November 13, 1993: Florida State vs. Notre Dame, "The Game of the Century"

November 13, 1993: Not every college football game billed as "The Game of the Century" lives up to the billing. This one did.

Florida State University, coached by Bobby Bowden, and quarterbacked by eventual Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward, had gone through several near-misses for the National Championship. In 1993, they looked ready to go all the way. They won their 1st 5 games: 42-0 over Kansas in the Kickoff Classic at the Meadowlands, 45-7 away to Duke, 57-0 home to Number 17 Clemson, 33-7 away to Number 13 North Carolina, and 51-0 home to Georgia Tech.

The 2 previous years, they had lost to one of their rivals, the University of Miami, on missed last-play field goals. This time, with Miami coming into Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee with the Number 3 ranking, the Seminoles left no doubt, winning 28-10. No last-play, or even last-minute, heroics necessary. They followed this with a 40-14 win home to Number 15 Virginia, a 54-0 home win over Clemson, and a 49-20 win away to Maryland.

That set up a meeting with the University of Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish played about as tough a schedule as could be played without being part of a major conference, including 4 Big 10 schools. They opened the season by beating Northwestern at home, 27-12. The beat then-Number 3 Michigan away, 27-23; Michigan State at home, 36-14; Purdue away, 17-0; Stanford away, 48-20; the University of Pittsburgh at home, 44-0; Brigham Young University (BYU) award, 45-20; the University of Southern California (USC) at home, 31-13; and Navy at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia, 58-27.

The Irish were also undefeated, and looked every bit as unstoppable as the Seminoles. With NBC having the contract to broadcast Notre Dame home games, they could hype this Number 1 vs. Number 2 matchup as "The Game of the Century."

Notre Dame outplayed Florida State the entire game, to the tune of a 31–17 lead in the 4th quarter. The offense had hung its shoulders around their junior running back Lee Becton, who had yet another 100+ yard afternoon.

With 1:39 left, Ward drove Florida State down the field, and hit Kez McCorvey on 4th-and-20 for a touchdown. The pass bounced off of Notre Dame safety Brian McGee and into McCorvey's hands.

Notre Dame then went three-and-out on their next possession, giving Florida State one last shot. In just 3 plays, Ward led Florida State to the Notre Dame 14 with 3 seconds to play. On the last play of the game, Ward rolled out, and had his final pass attempt batted down by Notre Dame cornerback Shawn Wooden, clinching the final score as Notre Dame 31, Florida State 24.

There was pandemonium in South Bend. Meanwhile, all of Florida, people were crushed. It looked like Florida State's best chance ever to win the National Championship had been lost. Not exactly "blown," as it was with the missed field goals of the preceding 2 years, but definitively taken away from them by a team which, if not necessarily better, was certainly good enough and had the home-field advantage.

Afterward, all Notre Dame had to do was beat Boston College at home the following Saturday, and theyvwould be able to play Nebraska for the National Championship in the Orange Bowl on New Year’s Day. That was all.

They didn't. BC were ranked Number 17, and David Gordon kicked a 41-yard field goal on the last play of the game, to give them a 41-39 win. It was BC's biggest win since Doug Flutie led them past Miami in 1984, and their biggest without Flutie since clinching a share of the National Championship in the 1941 Sugar Bowl.

Had there been a Bowl Championship Series or a National Championship Playoff at the time, Notre Dame would still have gotten into it. Instead, they dropped from Number 1 to Number 4. They ended up beating Number 7 Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl.

In contrast, losing away to Notre Dame by 7 points only dropped Florida State to Number 2. They beat North Carolina State, 62-3 at home, to clinch the Atlantic Coast Conference title, to retake the Number 1 spot. Then they beat Number 7 and arch-rival Florida away, 33-21, to set up a National Championship matchup with Number 2 Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. Florida State won, 18-16.

In the final polls, both the Associated Pres (AP, the sportswriters) and United Press International (UPI, the head coaches) had Florida State at Number 1, and Notre Dame at Number 2.

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November 13, 1993 was a Saturday. These other major college football games were played that day:

* Number 3 Miami beat Rutgers, 31-17 at the Orange Bowl in Miami.

* Number 4 Nebraska beat Iowa State, 49-17 at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.

* Number 5 Ohio State beat Number 19 Indiana, 23-17 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus.

* Number 7 Auburn beat Georgia, 42-28 at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia.

* Number 8 Florida beat South Carolina, 37-26 at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina.

* Number 9 West Virginia beat Temple, 49-7 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

* Number 10 UCLA were upset by Arizona State, 9-3 at the Rose Bowl in the Los Angeles suburb of Pasadena, California.

* Number 11 Texas A&M beat Number 20 University of Louisville, 42-7 at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas.

* Number 12 Alabama beat Mississippi State, 36-25 at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

* Number 13 Arizona were upset by the University of California, 24-20 at California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, California.

* Number 18 Virginia were upset by Clemson, 23-14 at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina.

* Number 23 Wyoming were upset by New Mexico, 10-7 at University Stadium in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

* Number 25 University of Washington were upset by the University of Southern California (USC), 22-17 at Husky Stadium in Seattle.

* In the "Little Brown Jug," Michigan beat Minnesota, 58-7 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

* Army beat Lafayette, 35-12 at Michie Stadium in West Point, New York.

* Navy lost to Vanderbilt, 41-7 at Vanderbilt Stadium (now FirstBank Stadium) in Nashville.

In New Jersey high school football, my Alma Mater, East Brunswick, lost to Woodbridge, 29-23 at Jay Doyle Field in East Brunswick.

Baseball was out of season. There were 8 games played in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 99-86 at Madison Square Garden. John Starks scored 35 points.

* The New Jersey Nets lost to the Philadelphia 76ers, 98-97 at the Brendan Byrne Arena in the Meadowlands.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Chicago Bulls, 98-97 at the Chicago Stadium.

* The Utah Jazz beat the Dallas Mavericks, 101-100 at the Reunion Arena in Dallas.

* The Houston Rockets beat the Phoenix Suns, 99-95 at The Summit in Houston. (The arena has since been converted into the Central Campus of the Lakewood Church, Dr. Joel Osteen's "megachurch.")

* The Golden State Warriors beat the Denver Nuggets, 106-98 at the McNichols Arena in Denver.

* The Los Angeles Clippers beat the San Antonio Spurs, 92-90 at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena.

* And the Seattle SuperSonics beat the Atlanta Hawks, 97-89 in overtime at the Seattle Center Coliseum.

And there were 12 games played in the NHL, with every team in action except the 2 new expansion teams, the Florida Panthers and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim:

* The New York Rangers beat the Washington Capitals, 2-0 at the USAirways Arena (formerly the Capital Centre) in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

* The New York Islanders lost to the Boston Bruins, 5-2 at the Nassau Coliseum.

* The New Jersey Devils lost to the San Jose Sharks, 4-2 at the Brendan Byrne Arena at the Meadowlands.

* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 7-2 at The Spectrum in Philadelphia.

* The Ottawa Senators beat the Montreal Canadiens, 3-2 at the Montreal Forum. Dave McLlwain scored the winning goal with 1:38 left in overtime. 

* The Edmonton Oilers and the Hartford Whalers played to a tie, 4-4 at the Hartford Civic Center (now the PeoplesBank Arena).

* The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Quebec Nordiques, 4-3 at the ThunderDome (now Tropicana Field) in St. Petersburg, Florida.

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-2 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Pittsburgh Penguins, 7-3 at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh.

* The Dallas Stars beat the Winnipeg Jets, 3-2 at the Winnipeg Arena.

* The Calgary Flames beat the Vancouver Canucks, 4-3 at the Saddledome in Calgary.

* The Los Angeles Kings beat the St. Louis Blues, 6-3 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.

 

January 1, 1994: Florida State Finally Does It

 

January 1, 1994: The Orange Bowl is played, at the stadium of the same name in Miami. The University of Nebraska hasn't won the National Championship since the 1971 season, 32 years earlier. Florida State University has never won it. Both teams have had some agonizing close calls the last few years. Something's got to give.

Bobby Bowden had been an assistant coach at Florida State before becoming the offensive coordinator, and then the head coach, at West Virginia. After taking the Mountaineers to victory in the 1975 Peach Bowl, FSU asked him to come back.

He inherited a mess. As he said at the time, "At West Virginia, the bumper stickers say, 'BEAT PITT.' At Florida State, they say, 'BEAT ANYBODY.'" It took him just 2 years to turn them into a 10-2 team and winners of the Tangerine Bowl.

The Seminoles were not in a league until joining the Atlantic Coast Conference in 1992. But they put together some great teams. In 1979, they had an undefeated regular season, 11-0. In 1980, they went 10-1. But, both seasons, they lost a chance at the National Championship by losing the Orange Bowl.

In 1987, they went 11-1 and won the Fiesta Bowl. In 1988, they went 11-1 and won the Sugar Bowl. But, both times, they lost a regular season game to the University of Miami, one of their main rivals, costing them a shot at the National Championship. In 1989 and 1990, they went 10-2.

The 1991 season seemed like the year. They began the season ranked Number 1, and won their 1st 10 games. And then it all fell apart. In back-to-back games -- though with a bye week in between -- they faced Number 2 Miami at home at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, and lost 17-16; and then faced their other main rivals, Number 5 University of Florida, away, and lost 14-9. A win over Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl did little to console them, as Miami won the National Championship for the 4th time in the last 9 seasons.

Could 1992 be the year? They won their 1st 5 games, then had to go to the Orange Bowl stadium to play Miami: The Hurricanes were Number 2, the Seminoles Number 3, so it was a big game, if not the big game of the regular season, as it was the year before. Miami won, 19-16. Florida State won the rest of their games, including a return to the Orange Bowl where they beat Nebraska, but finished Number 3. Miami lost the Sugar Bowl to Alabama, costing them another National Championship.

In both 1991 and 1992, Miami won because Florida State missed a last-play field goal: The 1st time, by Gerry Thomas from 34 yards; the 2nd time, by Dan Mowrey from 39. Both were wide and to the right. These games are now known as Wide Right I and Wide Right II.

Seminole fans could only console themselves by calling on Miami's "thug" image, saying, "You can't spell SCUM without UM." In time, a free sneakers scandal would lead to Miami (and Florida) fans saying, "FSU" stood for "Free Shoes University."

Again in 1993, Florida State opened the season at Number 1. And they tempted fate by recruiting Scott Bentley, a native of the Denver suburbs and the country's highest-ranked high school kicker, and letting him be put on the cover of Sports Illustrated's 1993 College Football Preview Issue. It was as if they were telling "The Dreaded SI Cover Jinx," "Come on, then!"

As it turned out, Bentley missed 7 extra points in the team's 1st 5 games. Not 7 field goals. Seven extra point attempts. The Jinx was punishing Bentley for his team's defiance.

As it turned out, it didn't matter: It was only Bentley, not the team as a whole, that was getting punished. They won those 1st 5 games: 42-0 over Kansas in the Kickoff Classic at the Meadowlands, 45-7 away to Duke, 57-0 home to Number 17 Clemson, 33-7 away to Number 13 North Carolina, and 51-0 home to Georgia Tech.

This time, with Miami coming into Doak Campbell with the Number 3 ranking, the Seminoles left no doubt, winning 28-10. No last-play, or even last-minute, heroics necessary. They followed this with a 40-14 win home to Number 15 Virginia, a 54-0 home win over Clemson, and a 49-20 win away to Maryland.

That set up a showdown with Number 2 Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. NBC tried billing it as "The Game of the Century," and it lived up to the hype, being in doubt until a last-gasp FSU pass was broken up in the end zone. Notre Dame won, 24-17, and rose to Number 1.

It looked like the Seminoles' dreams had been shattered again. But the very next week, Notre Dame were upset by Boston College on a last-play field goal. Meanwhile, Florida State beat North Carolina State 62-3 to clinch the ACC title, and won 33-21 away to Number 7 Florida to regain the Number 1 ranking.

Since winning back-to-back National Championships in 1970 and 1971, Nebraska had won 11 Big Eight Conference Championships, 3 Sugar Bowls, 2 Orange Bowls and a Cotton Bowl. But they hadn't won another National Championship. They only lost 1 game in 1982, by 3 points, away to Penn State. They put up one of the most stunning seasons in college football history in 1983, but lost the Orange Bowl to Miami on a missed 2-point conversion, starting Miami's quasi-dynasty.

Expectations for 1993 were not especially high, as the Cornhuskers started out ranked Number 9. Putting up 76 points on North Texas, 50 on Texas Tech, 49 on Missouri, 49 on Iowa State, 48 on Colorado State, and 45 on Kansas State were not unusual for The 'Huskers under head coach Tom Osborne.

What did get people's attention was a nationally-televised 14-13 win over UCLA at the Rose Bowl stadium; a 21-17 win away to Colorado, which had been the top team in the Big 8 the last few years; and a 21-7 day-after-Thanksgiving win over their arch-rivals, Number 16 Oklahoma.

It pushed Nebraska up to Number 2, and set up a New Year's Day prime-time matchup between Osborne's 'Huskers and Bowden's 'Noles. One of these teams was going to end their years of heartbreak, while the other was going to extend it. It was college football's equivalent of having a World Series between the pre-2004 Boston Red Sox and the pre-2016 Chicago Cubs.

Nebraska were undefeated. Florida State were not. And yet, Florida State were favored by 17 1/2 points. Was it because they had the Heisman Trophy winner, quarterback Charlie Ward? It shouldn't have been: Nebraska had the country's best defense. Was it because Nebraska had a history of choking? It shouldn't have been: So did Florida State.

Was it because Florida State were used to playing on this field? Not really: So were Nebraska. And being in the same State didn't make any difference: It was 482 miles from Doak Campbell Stadium to the Orange Bowl, so this was no "home game" for the Seminoles and their fans.

The 1st quarter ended scoreless, but it shouldn't have been: Nebraska returned a punt for a touchdown, but it was called back due to an illegal block, which the instant replay showed didn't happen. Bentley opened the scoring with a field goal midway through the 2nd quarter. Nebraska scored a touchdown, but with time running out in the half, Bentley kicked another field goal. It was Nebraska 7, Florida State 6.

Nebraska got robbed again early in the 3rd quarter. William Floyd appeared to have scored a touchdown for FSU, but the replay showed that he fumbled before crossing the goal line. The 2-point conversion attempt failed, and the Seminoles led 12-7. Bentley kicked another field goal, and it was 15-7 Seminoles at the end of the quarter. By all rights, it should have been 14-9 Cornhuskers.

At the beginning of the 4th quarter, Lawrence Phillips scored a touchdown for Nebraska. Just as it had on the same field 10 years earlier, the 2-point conversion attempt did not go Nebraska's way, and it was still 15-13 Seminoles. Time began to run out. But quarterback Tommie Frazier drove the 'Huskers down, and with 1:16 left, Byron Bennett kicked a 27-yard field goal. Nebraska led, 16-15.

But it wasn't over yet. The 'Noles still had Heisman winner Ward. He got them down to a 1st & goal on the Nebraska 3-yard line. The 'Husker defense held, and, with 21 seconds left, Scott Bentley finally had his date with destiny. It was an attempt from 22 yards out. Basically, an extra point attempt. If he makes it, he's a Seminole hero for all time. If he misses it, he's the biggest flop in team history. He nailed it, and his teammates piled onto him.

But the game still wasn't over. The Seminoles were penalized for excessive celebration. That, and a bad kickoff -- by Bentley, mind you -- gave the 'Huskers the ball at their own 43. They only needed about 25 yards for a game-winning field goal.

Frazier got Nebraska to the Seminole 28, with a pass to Trumane Bell. That would make a field goal attempt 45 yards. Not easy on natural grass, but with hardly any wind, certainly possible. But the clock seemed to run out when Bell went down. Thinking their coach had finally won his National Championship, some Florida State players dumped the Gatorade on Bowden.

But referee John Soffey ruled that Bell was down with 1 second left. By NCAA rules, the clock must stop to move the first down marker. This gave Nebraska time to get their field goal unit on in time. If Bennett made his attempt, it would have been the cruelest loss yet for Florida State: Losing on a last-play field goal when you thought you already had the National Championship won.

Bennett missed. Not wide right, but wide left.

Like Ralph Branca, a victim of big-game fate

in baseball in 1951, he wore Number 13.

Now, Florida State were the National Champions -- clinching it with the other team missing a field goal attempt. No one cared about the irony, or that they hadn't played especially well: They were Champions at last.

It was another crushing defeat for Nebraska. Finally, the next season, they went all the way -- and in the perfect way, beating Miami on their own field in the Orange Bowl game. This started a run of 3 National Championships in 4 seasons.

Byron Bennett would not be a part of it. The man who thought he'd made the field goal to get Tom Osborne his 1st National Championship as a head coach -- he'd been an assistant to Bob Devaney in 1970 and '71 -- and then missed the one that would have really done it, became a parole officer in Dallas, and then a high school football coach. He's done rather well at it.

Bobby Bowden would lead Florida State to another National Championship in 1999. His successor, Jimbo Fisher, did so in 2013.

Scott Bentley remained with Florida State through the 1996 season, and graduated. In 1997, the Atlanta Falcons signed him as a kickoff specialist, but released him after 2 games. The Denver Broncos picked him up, as a backup to Jason Elam, and he played 1 game, kicking 2 field goals in 3 attempts and going 4-for-4 on extra points. He remained a kickoff specialist, playing 2 games in 1999 for the Kansas City Chiefs; and, in 2000, 1 more for the Broncos and 6 for the Washington Redskins, making 1 field goal, for 50 yards. He is now an operations manager for Amazon.com.

One other note: This game was broadcast on NBC, with Dick Enberg and former Cincinnati Bengals star Bob Trumpy in the booth, and legendary USC and Buffalo Bills running back O.J. Simpson as the sideline reporter. If what happened between Florida State and Nebraska on January 1, 1994 was shocking, what Simpson did in the week of June 12 to 17, 1994 was even more so.

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January 1, 1994 was a Saturday. In the other New Year's Day bowl games:

* Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California: Number 9 Wisconsin beat Number 14 UCLA, 21-16.

* Sugar Bowl, Superdome, New Orleans: Number 8 Florida beat Number 3 and previously undefeated West Virginia, 41-7. West Virginia fans were hoping that the Orange Bowl, being played at the same time, would be a dull, or mistake-filled, game, giving them hope for the National Championship. But Florida, who'd lost only to Florida State and Auburn, put a quick stop to that.

* Cotton Bowl, Dallas: Number 4 Notre Dame beat Number 7 Texas A&M, 24-21.

* Fiesta Bowl, Sun Devil Stadium, Tempe, Arizona: Number 16 Arizona beat Number 10 Miami, 29-0. Arizona did this despite playing on the home field of their arch-rivals, Arizona State.

* Hall of Fame Bowl, Tampa Stadium: Number 23 Michigan beat unranked North Carolina State, 42-7.

* Florida Citrus Bowl, Orlando, Florida: Number 13 Penn State beat Number 6 Tennessee, 31-13.

* Carquest Bowl, Joe Robbie Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida: Number 15 Boston College beat unranked Virginia, 31-13. This game debuted in 1990 as the Blockbuster Bowl, and has gone through many names. It moved to Orlando in 2001, and took up the former name of the Florida Citrus Bowl, the Tangerine Bowl. Still in Orlando, it is now known as the Cheez-It Bowl.

This was also the last weekend of the NFL regular season. No games were played that day: Most were played the next day, January 2, with 1 played on Friday, New Year's Eve; and a Monday Night Football game played on January 3.

Baseball, of course, was out of season. No NBA games were scheduled. But 5 NHL games were:

* The New Jersey Devils beat the Ottawa Senators, 7-1 at the Ottawa Civic Centre. (It's now named the TD Place Arena.) Bernie Nicholls scored a hat trick, and the Devils also got goals from Corey Millen, Stéphane Richer, Bill Guerin and Tom Chorske.

* The New York Islanders lost to the Hartford Whalers, 4-3 at the Nassau Coliseum. (The New York Rangers were not scheduled.)

* The Tampa Bay Lightning and the Washington Capitals played to a 5-5 tie, at the Capital Centre in the Washington suburb of Landover, Maryland.

* The League's 2 new expansion teams played each other, and the Florida Panthers beat the team then known as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, 4-2 at the Miami Arena.

* And the Los Angeles Kings beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 7-4 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.

Also, Arsenal beat Wimbledon FC, 3-0. The game was played at Selhurst Park, home of Crystal Palace FC, in the Croydon section of South London. Wimbledon's former home of Plough Lane was deemed unable to be adapted to all-seater status in the wake of the Hillsborough Stadium Disaster and the subsequent Taylor Report.