FSU Seminoles vs UM Canes-College Football's Greatest Rivalry-The Year was 1989

 Eleven days and counting before the University of Miami Cane Thugs blow

Thanks to Doc Holiday2 

(into Tallahassee) and already, just as expected and right on schedule, they are spewing their venom at us with 11 months worth of obnoxious scUMery and delusional arrogance, that has been festering inside them since last October 4th.  

Things are starting to get ugly and will probably get much worse. Everyone should double lock their liquor cabinets, the city should order additional security details at all of our gun shops and especially at every drugstore, and the Governor should place the National Guard on alert.  We need police cruisers on the streets with their PA systems blaring warnings to the citizens that "THE THUGS ARE COMING, THE THUGS ARE COMING,......"

Dexter Carter puts a Penalty Flag on a Miami Player's Head and risks his life!

OK with that out of the way, the last time we chatted we were discussing the 38-3-1984 butt whipping we gave our despicable amigos, and how the Nole fans owned the Orange Dump for the last quarter of that glorious game.

AAAAHHHH GOOD TIMES!

Our series continues today with the game played on October 28, 1989.  

In case you are wondering what occurred between the 1984 @$$ whooping and this1989 game, I will discuss those meaningless games at the end of this little trip back down memory lane.

We really needed to win the game in 1989. 

After dropping the last 4 games, it was crucial we regain some of our respect back, because the arrogance level of the Thug players and their fickle scUM fans had reached levels never before seen in this rivalry. 

Not once since the Bowden era began, had one team won more than 2 games in a row in this rivalry.  The Thugs had now won 4 in a row, and were very cocky that they would take the 5th straight and the 3rd in a row at Doak. 

But most of all, the taste of the previous years (1988) humiliation was still fresh in our mouths. Kinda like when you throw up in your sleep after passing out drunk, but not realizing it until the next morning.

For the younger Noles reading this, the best way for you to understand and associate with what I am talking about, would be just to say that it it was a very similar feeling to the one you might have felt after the 11/11/2006 game against Wake.

As a matter of fact, the 2 previous years FSU finished with identical 11-1 records while ending the season ranked #2 in 1987, and at #3 in 1988.  Our only 2 losses in each of those 2 years? You know it.

THE NOLE'S JUST HAD TO WIN THIS GAME!

FSU started the season ranked 6th in the country, and our expectations were out of this world. This was finally going to be the year we win our first NC.  All the pieces were in place.  The coaching staff knew what had to be done. We had a tremendous group of athletes.  We were tasting it.

Here is how Sports Illustrated previewed the Noles.

At Florida State, quarterback Peter Tom Willis has the grades but not the experience. Willis, a fifth-year senior, who is replacing Chip Ferguson, is around only because he lost a coin flip with Ferguson to see which one would be redshirted when they were freshmen. In his one start last season, Willis directed a 59-0 romp over South Carolina, in which he completed 17 of 20 passes for 271 yards.

Wide receivers Lawrence Dawsey, Bruce La-Sane, Ronald Lewis and Terry Anthony, known as The Fab Four, will give Willis plenty of targets, while Dexter Carter, only 5'9" and 168 pounds, will attempt to replace tailback Sammie Smith, who chose to enter the NFL draft and was taken in the first round by the Miami Dolphins. "Offensively," says coach Bobby Bowden, whose 13-year record in Tallahassee is 112-38-3, "we should be pretty salty."

The defense, led by noseguard Odell Haggins, will be as fearsome but far quieter than last season's group, mainly because trash-talking defensive back Deion Sanders is gone. "You're going to see a lot less hotdogging this year," says Bowden, who knows his team will need all the concentration it can muster to handle a killer schedule that includes eight bowl teams, five of which were ranked in the final AP Top 20.

 Aside from the players mentioned above, on offense we also had Edgar Bennett-FB, Paul Moore-FD, Chris Parker-TB, Robert Stevenson-G, Michael Tanks-C, and Kevin Mancini-T.

The defense was anchored by Odell, Leroy Butler, Freshmen Terrell Buckley, Kirk Carruthers-LB, Dedrick Dodge-S,  Bill Ragans-S, Eric Hayes-DT, Keith Carter-LB, Henry Ostazewski-DT, and Tony Moss-LB.

We had a two headed kicker named Bill Mason and Richie Andrews, our punter was freshman Charlie Ward, and our punt returner was another freshman known as T-Buck.

Some of our incoming freshman class included Richard Coes, Matt Frier, Kevin Knox, Amp Lee, Toddrick McIntosh, Sterling Palmer, John Davis, and Mack Knight.

The talent level was there.

THE NOLE'S JUST HAD TO WIN THIS GAME!

Here is a preview of what was going to be coming Miami's way thanks to THE K-MAN.

Peter Tom Willis and Bobby Bowden

Unfortunately in the first game of the season, our Noles ran in a buzz saw named Brett Favre who was determined to make up for two years worth of poundings he had absorbed at the hands of the Noles in 1987 (61-10) and in 1988 (49-13).  He led the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles to a 30-26 upset in Jacksonville when Favre (21-39/282 yds, 2 TD, 2 Int) threw the winning TD pass with :23 seconds left in the game. The loss dropped FSU 10 spots in the polls to #16.

The second week of the season, FSU lost again to  #10 Clemson by a final of 32-23 at home, in what Bowden could only describe as "a good whipping".  This loss dropped FSU from the top 25. The Noles season was going down the drain, and things would not be getting any easier with the Noles next traveling to Baton Rouge to face #21 LSU.

However, right about this time everything started to click and we bounced back and beat LSU 31-21 behind Peter Tom Willis' 25-35 for 301 yds and a TD.  FSU out gained LSU 522 yds to 362 yds, had 31 first downs, Dexter Carter gained 95 yds, and many players got in on the act. 

OK, maybe this season can be salvaged somehow.

Next up Tulane, we win 59-9, and now were back at #22.

Then at Syracuse, we win 41-10, and are now #19. 

At Virginia Tech and another win 41-7, and now we've worked ourselves back to #14, with #6 Auburn coming to Doak. 

No problem, we win 22-14, we are ranked #9 with the undefeated Canes and Dennis Erickson, in his first season at Miami, and his gang of hoodlums headed to Tallahassee bringing the No. 2 ranking in the country.

 THE NOLE'S JUST HAD TO WIN THIS GAME!

Things had been going real smooth for Miami so far that season, but our Noles were now red hot.  The scUM thugs came in looking right past FSU and towards their future game against  Notre Dame, for what they thought would be for the #1 ranking.  They had plans for an undefeated season, but FSU put a damper on their season in this long awaited rematch.

Dexter Carter

Miami came out throwing the ball on the first play of the game, but Leroy Butler intercepted Torreta's pass.  Dexter Carter then opened up the scoring with a 37 yard run for a touchdown on FSU's 2nd play from scrimmage.  However rattled Miami was, they came back and tied the game up at 7.

Edgar Bennett then capped off a FSU drive with a 1 yard TD dive.  UM kicked a FG to end the first quarter with FSU 14 and UM 10.

FSU forced 6 turnovers and converted a GLS (goal line stand) into a brilliant 99 yard TD drive in the 3rd quarter to pretty much clinch it.

With FSU leading 14-10, UM drove to the FSU 2 yard line, when FSU forced the HB to fumble on 3rd down, it was recovered by LB Kirk Carruthers, in what would turn out to be Kirk Carruthers night at the Doak (16 tackles and 2 Ints).

After the Carruthers recovery, our Noles then marched the length of the field and finally capped it off with TB Amp Lee's 1 yard run. 

TB Dexter Carter sealed the deal that day with 142 yards rushing, but believe it or not, that was actually one yard less than the sloppy Noles accumulated in penalties on this day. 

Kicker Richie Andrew iced the game with a FG in the 4th quarter, but then had his final attempt blocked. However, there would be no scUM rally this day as QB Gino Torreta threw 4 ints, and our defense totally frustrated the Thugs by shutting them out of the end zone on 3 different drives that reached the FSU 1 yard line (Fumble, Int, and downs).

On the day, FSU rushed for a total of 220 yards against the nations top ranked rush defense who had been allowing only 45.5 yards per game.

This time, though, it was Florida State who would send its interstate rival home bloody, dazed, and confused, with a shocking defeat.  That day FSU would hand Miami their lone loss in 1989.

Final score:  No. 9 Florida State 24, No. 2 Miami 10 

 Here is how SI reported the game.

THE STUFF OF DREAMS

It seemed appropriate that the crowd at Tallahassee's Doak Campbell Stadium included actor Ricardo Montalban of Fantasy Island. You want fantasy? Well, how about a team that loses its first two games, to Southern Mississippi and Clemson, and then roars back to win six in a row, including a cathartic victory over its nemesis, and positions itself for a major bowl bid? That's the slightly improbable story of Florida State. No wonder coach Bobby Bowden tossed his hat into the stands as he ran off the field after the 24-10 win over Miami. "This feels so good." Bowden said. "It's the way it should have been the last four years, I guess." Only in your dreams, coach.

Truth is, while rolling to a 40-2 record over the last 3� years, Miami had whipped the Seminoles four times—twice depriving them of a shot at the national championship. But this season, as Florida State was rebounding against LSU, Syracuse and Auburn, Miami was coasting against weaker teams that weren't good enough to test freshman quarterback Gino Torretta, who inherited the starting job when Craig Erickson was injured against Michigan State on Sept. 30.

Finding himself staring into the bared teeth of the Seminole defense, Torretta threw four interceptions, but the Hurricanes also lost two fumbles and came up empty on three drives that reached the Seminole one-yard line. The door all but closed on Miami midway through the third quarter when the Hurricanes, trailing 14-10, fumbled on third-and-goal at the Seminole one. Florida Statet hen marched 99 yards on 12 plays, the first of which was a 51-yard pass that quarterback Peter Tom Willis launched from his own end zone to wideout Ronald Lewis. When Seminole tailback Amp Lee banged in for the touchdown, the Hurricanes found themselves trailing 21-10 instead of leading 17-14.

"We're on top of the mountain," said cornerback LeRoy Butler, whose sixth interception of the season set up Florida State's first touchdown. "But we can't let up. We're not saying we're a great team. but we're capable of being one."

And that's no fantasy.

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Total

MIAMI

10

0

0

0

10

FLORIDA STATE

14

0

7

3

24

1st   7- 0  Dexter Carter, 37, run (Richie Andrews, kick), 14:37
      7- 7  Opp, 8, pass (kick), 9:57 
     14- 7  Edgar Bennett, 1, run (Richie Andrews, kick), 5:11 
     14-10  Opp, 44, field goal, 1:09 
3rd  21-10  Amp Lee, 1, run (Richie Andrews, kick), 2:20 
4th  24-10  Richie Andrews, 41, field goal, 14:18
     24-10  Richie Andrews, 37, field goal blocked, 3:32 



TEAM STATISTICS


                       FSU     OPP
First downs             23      26
Rushes-yards        51-220  33-129
Passing                134     208
Att-Comp-Int        21-8-1 48-23-4
Total Yards         72-354  81-337
Punt Returns          1--5    2--1
Kickoff Returns       3-35    4-29
Interception Ret.      4-3     1-6
Fumble Returns         2-0     1-0
Punts               5-44.0  4-36.5
Sacks By-Yds           1-6    2-23
Fumbles-Lost           1-1     4-2
Penalties-Yds       14-143   11-94
3rd Down Conversions  4-12    5-14
4th Down Conversions   0-0     2-3
Time of Posession    34:34   25:26
Attendance                  62,602

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing
Dexter Carter               21- 142
Edgar Bennett               13-  50
Amp Lee                      7-  24
Lawrence Dawsey              1-  15
Paul Moore                   2-   1
Ronald Lewis                 1-  -1
Peter Tom Willis             6- -11

Receiving
Ronald Lewis                 3-  77
Lawrence Dawsey              1-  21
Dave Roberts                 2-  17
Dexter Carter                1-  14
Edgar Bennett                1-   5

Passing
Peter Tom Willis            20- 7-1-129
Brad Johnson                 1- 1-0-  5

Punt Return
Dexter Carter                1-  15
Terrell Buckley              1-  -5

Kickoff Return
Lawrence Dawsey              1-  10
Shannon Baker                1-  10

Punting
Charlie Ward                 5- 220

                        |---------Tackles---------| |---Sacks---| |---Pass Def---| |-Fumbles-| Blkd
DEFENSIVE STATISTICS     UT   AT  Total   ForLoss     No - Yards  Int-Yds BrUp QBH Rcv-Yds  FF Kick Saf
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kirk Carruthers          11    5    16      .            .          2-  3   .    .   1-  0   .   .   .
Odell Haggins             5    4     9      .            .           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
LeRoy Butler              6    1     7      .            .          1-  0   .    .    .      .   .   .
Eric Hayes                3    2     5   1.0-            .           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
Dedrick Dodge             3    1     4      .            .           .      .    .   1-  0   .   .   .
Kelvin Smith              1    3     4   1.0-            .           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
Henry Ostaszewski         .    3     3      .            .           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
Bill Ragans               1    1     2      .            .           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
Shelton Thompson          .    2     2      .            .           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
Kevin Grant               .    1     1   1.0-  6.0    1.0-  6.0     1-  0   .    .    .      .   .   .
Grady Ross                1    .     1      .            .           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
John Wyche                1    .     1      .            .           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
Reggie Freeman            1    .     1      .            .           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
Chris Hall                1    .     1      .            .           .      1    .    .      .   .   .
Bryce Abbott              1    .     1      .            .           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
Errol McCorvey            1    .     1      .            .           .      .    .    .      .   .   .
Terrell Buckley           .    .     .      .            .           .      2    .    .      .   .   .

After rocking the Canes, FSU would go on to win their remaining games, and finish with a 10 game win streak.  Still the Seminoles had no real shot at the MNC thanks to the 2 upset loses to open the season, but still netted the #3 ranking in the seasons final poll.  This is how the rest of the season played out.

South Carolina- Win 35-10

Memphis State- Win 57-20

at Florida- Win 24-17

Fiesta Bowl January 1, 1990

#5 FSU-41  #6 Nebraska-17

               Overall   Home    Away   Neutral
------------------------------------------------
FSU RECORD IS   10- 2     5-1     4-0     1-1
AGAINST TOP 25   5- 1     2-1     2-0     1-0

FINAL  AP -  3
FINAL UPI -  2

Oh yea, and for the all of the masochist readers, here is a brief rundown of what happened between 1985 and 1989.

On November 2, 1985 at Doak Campbell Stadium

No. 11 Miami 35, No. 10 Florida State 27
The Seminoles defense swarmed all over Vinny Testaverde all day, but it was not enough to prevent him from delivering the game-winning score for No. 11 Miami in front of a record crowd at Doak Campbell Stadium. The junior quarterback, who was sacked seven times, threw four touchdown passes, including two in a fourth quarter comeback. Testaverde and Michael Irvin hooked up with 9:55 to go on a 30-yard score that gave Miami a 28-27 lead. With 3:06 to go, Testaverde completed a 1-yard pass to Brett Perriman that clinched the game.

On November 1, 1986 at the Orange Dump
No. 1 Miami 41, No. 20 Florida State 23
Miami entered the fourth quarter trailing 23-21. But Vinny Testaverde, limping on an injured right foot, passed for three touchdowns and ran for two as the Hurricanes maintained their No. 1 ranking. Testaverde first hit Brian Blades with a 20-yard pass, then ran for a 1-yard score with 5:20 left. His final TD pass came with 1:27 remaining when he hit Brett Perriman for a 24-yard score.

On October 3, 1987 at Doak
No. 3 Miami 26, No. 4 Florida State 25
Although Miami was outrushed 225 yards to 52, the Hurricanes took to the air as Steve Walsh threw three touchdown passes to lead the Hurricanes to a win. Miami took a 3-0 lead late in the first quarter on a 29-yard Greg Cox field goal. Florida State then scored 19 unanswered points to take a commanding 19-3 lead. Miami fought back with three second-half touchdown passes of 49, 26, and 73 yards to take a 26-19 lead. Florida State mounted a last gasp attempt as the Seminoles marched 83 yards in eight plays to close the margin to one point, but reserve defensive back Bubba McDowell knocked down Danny McManus's two-point conversion attempt to seal the game for the Hurricanes.

And finally, the gut wrencher on September 3, 1988 at the Orange Dump
No. 6 Miami 31, No. 1 Florida State 0
The Hurricanes dominated from the start as they outgained the Seminoles 450 yards to 242 with the 'Canes defense shutting down the Seminoles. The defense forced the No. 1-ranked Seminoles into six turnovers on the day, including five interceptions. With the defense leading the way, 1988 became the sixth straight year that Miami had taken on and defeated the preseason No. 1 team.

But this is no way to end what is supposed to be a feel good story, so I thought I would end it with a picture of the scUM THUGS leaving Doak Campbell after getting annihilated on September 7, 2009.

CANES HEADING HOME!