FSWho?

They say only three things are certain in life: death, taxes, and the existence of a bitter hatred between the fans of the University of Miami and Florida State University. One of these schools has a noble history, five national championship rings and, objectively of course, the smartest student body in Florida no matter what the US News rankings say. The other is FSU. Yet despite the obvious superiority of one of these institutions, they have enjoyed a bitter rivalry for decades. Once per year, they are pitted against each other on the football field where dreams are crushed or achieved, blowouts are sometimes seen and the occasional game has been determined by a last-second field goal.

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The year is 1991, and all seems lost for the Miami Hurricanes. It’s the most anticipated college football game of the season, and the No. 2-ranked Miami team is up against their fiercest rival: Florida State University. With less than a minute remaining to win the game, Miami is up by just one point. But FSU is setting up to make a game-winning field goal.

FSU kicker Gerry Thomas lines up for the kick. He goes in and the ball soars toward the field goal. It flies foward and begins to drop…just a few inches to the right.

Dubbed “Wide Right I” by fans, it was an unforgettable game that propelled the Hurricanes to a national championship win later that year. But this nailbiter was just one of many peaks in a heated seven-decade struggle: Miami versus Florida State.

Since they were first pitted against each other in 1951, the Hurricanes and Seminoles have gone head-to-head 65 times. Preceding the 2021 season, Miami held a narrow 35-30 lead. “My second favorite college team is whoever’s playing Florida State,” said former Hurricanes lineman Robert Bergman (class of ’05).

He echoed a sentiment shared by generations of ‘Canes. Like any rivalry, this one is kept alive in large part by fans. Football has always been culturally significant at the University of Miami, and football against FSU is undoubtedly part of what makes a ‘Cane a ‘Cane.

Students and alumni alike can attest to the uniting power of the long-lived competition. “As a student, you feel such pride,” said Cristie Carter, an alumna who graduated in 1995. “It’s such a fierce rivalry. It really feels like when people say you bleed orange and green.”

UM’s football team formed in 1926 at the freshman level, according to MiamiHurricanes.com, and competed in their first varsity game in 1927, led to victory by coach Howard Buck. Throughout the late ‘30s and ‘40s they moved up under head coach Jack Harding. Finally, in 1954 UM was ranked for the first time in the “Top 10.” It was a taste of the success that was to come.

Florida State’s football team, according to the Palm Beach County Seminole Club, was formed in 1900. In 1904, they won their first state title. Just one year later, Florida passed the Buchman Act, which turned FSU into an all-female school for 40 years. During this time, the FSU football players continued their education at an allmale school in Gainesville.

It would be years before the brutal rivalry between the two teams really took off, heating up in the ‘80s when both teams skyrocketed to the top of college football. Coaches Howard Schnellenberger of UM and Bobby Bowden of FSU went head-to-head each year in front of roaring crowds as both teams contended for national championship titles and victory in the rivalry game.

UM would take home three College Football National Championships in this decade: in 1983, 1987 and 1989. FSU won none. “That was right in the midst of when the Hurricanes were arguably the best team, perhaps of all time. We dominated Florida State,” said Mitchell Shapiro, a professor in the School of Communication who has taught at UM since 1982, referring to the “Wide Right I” game that played out early in the next decade.

Even current students know the story. When asked about the UM and FSU rivalry, sophomore Bennett Resnick didn’t hesitate. “There was a game where we won because they missed a field goal. Of course I know about that one,” he said. “That was pretty iconic.”

Most of this decade, though, belonged to FSU. The Seminoles won two national championships in the ‘90s and, according to ESPN, “no program played as well for as long as the Seminoles did in the ‘90s.”

However, the turn of the century signaled a turning tide for the Hurricanes. After five straight losses to Florida State— including a brutal 47-0 beatdown in 1997, the ‘Canes regained their footing in 2000 when FSU missed yet another field goal to the right.

The next year in 2001, UM would go on to win their fifth national championship title. And in 2002, FSU’s ball flew wide yet again—this time, to the left. “It was wild,” said Bergman, the lineman, who played in that game. “Once I realized they missed it, we went crazy.”

For many Miami fans, the early 2000s must have felt like a new golden age was dawning. But that brief taste of glory didn’t last. Florida State earned an upset victory in 2005, which was a harbinger of doom for the ‘Canes. Since that game, UM has been largely unable to recreate their old success against Florida State.

“Will we ever get back to that?” said Shapiro. “Probably not. Nobody ever gets back to that.” In the 2010’s, seven straight losses to FSU left fans reeling. “[The rivalry] kind of seemed to taper off because both teams seemed to have weaker seasons,” said Carter.

But it was long-time fans like Michael Warrell, class of 2020, who kept the rivalry from burning out. For him, hating FSU is more than a hobby— it’s practically a lifestyle. “I don’t know how many anti-FSU shirts I’ve owned,” said Warrell. “I’m a little bit of a die-hard fan.”

Since that game, the Hurricanes have continued their winning streak. It may not be the same No. 1 vs No. 2 showdown it once was, but regardless, the last four years have proved the rivalry is alive and well. “It feels like there’s a new energy,” said Carter. “That rivalry, even though it’s always been there, feels new again.”

Warrell said he has attended games since he was 4 years old, and his love-to-hate attitude toward the Seminoles has persisted throughout the ups and downs of the past 20 years. But in 2017, Warrell’s sophomore year, he attended a game that signaled an upturn in fortunes for UM. At the last minute, the ‘Canes won 28-27. “I was close to tears,” said Warrell.

Sophomore Amani Mmari thinks so. “I’m excited to watch us stick it to the ‘Noles in a similar fashion as last year,” said Mmari, referring to 2020’s victory of 52-10. “Watching that game made me really feel what it means to be a Hurricanes fan.”

As the 2021 season continues, Miami fans look forward to the FSU game with renewed energy. Students, fans and alumni alike said that they are hoping to keep the streak going. “Time to make it five in a row,” said Resnick. “It’s a new era.”