Florida State–Miami football rivalry

The Florida State–Miami football rivalry is an American college football rivalry game played annually by the Miami Hurricanes football team of the University of Miami and the Florida State Seminoles football team of Florida State University. Although both universities participate in a variety of intercollegiate sports, the competition between the Hurricanes and Seminoles has traditionally focused on their football teams.

The Hurricanes currently lead the football series 31–26, with Florida State having won the last three most recent matchups. Since the late 1980s, one or both squads have often been highly ranked coming into the game, adding national championship implications to an already heated rivalry. Kicks have played an important role in the series with many wide right, wide left, blocks and other mistakes that would have won the game for the fallen.

The series has consistently drawn very high television ratings with the 2006 Miami–Florida State game being the most-watched college football game—regular-season or postseason—in ESPN history, and the 2009 and 1994 meetings being the second- and fifth-most watched regular season games, respectively.

1987: Going for the win instead of a tie
FSU and Miami played an epic game in 1987. Both teams were ranked in the top 4. FSU jumped out to a 19-3 lead. FSU held the lead until Miami came back in the 4th quarter to take a 26-19 lead. FSU scored a touchdown with 42 seconds left in the game. FSU could tie with the extra point, but Bowden decided to go for the win. The 2 point conversion fell incomplete and the Noles lost 26-25 to the Canes.

1989: FSU Beats the National Champions
Florida State defeated Miami 24-10 as Miami was missing their starting QB and was forced to play freshman Gino Toretta. Miami went on to win the National Championship upon Craig Erickson's return. FSU did not compete for it, as they suffered two losses at the beginning of the season to Southern Miss and Clemson.

1991: Wide Right I
After being labeled a "key persona" by Keith Jackson for hitting his third field goal of the game, Florida State kicker Gerry Thomas missed a field goal to the right with less than a minute remaining, and the top-ranked Seminoles lost in Doak Campbell Stadium to the second-ranked Hurricanes, 17-16. Miami went on to split the national championship with the University of Washington, and Florida State finished the season 11-2, ending it by winning the Cotton Bowl Classic against Texas A&M University.

1992: Wide Right II
Seminole placekicker Dan Mowrey missed a field goal to the right, and the 1992 Seminoles lost to the Hurricanes in Miami, 19–16. Miami took an undefeated record to the Sugar Bowl, but lost the national championship to Alabama Crimson Tide. Florida State did not lose again, and finished the season ranked second, after Alabama, in both major polls.

2000: Wide Right III
Miami took a 27-24 lead after a Ken Dorsey touchdown pass to Jeremy Shockey, but Seminole quarterback and 2000 Heisman Trophy winner Chris Weinke moved the Seminoles into field goal range during a last minute drive in Miami's Orange Bowl stadium. Florida State kicker Matt Munyon missed a field goal attempt again to the right to seal the Hurricanes' victory. Controversy erupted later in the season when the Seminoles were ranked higher by the BCS and picked to play in the Orange Bowl against Oklahoma for the national championship despite Miami being ranked higher in both the AP Poll and Coaches Poll. The Seminoles lost to the Sooners 13-2, while the Hurricanes defeated Florida 37-20 in the Sugar Bowl. Miami would finish #2 in the polls that year.

2002: Wide Left
The defending champion Hurricanes staged a comeback against the underdog Seminoles to take a 28-27 lead with only minutes remaining in the game in Miami. The Seminoles drove down the field to give kicker Xavier Beitia a chance to win the game with a last second field goal. Beitia missed the kick to the left, giving Miami the victory. FSU went on to win the Atlantic Coast Conference title with a 9-5 overall record, but lost in the Sugar Bowl to Georgia. Miami would finish the regular season undefeated and then lose in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl, to Ohio State, in what is considered to be one of the greatest games in college football history.

2004 Orange Bowl: Wide Right IV
This contest, a rematch of the regular season game won by Miami, took place in the 2004 Orange Bowl. In this contest, Beitia missed a field goal—wide right—that could have given the Seminoles the lead with about 5 minutes remaining in the game. This game was of lesser importance on a national scale compared to the other Wide Right games, but continued the streak of Florida State losses determined by a single kick. With the win, Miami would finish #5 in the polls that year. It was the first and only bowl meeting between the rivals, as Miami's move to the ACC the next season would make the schools intra-conference rivals and, for all practical purposes, eliminate the possibility of the teams ever meeting in a bowl game again.

2005: The Miami Muff
Miami was ranked No. 9 and FSU No. 14. The Florida State Seminoles finally gained some redemption for the past Wide Right heartbreaks. Trailing 10-7, the Hurricanes drove down the field to set up a game-tying field goal with 2:16 left. When the ball was snapped, it was mishandled by holder Brian Monroe and the ball never reached the kicker's foot. This ultimately led to a Florida State victory. Florida State would go on to win the 2005 ACC Championship, with an upset win over #5 Virginia Tech.

2008: FSU 41, Miami 39
Florida State had a 24-3 lead at halftime, but Miami made a miraculous comeback by scoring 29 points to FSU's 10 with 4 minutes left in the game. FSU was faced with 3rd and goal at the 20 yard line against a Miami team that was on fire from the comeback, but Antone Smith scored on a 20 yard touchdown run to put FSU up by 9.

2009: FSU 34, Miami 38
Miami repeatedly took advantage of an FSU defense that was shockingly bad. At the time, pundits didn't realize just how poor FSU's defense was, and proclaimed Jacory Harris as a Heisman contender and Miami as "back." The game was Bobby Bowden's last in the series and he ended up with a losing record against Miami.

2010: FSU 45, Miami 17
Florida State jumped out to a big first half lead before Miami battled back to close within 14. The 'Noles poured it on again, crushing the 'Canes 45-17. The loss was a major catalyst behind the firing of Randy Shannon, under whom many believed the 'Canes would be back to where they were during better times. This was Jimbo Fisher's first win as FSU Head Coach against Miami.

2011: FSU 23, Miami 19
Under new coach Al Golden, Miami came to Tallahassee with a team that featured 18 eventual NFL players. FSU won 23-19. The ACC later publicly apologized for three egregious blown calls, including the wrongful ejection of Seminole linebacker Nigel Bradham for what was later ruled to be a legal hit.

Game results
''Florida State victories are colored ██ garnet. Miami victories are colored ██ green. Ties are white.''

Records table sources: 2010 Florida State Football Media Guide, HurricaneSports.com, and College Football Data Warehouse.