Florida State named co-best team of the 1990s

The 1990s were a special time in college football, and especially for the Florida State Seminoles. This is when the program put its fingerprint on the sport by displaying a dominance that wasn’t quite seen before or since.

FSU won more games than any program with 109. They never won fewer than 10 games throughout the decade, and they didn’t lose more than two in any season over that span.

Chip Patterson of CBS Sports recently released a list of the top teams for each decade since the 1920s. Florida State was named the co-best team of the 1990s along with the Nebraska Cornhuskers, who finished second to them with 108 wins.

On the national stage, the Seminoles never finished lower than No. 4 in the AP poll throughout the decade and won the national championship in 1993 and 1999. The truly stunning statistics showcasing Florida State’s peak under Bobby Bowden stretch back to 1987 and through 2000 (double-digit wins and top-five finishes in every season), but it was in the 1990s that the spear was planted in the sport and the Seminoles became synonymous with college football at the highest levels.

On the national stage, the Seminoles never finished lower than No. 4 in the AP poll throughout the decade and won the national championship in 1993 and 1999. The truly stunning statistics showcasing Florida State’s peak under Bobby Bowden stretch back to 1987 and through 2000 (double-digit wins and top-five finishes in every season), but it was in the 1990s that the spear was planted in the sport and the Seminoles became synonymous with college football at the highest levels.

This is undoubtedly a great debate to have. Nebraska won or shared national titles three times (1994, 1995, 1997) and compiled an impressive 60-3 record from 1993 to 1997. However, the consistency year-end and year out certainly goes in Florida State’s favor with double-digit wins each season. Plus, FSU beat Nebraska in the 1993 and 1994 Orange Bowls, with the former being the first national title for the program.

Florida State could’ve had a few more national titles in the 1990s. In 1991 and 1992, they lost to the Miami Hurricanes by a total of four points, and wins in those games would’ve likely set them up for national title game appearances. The Florida Gators won their first national title in 1996 by handing FSU its only loss that year, and in 1997, Florida State went 11-1 again, with their only loss being to Florida. In 1998, FSU lost the national title game to the Tennessee Volunteers, which was the first title game of the BCS era.

The Seminoles are trying to get back to this type of success. Regardless, their climb to the top of college football in the 1990s will never be forgotten.

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This article originally appeared on FSU Wire: Florida State named co-best team of the 1990s