During this prolonged timeout from the normal sports world, Warchant.com has written about some of the greatest victories in Florida State history and also ran a contest to determine the best player to ever wear the garnet and gold (be sure to vote in our Final Four!).

But when you have a program with so much tradition and so many championships like Florida State, there are always going to be losses that stick with you for the rest of your life because of the pain. And as we all know, even with all the triumph that has occurred for Florida State over the last four decades, there have been some tragic endings as well.

So we decided to take a trip down memory lane to rank the Top 10 most painful losses in FSU history. When one loss, one play, one yard, can keep you from winning a national championship, those losses are indeed mighty painful.

So, with the help of nominations from our subscribers on the Tribal Council, here are some of the toughest gut-punches Florida State football has ever experienced. We'll cover No. 6 through No. 10 this time, and then move on to the top five.

And when you look at this list, which will start with some (dis)honorable mentions, keep in mind how many of these games cost FSU either a national championship or a shot at a national championship.

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Oct. 28, 2010: N.C. State 28, FSU 24

With less than a minute left and the Seminoles inside the Wolfpack 10-yard line, Christian Ponder was blindsided by his own running back and fumbled. Ouch.

Oct. 24, 2015: Georgia Tech 22, FSU 16

With the score tied in the final seconds, the most accurate kicker in college football history got his game-winning attempt blocked and returned for a touchdown. Ball game.

Jan. 3, 2001: Oklahoma 13, FSU 2

Snoop Minnis was ineligible. Mark Richt on his way to Athens. And at least two touchdowns were dropped. Bummer Sooner.

Jan. 2, 1997: Florida 52, FSU 20

What people don't remember about this game was that it was 24-20 in the third quarter before it got out of control -- even with half the FSU team suffering from the flu. Nebraska losing to Texas in the Big 12 title game was the only reason this bowl game rematch was played in the first place.

Oct. 8, 1966: Florida 22, FSU 19

Lane. Fenner. Was. In. Bounds.

Nov. 13, 1993: Notre Dame 31, FSU 24

Charlie's final pass was batted down. The Irish celebrated like they won the national title. But ooops! Forgot to beat Boston College the next week. Still, at the time, this was the ultimate of gut-punches for FSU fans.

Sept. 7, 2009

Jarmon Fortson dropped the game-winning pass in the end zone. The clock ran out (though probably should have been a second left), and Bobby Bowden's soon-to-be final season got started in painful fashion.

Nov. 1, 2008: Georgia Tech 31, FSU 28

It will forever be known as the "Marcus Sims" game. Which, you know, might not be fair to a legacy player who had some nice moments in his career. But that's how life works sometimes.

With Florida State driving in for the game-winning score against the Yellow Jackets that evening in Atlanta, Sims came in to relieve freshman tailback Jermaine Thomas, who had just run for multiple first downs to get the Seminoles inside the Georgia Tech 5-yard line. The Seminoles were well within field goal range, of course, but they were also just a few yards from winning the game.

Thomas had rushed for 130 yards on nine carries, but it was Sims who would get the fateful carry. As he approached the hole on the left side of the line of scrimmage, a defender pushed through, the ball popped out and the Yellow Jackets recovered in the end zone.

The loss not only kept FSU from a 10-win season, but it very well may have cost the Seminoles a chance to play in the ACC championship game as well.

Oct. 6, 2012: N.C. State 17, FSU 16

This was maybe the angriest the Florida State fan base ever got at Jimbo Fisher, at least until he exited the program in 2017. The Seminoles were ranked No. 3 in the country. They were up 16-0 at halftime against a team that was just about ready to give in.

And yet.

The Seminoles, who were loaded with future pros all over the roster, including a first-round quarterback, didn't score a single point in the second half. Fisher seemed to get conservative with the 16-point lead and played not to lose instead of trying to dominate the Wolfpack. It cost him dearly.

With a 16-10 lead late in the fourth quarter, E.J. Manuel took an inexplicable sack in N.C. State territory. Fisher then elected not to try a 53-yard field goal with Dustin Hopkins, which would have given the Seminoles a two-score lead. A few agonizing minutes later, the lead was gone. And that painful night in Raleigh was seared into the brain of every FSU fan for the rest of eternity.

Sept. 27, 1980: Miami 10, FSU 9

This represented the one regular-season loss the Seminoles suffered over the entirety of the 1979 and 1980 seasons. It came by one point. And it came after the host Miami Hurricanes scored their lone touchdown after a controversial pass-interference call in the second quarter.

Back then, college football had spot-of-the-foul pass-interference penalties like the NFL does. So, a 50-yard pass that was seemingly well overthrown in the end zone resulted in the Hurricanes getting a first down at the FSU 1. And Miami scored on a QB sneak by future Hall of Famer Jim Kelly to take a 7-0 lead.

That was the only touchdown the Florida State defense gave up all game. But it was enough to result in a loss that might have cost the 1980 Seminoles a national championship. In fact, if Bobby Bowden had elected to kick the extra point after Sam Childers scored a TD with 39 seconds left, there's at least a possibility the Seminoles would have played the Georgia Bulldogs in the Sugar Bowl for the national championship.

But Bowden, like he would a few years later against the 'Canes, decided to go for two. The pass was batted down. And the 1980 Seminoles, who also lost the Orange Bowl to Oklahoma by a single point later that year, were left out of the national title game.

Jan. 4, 1999: Tennessee 23, FSU 16

Even down to their third-string quarterback, the 1998 Seminoles were so good that they went toe-to-toe with the No. 1 Volunteers in the national championship game.

Which is why this one was so painful for Florida State fans, because there seemed to be little doubt that if Chris Weinke had been healthy, the Seminoles would have left the desert with that trophy.

Marcus Outzen, who became a fan favorite by helping lead the Seminoles to a 23-12 win over the Gators in the regular-season finale, completed just 9 of 22 passes on the night for 145 yards (135 of those yards were to Ron Dugans). And All-American Peter Warrick had just one catch for seven yards.

The Volunteers took a 14-0 lead in the second quarter on a pick-6 before the Seminoles rallied to get back into the game. With Tennessee holding just a 14-9 lead in the fourth quarter, Peerless Price hauled in a 79-yard TD.

Outzen came back to cut into the lead with a 7-yard TD run, and the Seminoles even had a chance late in the game to tie it after recovering a fumble. But an interception ended their hopes.

There's no way to know for sure if the Seminoles would have beaten Tennessee that night if Weinke had played. But Tennessee probably didn't want to find out.

Oct. 3, 1992: Miami 19, FSU 16

Maybe it was because FSU fans had been there before. Maybe it was because even if the kick had been made, it just would have tied the game. But for whatever reason, Wide Right II didn't seem quite as painful for fans as Wide Right I.

The reality is this, though: That kick cost the Seminoles a chance at a national title just like the one the year before did.

If Dan Mowrey had made that 39-yard attempt after Charlie Ward rallied to drive the Seminoles down the field in the final minute, then there's a good chance FSU would have played Alabama in the Sugar Bowl that year and not Miami.

Alas, he didn't make the kick. And backup running back Clyde Allen did fumble deep inside Miami territory early in the game. Clifton Abraham did get beat for a late touchdown in the fourth quarter. And the FSU offense did manage to not score a single touchdown that October afternoon in South Florida.

The Seminoles' lone TD came on the game's first play when freshman phenom Tamarick Vanover returned the opening kick for a touchdown. The game was played more than a month before the FSU coaches decided to put Ward in the fast-break shotgun offense full time.

Still, they went down to the wire with the defending national champs. On their home field. And were a missed kick away from likely playing Alabama for the title.

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