Everybody knows about the national championship game. And we'll get to that in a few moments. But Florida State's 46-29 victory over Virginia Tech that night in New Orleans is far from the only memorable moment for the Seminoles in this series.
It's pretty amazing, actually, for two teams that don't play each other that often to have as many seminal plays and moments as this rivalry does.
Well, I use the term "rivalry" loosely. It's not like Virginia Tech is Florida or Miami to Florida State. The Hokies aren't hated. They're not even disliked as much as Clemson.
Although the program's Twitter account is doing a pretty good job of trying to illicit rage from Seminole fans with its constant -- and I mean constant -- whining about FSU's bowl streak.
Because the NCAA has ridiculously vacated FSU's Emerald Bowl win vs. UCLA in 2006, the Hokies' twitter feed has latched onto the idea that they have the longest streak in the nation. They even proclaim it on their bio. And will try to correct reporters who say FSU's run of 36 in a row is the longest in the nation -- even though, as we all know, Florida State DID get to a bowl game in 2006.
We all watched it. Well, some of us anyway. The game was played. Score was kept. It was televised.
The Virginia Tech football program (or maybe it's just the person who runs the Twitter account?) keeps at it though, harping on to that vacated game as if anyone cares about that stupid technicality.
It's actually pretty petty. It makes the program, which has accomplished plenty in the last three decades, look jealous and small. But whatevs! Have at it, Hokies. Nobody takes your supposed bowl streak seriously. I promise.
You can tweet about it until the sun burns out, but you do not have the longest active streak in the nation.
And now with that out of the way, let's get to some highlights of this "rivalry."
Florida State 28, Virginia Tech 22 -- Nov. 8, 2012
You could make an argument that this was the second biggest win of the Jimbo Fisher Era.
Let's set the stage.
Florida State was playing a mediocre Virginia Tech team. On the road. On a Thursday night. The one-loss Seminoles were ranked No. 6 in the country at that time, but the memory of the debacle at N.C. State still lingered with the fan base.
The Hokies were starting a glorified tight end at quarterback in Logan Thomas. They had lost four of their last five games and were on their way to a 6-6 season (thank heavens they were able to win their last three to keep that bowl streak alive!).
Florida State had built a 20-10 lead in the third quarter but then -- like at N.C. State -- started to buckle late in the game. After a Hokies touchdown, an inexplicable safety in which Devonta Freeman tried to pass out of the end zone and a short field goal, the Seminoles found themselves trailing 22-20 in the final minutes.
They faced a fourth-and-one on their own side of the field. And despite rushing for negative-15 yards on the night (thanks to a ton of sacks), the FSU offense got the first down on a James Wilder seven-yard run.
A few plays later, this happened:
