (surprise), missing a game-winning field goal. Obviously, the talent was there to stop the undefeated Fighting Irish in their first season with head coach Tyrone Willingham.

The hangover effect from a loss to the Hurricanes probably dogged the Seminoles, as they fell to the Irish in impregnable Doak Campbell Stadium 34-24.

2003: Attack of the Spear

Talk about a role reversal.

In 2003, a Top 10 FSU squad clobbered Willingham and the Irish, shutting out Notre Dame 37-0. This was one of the first signs of massive decline for Notre Dame. After Willingham was sent off a year later, the Charlie Weis era only briefly revived the team’s fortunes. While FSU would continue to slip into anonymity, the ‘Noles were at least able to win 10 games in 2003.

The ‘Noles have only reached the 10-win mark once since then.