Top FSU single-game offensive performances (the "next 21")
by Fsued on Jul 27, 2010 9:48 AM EDT
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When I started work on my list of Top 10 individual, single-game defensive performances in FSU history, I ended up with about 15 performances to whittle down to 10 with honorable mentions. Not too hard, huh? When I did the same for offense, I had exactly 41 performances that were "Top 10 worthy" as I went through every FSU game in history. Yikes! I decided I would rank the top 10 and have 10 honorable mentions. I'm telling you right now, there are some SERIOUSLY good performances that don't even make the Top 20, like Cro Thorpe vs. Notre Dame or Sammie Smith going for over 200 yards in a bowl game. In fact, the "next 21" were so good, I made them their own category. I compiled this mainly using three sources: my noggin, the excellent Web site nolesfans.com and Bill McGrotha's incomparable book "Seminoles! The First Forty Years." As with the defense, I did not rely solely on top statistical performances, although stats are obviously important and sometimes were the overriding factor. But other factors included: importance of game; clutch performances; gutty performances and other factors. It's also interesting to see how certain eras were home to strong offensive play - the mid 1960s in particular stand out as a time for offensive prowess. To wit, 9 of top 10 single game reception records are from 1965-1968. Today we will start with the "other 21." Wednesday will feature the 10 honorable mentions. And Thursday will see the unveiling of the Top 10 single game offensive performances in FSU history.
Enjoy!
21 dadgum fine performances that didn't make the cut (chronological order)
Sept. 19, 1964. Fred Biletnikoff. FSU opens the season with a 14-0 win over rival Miami as Biletnikoff hauls in 9 Steve Tensi passes for 165 yards and both FSU touchdowns.
Nov. 11, 1967. Ron Sellers. FSU blasted rival Virginia Tech 38-15 and it was the Sellers show again as he racked up 229 receiving yards and three touchdowns in the win.
Oct. 2, 1971. Gary Huff. In the often-forgotten 1971 bowl season, Huff had one of the most efficient passing nights in FSU history, completing 21 of 25 passes for 374 yards and two touchdown in a 17-3 FSU win over Virginia Tech in Blacksburg.
Oct. 22, 1977. Larry Key. FSU beat Auburn for the first time in school history as Key ran for 170 yards and two touchdown on 25 carries. The Noles' 24-3 win was their first over an SEC team in five years.
Dec. 3, 1977. Roger Overby. Roger who? It was the only game in which he made a real mark, but what a mark it was. Overby caught three touchdown passes from Jimmy Jordan as FSU went into Gainesville and beat the Gators 37-9 - the Noles' first win over Florida under Bobby Bowden. On the day, Overby had six catches for 124 yards.
Oct. 11, 1980. Bill Capece. A kicker comes up short on the offensive list, unlike punter Rhon Stark who made my defensive list. The infectious little Capece hit a record five field goals in the Noles shocking win over Dan Marino and Pitt - FSU's second win over a No. 2-ranked team in as many weeks. Capece's FG's - in order - were from 24, 43, 50, 30 and 44 yards. FSU won by 14, 36-22.
Oct. 24, 1981. Greg Allen. The freshman from Milton became the first FSU runner to eclipse 200 yards - and what a setting in which to do it - in front of a packed house in Death Valley vs. LSU. Allen went for 202 yards and a touchdown.
Sept. 22, 1984. Jessie Hester. "Jet" Hester took a reverse 77 yards for a score and ended up with 100 rushing and 100 receiving yards in a 38-3 rout of rival Miami.
Dec. 30, 1985. Chip Ferguson. According to McGrotha, Ferguson broke a collarbone in the first quarter of the Gator Bowl vs. Oklahoma State, but played on. Indeed. Even without his top three receivers, Ferguson threw for 338 yards and two scores and ran for another in the 34-23 win.
Dec. 31, 1986. Sammie Smith. Another bowl game, another 200 yards rushing for an FSU back. Sammie Smith went for 205 yards on 25 carries as FSU defeated Indiana in the All-American Bowl in Birmingham.
Nov. 5, 1988. Peter Tom Willis. In one of the most efficient passing displays in FSU history, Peter Tom Willis went 17 for 20 for 271 yards and four touchdowns as FSU crushed 15-ranked South Carolina 59-0 in Columbia.
Oct. 28, 1989. Dexter Carter. He went 37 yards around left end on FSU's first play from scrimmage and Doak has never been louder. Carter finished with 142 yards on 21 carries as the Noles beat the top-ranked Hurricanes 24-10.
Oct. 17, 1992. Charlie Ward. The passing statistics not only don't look gaudy, they are rather pedestrian - 20 of 32 for 183 yards and 2 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. But you add in a team leading 65 rushing yards and a touchdown and then consider that 206 of those 248 yards all came in the fourth quarter and it makes more sense. Ward led FSU back from a 21-7 fourth-quarter deficit as the Noles stunned Georgia Tech 29-24 in Atlanta on the night the "fast break" offense was born.
Nov 7, 1992. Charlie Ward. With the "fast break" in full gear, Ward ran for over 100 yards and threw for 395 more as FSU amassed 858 yards of total offense in a 69-21 win over Maryland. Ward ran for one TD and threw for 4.
Sept. 9, 1995 - Warrick Dunn. No. 28 rushed for 180 yards on just 12 carries as FSU outscored Clemson 46-28.
Sept. 16, 1995. Danny Kanell. The FSU quarterback set the FSU pass efficiency record, going 28 of 32 for 320 yards and a career-best 5 TD's as FSU obliterated N.C. State 77-17.
Nov. 1, 1997. E.G. Green. The FSU receiver hauled in 8 passes for 184 yards and three touchdowns as FSU raced to a 27-0 lead, then held on to beat N.C. State 48-35.
Oct. 10, 1998. Peter Warrick. The Noles went into the Orange Bowl and took care of the rival Miami Hurricanes, thanks to Warrick who caught 7 passes for 190 yards and a touchdown in the 26-14 win.
Nov. 28, 2000. Snoop Minnis. The wiry FSU receiver followed a 3 TD performance against Wake Forest by shredding arch-rival Florida for 187 yards receiving and two touchdowns in a 30-7 rout of the hapless Gators.
Oct. 3, 2002. Greg Jones. The brutish FSU tailback punished Clemson for 165 yards on 22 carries and three touchdowns in a 48-35 win. The last of Jones' runs was a relentlessly physical 22-yard romp in which he seemingly broke a tackle from every Clemson defender.
Nov. 1, 2003. Craphonso Thorpe. The FSU WR bailed out Chris Rix by grabbing multiple jump ball throws, finishing the game with 7 catches for 217 yards and two scores as FSU went into South Bend and hammered Notre Dame, 37-0.
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Nice shout out to McGrotha's book
I still got that, though it’s a bit worn.
That Ga. Tech game in 1992 still feels like it was yesterday, and those games in 92 against Maryland and Tulane might have been the most perfect back-to-back offensive games I have ever seen.
This will be a tough list as anyone would have a tough time picking the best offensive performances of the 90’s, much less all-time. It probably be easier to pick if you eliminated everyone that had a “W” in their name. I look forward to the list
What made PT's 88 game against SC so outstanding
was that was his first start, in relief of an injured Chip Ferguson.
Yes, and I remember so clearly color announcer Kevin ....
… was it “Kiley”??? Anyway, he went on and on about the “Black Death” (or was it Black Watch — maybe I DON’T remember it so clearly ) defense of USC and kept talking about how flukey FSU’s scoring was until it finally got to be 30-something to nothing and he had nowhere to hide.
Marion Butts ripped off a long run in that game.
From Rob Wilson's "Deion Sanders FSU Moments" in the Tallahassee Democrat last year.
(I had to save the article)
“1. Nov. 5, 1988, Columbia, SC — National television, naturally, had come to the South Carolina campus to bring the "showdown" between the Gamecocks and Seminoles to everyone. This game may have done as much as any to hang the awful tag of USC being an impossible place to win the big game. The Gamecocks had a swarming defense and their crowd was convinced that they would take the 6-2 Seminoles to the proverbial woodshed given a quarterback named P.T. Willis would get his first career start in the game for an injured Chip Ferguson.
Willis and FSU proved a nightmare for the USC fans packed elbow to elbow. He hit Terry Anthony on a demoralizing 44-yard scoring bomb on the second play of the game and it was off to the races for Florida State. It was 31-0 at the half and newbie Willis took a seat at the end of the third quarter.
It was during this long time out that Deion made even the frustrated home fans laugh. He climbed onto the bench, turned to the partisan yet horrified USC fans and began to yell at the top of his lungs, "Demand your money back, this is ridiculous, you need to leave now and demand a refund." Embarrassed chuckles turned to guffaws of laughter as folks passed word of what Prime Time was saying. Eventually a teammate handed Deion a cheerleading megaphone so he could implore even more in the crowd.
I’ve never seen so many disheartened fans laughing in my life."
Yeah, it was Black Death in 1987
Although they also have been known as “black ants” and “black magic” too.
Greg Jones ... have to post it ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=222zdriNuq4
If you don’t watch this at least a few times in a row and get chills, your heart ain’t beating right.
I just had a heart attack, my ghost is typing this.
In the words of “Tommy Boy’s” Tommy Callahan, That…..was…..AWESOME!!! Clemson, sorry about your defense man….that really sucks.
NICE
you ever see the youtube clip of Jones at Subway in tally, ordering 2 footlongs covered in bacon and extra everything, its pretty funny and then he says ‘if it doesnt taste good, why eat it? i just see it as a little more time in the gym’
I counted 8 guys getting their hands on him for a 21 yard run.
Bring Back PT Willis -------> A True Nole!!!
Remember the GT game for Ward like it was yesterday...
in my estimation that was the “light bulb came on” game for him. Played awful for 3Qrts and then “got it” but way too late to matter… or was it? Huge come back that made Charlie Ward.
Giddy-up!
I was there sitting in the middle of the Georgia Tech section.
I was in law school at the time and one of my friends was a Tech alum. It was three quarters of heartburn for us followed by a miraculous comeback. Charlie Ward goes from almost being benched to the best quarterback in FSU history in the course of a single game.
You are dead right! His QB life was certainly flashing before his eyes...
Some Noles probably don’t realise that if he went ahead and lost that game he would likely not have been the starter any longer.
Giddy-up!
The Tech fans were just stunned.
I remember going to someone’s apartment and 20 something guys are screaming at the TV for three quarters. Some wanted to pull Charlie but most were hoping we would finally turn the offense loose. Boy, when Brad Scott finally took the chains off (yes, we were bitching about offensive coordinators long before the retarded son) it was amazing. After that we murdered just about everybody and by murdering I mean the game was over by the end of the first quarter.
Charlie vs. GT
It seemed to me that the coaches were playing it real conservative. Trying to protect (or not really trusting) Charlie in his first year as the starter. Then behind in the fourth quarter they had to cut him loose. BOOM! After that game, they knew what they had. I think they actually simplified the offense. Didn’t want him overthinking things, just put the ball in his hands and let his instincts take over. Amazing!
Never let anyone say Tebow is the best college QB of all time – That’s pure B.S. – Charlie blows him away.
by SeminoleMike on Jul 27, 2010 12:38 PM EDT up reply actions
AS SOON AS
They allowed him in the “shotgun” formation, he saw the entire field and the rest is history. he was always far better in shotgun than under center. it just took the desperation of the coaching staff in that game to let him prove it.
One of the first games that I ever went to
was beating Pitt and Dan Marino and Hugh Greene. Super Toe and Thunder Foot were amazing. When we we beat Pitt and Nebraska, the recruits took notice and we were able to start competing for the elite talent.
"FSU amassed 858 yards of total offense"
That’s an insane total – almost beyond ‘video game’ numbers
by Mr. Tito Carlos on Jul 27, 2010 8:36 AM EDT reply actions
How did Ward’s game vs Maryland not at least make the honorable mention list?
Big Cat Country, The #1 Jaguars blog on the net
by Jonathan Loesche on Jul 27, 2010 9:14 AM EDT reply actions
the honorable mention list comes out tomorrow
the top 10 comes out Thursday. It could be on one of those lists.
Well, you'll have to see which of the Honorable Mention Top 10, or ...
…final Top 10 you would kick off those lists to make room for it. Obviously, the only mitigating factor for the Maryland explosion was the strength of the opponent and the fact that NOBODY on our offense encountered much resistance. Still, gaudy numbers to be sure.
Remember Overtime against Rivers/NC State
Thorpe breaks his leg during a block, carted off the field, thumbs up. Next play, OLine makes massive hole and Washingon (I think) goes 20 yards for TD? Not a thing that should be on this list, but still it was awesome and I just remembered it.
And the FSView ran the story on the front page that week. The cover photograph showed Thorpe's leg at the exact point of fracture, but no mention was made anywhere in the paper.
I was and I am still pissed that editor got away with that b.s.
I love how you include older great moments with the
“dynasty” years. Some people forget that FSU football existed before Bobby, important as he was.
GREAT JOB, GUYS
Brings back soooooooo many memories. i can still see sammie rumbling downfield at an angle against the huskers, still see the frustration on the “dressed in black” coach of the gamecocks.( first of my extensive vhs collection, lol). S adly, didn’t the Gamecock coach later kill himself?
And that shellacking of Florida. i remember the game and the happiness, but for the life of me i couldn’t have named Rodger overby.
Wasn’t it chips gator bowl that was so foggy the punts disappeard into the fog?
I feel privilaged to have watched so much great football and so many winning teams in my life. M any fans at many/ most schools never get that opportunity.
THANKS& GO NOLES!
I was at that '97 game vs NC St
If I recall correctly, that was the game that also featured an unstobbable Tory Holt catching five touchdowns and making the game closer than it should have been.
Strange things are afoot at the Circle-K.
I don't think that was 97...
believe it was in the Rix era, circa 2002 or so?
Holt was drafted in '99
Strange things are afoot at the Circle-K.
its was '97 and Torry Holt shredded us from the second quarter on.
35 was the most any opponent scored on FSU in ACC play at the time. Onimous forshadowing of our first home ACC loss to the Wolfpack 4 years later. On Homecoming, no less.
I remember Holt.
Can’t tell ya the year either, but seems like either the next year or the year before he darn near did the same thing at doak. He was a top- notch player.
Cro vs the Irish
I was there. We were in the all white unis (my favorite). It was pure payback for getting routed in Tally the season prior. It made for a glorious weekend in South Bend!
Great list.
The Noles
beat the Irish on all saint’s day. First time they ever lost on that day. I was there with my ND friends, they weren’t happy.
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