War Chat: Minnis seals '99 win over UF with clutch TD catch
Marvin Minnis had put together a solid career heading into Florida State's 1999 showdown with Florida.
But the junior receiver, who everyone called "Snoop," had yet to make a play that really resonated with the Florida State fan base. He wasn't a starter. He was, at the time, the Seminoles' No. 3 receiver who had yet to burst onto the scene nationally.
That changed on that November evening in Gainesville, when the Miami native hauled in a 27-yard touchdown with 6:03 left to essentially put the No. 3 Gators away and send the No. 1 Seminoles to the national championship game in New Orleans.
"I look at it now, and I think that is the biggest play of my career," said Minnis, who would go on to enjoy an All-America season in 2000. "Because that was actually the touchdown that took us to the national championship game. So, I would say that's the biggest play of my career. But I always had confidence in myself. I always believed in myself."
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The play came with the Seminoles nursing a 23-16 lead. And Minnis said the route actually was a sight adjustment by him and Weinke.
Minnis read the safety and cornerback and turned what was supposed to be a 6-yard route into a 27-yard catch in the end zone that gave Florida State a 30-16 lead and the eventual 30-23 win.
Florida, which would have been in position to play for the national title if it had won that day, instead went on to finish the 1999 season on a three-game losing streak.
And Florida State went on to make history.
The Seminoles came into the game ranked No. 1 in the country for the 11th straight week. They would finish the year as the first wire-to-wire champion in college football history.
But if Chris Weinke doesn't make that throw, if Minnis doesn't make that catch, then there's a chance the Seminoles would have tasted heartache again in The Swamp. Each of the last two times they had played in Gainesville, the Gators had kept Florida State from playing in the national championship game.
The 1999 Seminoles weren't about to have a repeat performance of the brutally painful '97 loss in the Swamp.
"It's a special rivalry," Minnis said during the latest installment of Warchant's "War Chat" series (watch the video conversation above). "But our motivation that year was the national championship. Because we were so close the three years prior, and to not accomplish it, we were not going to let it slip through our hands that year."
That was evident early on as the Seminoles marched 80 yards in a whopping 18 plays to take a 7-0 lead on Peter Warrick's TD run from the quarterback position.
Florida State's offense marched up and down the field all afternoon against the Gators, but the 'Noles had trouble putting the ball into the end zone. Three times, they had to rely on Sebastian Janikowski field goals, including a 54-yarder that tied the game at 16-16 one possession after Weinke had thrown a pick-six.
But when it mattered most, with the season on the line, the FSU offense found the end zone.
Jeff Chaney, filling in for an injured Travis Minor, scored from two yards out to give the Seminoles a 23-16 lead late in the third quarter. Then, after a Chris Hope interception at the FSU 2-yard line, Weinke and the offense marched 98 yards to put the game away.
Warrick had a pivotal 38-yard catch down the left sideline, and then Minnis put the game on ice with his 27-yard touchdown.
From there, it was on to New Orleans to face Michael Vick and the Virginia Tech Hokies.
"We were happy with the win," said Minnis, who had four catches for 58 yards. "But after that night, it was over. We forgot about that game. Our main focus was New Orleans. That's what it was. Because we knew that if we didn't get the job done in New Orleans, that night (in Gainesville) didn't matter."
WATCH PREVIOUS WAR CHATS:
* WR P.K. Sam -- Game-winning catch at Florida in 2003
* QB EJ Manuel -- Reliving FSU's 2012 win over Clemson
* LB Kirk Carruthers -- FSU's 1989 win over Miami at Doak
* QB Danny Kanell -- Remembering the 'Choke at Doak'
* Florida State's historic win at Michigan in 91
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