CFB Most Influential Programs
#15 Florida State Seminoles
School: Florida State Seminoles
First Game: 1902 (resumed in 1947 full time)
Winning Percentage: .671 (12th)
Appearances in AP/Rank: 581 (15th)
Average AP Ranking: 8.7
National Titles: 3
Claim to Fame: Apart from numerous NFL and HOF players FSU also has one of the most beautiful venues in the entire sport. Bobby Bowden is also one of the greatest CFB coaches of all time.
Why I have them in my Collection: If you hate Florida State, you probably hate their objectively talented band playing the war chant as incessantly as Oklahoma plays their 1 and a half stand tunes. Even if you do like FSU, it can be a bit grating. What can’t be denied is how the school has risen to national prominence since hiring coach Bobby Bowden in the mid 70s and what he did with the program since then.
While Miami’s rise to power of course captured more national championships, Florida State was not far behind in terms of ramping up their program, and both were able to do so quicker and more effectively than the University of Florida. By leaning into the high school pipelines laid by Florida A&M and being in the same city as the Rattlers, the Seminoles were able to lean into the talent that Florida had to offer. There really was an arms race between FSU and Miami in the 80s and 90s.
As a result, the relatively young program was able to spring up from what was seemingly nowhere. In the 90s they would capture 2 national titles for their hard work. Going back further from 1976-2005 FSU did not have a single losing season. They were in one way or another always sniffing around national titles, especially in the 80s and 90s.
Their most recent national title came in 2013, and we all know what happened in 2023 in terms of the team being left out of the 4-team playoff. Between those milestones, it can only be said that FSU has been floundering while Clemson rose to take hold of the reins in the ACC. But as things stand now, FSU looks more like their old selves of the 80s and 90s. They expect to be in a 12-team playoff moving forward. There’s plenty of FSU fans who are younger that would expect nothing less.
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