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Published Nov 1, 2019
Clark: FSU-Miami rivalry may never be elite again, but FSU still can be
Corey Clark  •  TheOsceola
Lead Writer

Like many of you, I grew up on this rivalry.

I attended my first Florida State-Miami game back in 1984. The Hurricanes were the defending national champions. Bernie Kosar was the quarterback. Jimmy Johnson was in his first year as head coach. Bobby Bowden was in his ninth at FSU.

The Seminoles steamrolled the Hurricanes that day, 38-3, in the godforsaken Orange Bowl. Jessie Hester scored a 77-yard touchdown on a double-reverse. I was 9. My dad got pretty drunk. And the thing I remember most about that night was him stopping anyone he saw after the game -- family members, waitresses, people in the bathroom -- and simply saying in utter amazement, "Thirty-eight to three. Thirty. Eight. To. Three."

That was about three years before the FSU-Miami rivalry became THE rivalry of college football.

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I know all about Auburn-Alabama, Ohio State-Michigan, Florida State-Florida, etc. ... but for about an eight-year stretch, I think you could argue that the FSU-Miami rivalry was the best in college football history. So much talent, so many great players, so many white-knuckle games, so many indelible memories. All packed into a span less than a decade long.

It was an unbelievable era. For both programs.

And here's the reality: It hasn't been like that in almost a quarter-century.

Sure, Miami had a great two-year stretch at the turn of the century. And yeah, FSU won a national title six years ago. But truth be told, as cool as this rivalry still can be, as much as it still matters to both fan bases, it hasn't come close to reaching that incredible peak status since.

And I don't think it ever will. Because, let's face it, it's been nearly two decades now since Miami was truly relevant nationally. They've gone through Coker, Shannon, Golden, Richt, and now they're onto Diaz. And still ... just a middling program. Still no ACC championships in the trophy case.

In the modern era of college football, I just don't think Miami can truly be elite with those facilities, including a home stadium that's practically in another county. I don't think it's a coincidence that all four of the previous head coaches there eventually failed. It's hard to win at Miami now. Really hard. That's been proven here a lot lately.

Florida State, though, is a different matter altogether.

Florida State had a 29-game win streak just five years ago. Florida State has history, tradition AND facilities. Florida State most certainly can get back to greatness again. Jimbo Fisher proved that.

Which is part of the reason why this game on Saturday (3:30 p.m., ABC) shapes up to be the biggest of Willie Taggart's tenure at FSU (I know I've written that a few times before, dear reader, but this time I really mean it!).

It's not exactly a must-win game for the second-year FSU head coach. But it's really, really, really close to one.

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