Florida State’s 30-26 win over Miami at Sun Life Stadium was just the latest chapter in what has been a season filled with one unbelievable comeback after another.
In the Seminoles’ last eight games, Florida State has trailed at the break in five of them and by double digits on the last two occasions, but each time, FSU has rallied to win.
It seems hard to imagine that the Seminoles constantly falling behind by large deficits — often in front of hostile crowds — won’t eventually catch up to them, but at this point, maybe it won’t.
Against the rival Miami Hurricanes on Saturday in a game that many had actually picked Florida State to lose, the Seminoles twice fell behind by 16 points in the first half. Drives thwarted deep in Miami territory on the final possession of the first half and first of the second led some to think this would finally be the night that Florida State went down.
When all was said and done, Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston was taking snaps from the victory formation.
For the second time in two road games, it was a long touchdown run from freshman Dalvin Cook, a South Florida native, that ultimately put the Seminoles ahead for good.
Miami quarterback Brad Kaaya would not be the Hurricanes’ messiah as his final pass of the night went into the arms of Florida State safety Jalen Ramsey to cement a 26th straight FSU victory.
Over Florida State’s last two road games, the Seminoles have been outscored 44-17 in the first half and have outscored opponents 55-13 in the second. FSU overcame a 24-7 deficit against North Carolina State earlier in the year, making it the first team since UCLA in 2005 to overcome three deficits of 15 points or greater in one season.
Making the 10-0 start by the Seminoles even more remarkable is the fact that Florida State has outscored just one opponent in each half this season. That came against Wake Forest on October 4th when FSU led 13-3 at the break before cruising to a 43-3 victory.
Compare that to last season when Florida State was outscored in just two halves all season and once with the second-team playing the entire second half and spikes in blood pressure have not been uncommon in Tallahassee this season.
Florida State has shown tremendous grit this season and the ability to rise to the occasion against tremendous odds, but the “everybody loves a winner” adage has hardly applied to the Seminoles.
For a number of reasons, Florida State has become the nation’s most hated team and have been often tagged with the overrated label for its series of close calls in 2014. Until Florida State ultimately loses however, there’s a label that no level of hatred will be able to erase. It reads, “Defending National Champions”.
