Clark: Looking back at a perfect day in the Big House: FSU 51, Michigan 31

Gene Williams started this website more than 20 years ago, and I've been following Florida State football for nearly all of my life. So when it comes to the media covering the Seminoles, we like to think we offer a unique historical knowledge of the program.

Starting with this installment today, which focuses on the 1991 Michigan game, Gene and I are going to take some time to look back at historical moments in Seminole lore. With all due respect to the legendary Burt Reynolds, we might call it, "Great moments in FSU history with the Warchant staff!"

Gene and I recorded a 40-minute podcast that you can listen to below on our YouTube page ... it's also available through our Wake Up Warchant podcast feed. We go into great detail about the Seminoles' 51-31 win, why it was a turning point for the program (and college football in general), and why even almost 30 years later I still remember virtually every play from that game.

If you weren't a Florida State fan back then or are too young to remember, I've also offered up a recap from my perspective below.

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Florida State was No. 1 in the country. Michigan was No. 3.

Florida State had Terrell Buckley. Michigan had Desmond Howard.

Both made incredible plays in the game, but so did Casey Weldon, Amp Lee, Edgar Bennett, Kirk Carruthers, Eric Turrall, Marvin Jones and, of course, Toddrick McIntosh.

There were so many jaw-dropping plays in this one that it's impossible to write about them all.

What I actually want to write about is just what it felt like that day in Ann Arbor. I was there. I was 16. I was a huge Florida State fan, and I was lucky enough to have a Dad who would take me to games like these. I'm forever thankful.

Because this is a memory I'll always have.

I remember the sky being so blue it looked like it had been painted. I remember Michigan fans, for the most part, being nice to us as we walked into the stadium. They weren't all that nice afterward.

I remember it was just a perfect, glorious day for football.

And I remember my favorite player at the time, Buckley, jumping an out-route intended for Howard on the first drive of the game and intercepting it. I remember him holding the ball out to taunt the lineman who was giving chase. And I remember him leaping into the arms of a small group of FSU fans in the end zone after he scored.

Both of those actions likely would have led to penalties today. But they allowed players to have fun back then.

Howard answered right back with a touchdown of his own, beating Buckley's man-to-man coverage, because Howard was an incredible college football player. He also scored another touchdown later in the half. And Buckley had another interception and a 30-yard punt return in the game.

Big-time players. Big-time games. You know how it goes.

Well, Florida State wound up scoring more points than anyone ever had against Michigan in the Big House. So a lot of big-time players made plays.

It was supposed to be power vs. finesse. Old-school vs. new-school. Speed and style vs. smash-mouth. In reality, Florida State was worlds better. Everywhere.

Michigan came into the game averaging over 250 yards rushing. Florida State held the Wolverines to 120 rushing yards on 44 attempts.

Meanwhile, Amp Lee -- who had two all-time highlights in this game -- ran for over 120 by himself.

Other than the Braves' win over the Pirates in Game 7 of the 1992 NLCS, this was probably my all-time favorite sports memory with my father.

I got to watch my favorite team go up to the biggest stadium in the country and hang 50 on one of the sport's blue bloods. I got to watch my favorite player score a touchdown a minute into the game. And I got to watch it with my favorite person.

We just knew, walking out of that stadium, that this was going to be the year.

We had no idea that the LSU game would wreck the season because of the massive rash of injuries. We had no idea, even though Dan Mowery missed three extra points against the Wolverines, that the season would come down to the right leg of a walk-on named Gerry Thomas. We had never heard of Gerry Thomas.

All I knew that afternoon was that FSU was the best team in the country. The sun was shining. The birds were chirping (and occasionally being flipped in our direction by people wearing maize and blue), and we wouldn't stop smiling and laughing until our heads hit the pillow that night.

Simply put: It was a perfect day.

Contact senior writer Corey Clark at corey@warchant.com and follow @Corey_Clark on Twitter.

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Talk about this story with other Florida State football fans in the Tribal Council