Where I Come From: Top FSU Moments & Performances
by Bud Elliott on Jul 9, 2010 9:00 AM EDT
in FSU Football
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Because we've planning to run a series on this next week, today we are going with some of the top defensive performances in FSU history. This from author Fsued:
I arrived at this list using three main sources - my own noggin, the great info at nolesfan.com and Bill McGrotha's priceless book "Seminoles! The First Forty Years!" There were some statistical discrepancies between McGrotha's book and nolesfan.com - when I encountered those I shamelessly went with the stats that were either gaudiest or best made my case.
I tried to avoid merely ranking the best performances statistically. For instance, the interception record for FSU in one game is Mario Edwards' four vs. Wake Forest in 1998. But that didn't even make the list, mainly because, back then, Wake [was awful] and there was really nothing any FSU defensive player could do against them to merit making history.
I also ignored careers and focused just on games - for that reason, some very big names did not make the list. Remember, this is best single game performances by a Seminole. So, below is the countdown - feel free to discuss and even debate, but if you try to tell me I'm wrong I'll simply stick my fingers in my ears and start singing the "nah nah nah nah nah" song.
Next week, Fsued will unveil his top ten, but for today, here are his honorable mentions for the best defensive performances in FSU history:
Sept. 19, 1964 - Bill McDowell has 16 tackles (11 unassisted) and at least one sack as FSU shuts out Miami 14-0 to start its 9-1-1 season capped by a Gator Bowl berth. McDowell also forced a fumble for the FSU defense which would record 3 straight shutouts to start the season. FSUED musings: Some argue this was FSU's best defense (I rank it third - more on that later).
Oct. 23, 1976, FSU linebacker Jimmy Heggins recorded 21 tackles - an amazing 17 of them unassisted, in a 31-19 FSU loss at Auburn. FSUED musings: This one is definitely statistically based - we lost the game, but 17 UA tackles is sick.
Oct. 28, 1989, Kirk Caruthers - LB Kirk Caruthers racks up 16 tackles - 11 unassisted - picks off two passes and recovers a fumble in FSU's infamous 24-10 upset of "flagheaded" Bernard Clark and arch-rival Miami. The Noles forced 6 turnovers on the night of the top-ranked Canes.
Sept. 29, 1990 Erroll McCorvey has 8 tackles, 2 PBU, 1 INT and a 77 yard fourth-quarter fumble return to seal a 39-28 win vs. Virginia Tech. FSUED musings: No recollection of this game whatsoever, but that's a lot of stuff.
So, what are your top moments or performances in FSU history? These can come from offense or defense. Your choice.
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Tay Cody vs. OU
He had the single greatest performance I have ever seen from a DB. I don’t have his stat line readily available but I do have the game on DVD. Despite all of those drops and what not I believe had he not bust his spleen we would have found a way too win.
Derrick Brooks against GT
October 17th, 1992
The start linebacker of the FSU defense, Marvin “Shade Tree” Jones injures his ankle and is out of the game. Sophomore LB Derrick Brooks steps up and records 18 tackles! Noels Rally to win and Marvin Jones is carried off the field in tears.
There we go
Ponder lacks arm strength? Think again.
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D-line 96 vs gators (at home)
The pressure they put on the Gaytors that day in Doak was legendary. I know, I know, you asked for one player. But when I saw best defensive performance that is the first thing that came to my head. Forget the Sugar Bowl rematch. That day in Doak was truly special.
Best personal performance, I’ll say T-Buck vs Desmond Howard in Michigan. He gave up some passes but that interception set the tone for the day.
This might be my favorite as well. Meet me there or beat me there.
Ponder lacks arm strength? Think again.
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To the echo of the whistle
I wish Sunshine would replay that game.
Bring Back PT Willis -------> A True Nole!!!
They beat up Wuerffel so much in that game that in the Sugar Bowl Spurrier kept a back in the backfield to block on every passing play.
by SeminoleMike on Jul 9, 2010 12:56 PM EDT up reply actions
Was at that one (sophomore year) and it was nuts in the stands.
Though the second half of the ’98 game against UF stands out in my head. If I recall, UF was 3-13 or something like that on 3rd down in the game and converted none in the second half at all. It was just total domination.
Strange things are afoot at the Circle-K.
1990 Va Tech
Fsued that was the first game I went to and FSU was down twenty-something to 3 at the half and then just destroyed VT in the second half, largely due to Mccorvey and the defense.
P-Dub vs Clemson 1997
249 receiving yards and a 90 yard punt return for TD. They flat out couldn’t tackle him.
2 moments in particular come to mind
1998 vs. UF: The Dugans to Warrick pass
2000 vs. Clemson: The Weinke to Snoop 98-yd pass. Best playfake I’ve ever seen.
Bingo
Weinke to Snoop. Wink had the same pass the year before in the first half against UVA. I was standing in the front row of the north end zone three seconds before everyone else. Good thing the WR caught it cuz I would’ve looked like a total doosh if there was no catch.
Too bad he broke his neck right before halttime, we would’ve housed the Vols with Weinke under center.
"I got a PBS mind in an MTV world"...Jimmy Buffett
by The Ryno and I Know on Jul 9, 2010 1:17 PM EDT up reply actions
Edit- two years before
"I got a PBS mind in an MTV world"...Jimmy Buffett
by The Ryno and I Know on Jul 9, 2010 1:18 PM EDT up reply actions
Defensive (sorry didn't read good enough)
One random play I always liked…1999 NC game vs. VaTech. First series, Hokies are driving down the field. Inside the Noles 5-yard line and they go for it on 4th and goal. Derrick Gibson comes up with a huge stop on Vick that kind of set the tone for the game. If Tech scores there, who knows what happens. I know that game kind of see-sawed for a while until the end, and Tech briefly lead 29-28, but if they score on that first drive it may have been a different game.
Also in that same game I remember when Tommy Polley blocked the punt and Jeff Chaney ran it in for a TD. Dang, Tommy Polley was everywhere. I think he ended up hurting his knee that game…
Love that play
for whatever reason, when i think back on it, i always think it was against maryland. not sure why. either way, unreal. weinke turns his whole body away from the action, in the back of the endzone and basically looks into the espn camera…. and then BAM, spins around and chucks the ball…. so sweet.
Definitely Clemson
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvvr3R7vxhQ
Mike Martin should go coach Hawaii. Then he could have all the poi's he ever wanted - MattDNole
First Time Posting to TN.....Go Noles!!!
When thinking of some of the best defensive performances, I have to say that TBuck’s Pick 6 at the Big House against Michigan in 91 comes to mind first.
In more recent memory, Greg Reid had a pretty nice debut and performance against Miami last year. It could go down as the best debut defensive performance maybe ever.
Also, Marvin Jones and Derrick Brooks pretty much had amazing performances every time they touched the gridiron in their careers.
by SeminoleTeacher on Jul 9, 2010 10:00 AM EDT reply actions
Welcome!
That’s a great play. 20-second mark http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ss8RCja_SkI
Ponder lacks arm strength? Think again.
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Buckley vs. Howard
That’s the game I thought of as well.
It was awesome to watch those two going against each other. Howard was good, but Buckley was better!
by SeminoleMike on Jul 9, 2010 12:52 PM EDT up reply actions
Defense, boys, defense!
Ya missed the topic here.
My favorite is not a single individual performance, but that of the defense in the famous “goal line stand” against Kansas in the kickoff classic. Ten plays from inside the ten for Kansas and no score in the brutal heat. derrick Brooks was a beast.
Ha ha
We’re actually just using this EA stuff as an opportunity to tease next week’s content. You can go offense if you want.
But that Kansas stop is insane. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3AYA-27DX2U
Ponder lacks arm strength? Think again.
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That was Championship Caliber Defense!
And it “set the tone” for the entire season.
by SeminoleMike on Jul 9, 2010 12:59 PM EDT up reply actions
Oh man...don't know how I forgot about this one.
Still, it’s funny to keep in mind that the only reason Kansas got so many plays was because we couldn’t finish a play without a penalty half the time (if I remember correctly anyway…I can’t watch the Youtube video at work).
Strange things are afoot at the Circle-K.
Clemson- same year
Goal line stand- Part2! Brooks stands up the RB on their last attempt, knocking him back and killing their drive.
There is a good story behind that--
Supposedly, in high school that same big fullback for Clemson ran over Derrick Brooks on his way to the end zone in a game. Derrick vowed then and there that it would never happen again with any player.
I heard that years and years ago, can’t vouch for the truthiness.
the night before the performance
Oct. 28, 1989, Kirk Caruthers – LB Kirk Caruthers racks up 16 tackles – 11 unassisted – picks off two passes and recovers a fumble in FSU’s infamous 24-10 upset of “flagheaded” Michael Barrow and arch-rival Miami. The Noles forced 6 turnovers on the night of the top-ranked Canes.
The fact that this dude could party like a rockstar and then go out do this made me scratch my head, but loved every minute of his performance on the field. Cant imagine what he’d have done on a good nights sleep.
And since MattD is seconds away from telling me this is about Defense...
I would suggest a title change for those that don’t bother reading the story itself.
Actually, it can be offense or defense
Ponder lacks arm strength? Think again.
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PT Willis going bonkers on Nebraska in the Fiesta Bowl was sweet too.
"I got a PBS mind in an MTV world"...Jimmy Buffett
by The Ryno and I Know on Jul 9, 2010 1:17 PM EDT up reply actions
I don't know if it the greatest, but one of the
biggest has to be Chris Hope’s interception on the 2 yard line of the Gators at the Swamp in 99. It sealed the 30-23 win for the Seminoles and preserved our perfect record which we completed the next game against Virginia Tech.
"We didn't lose the game; we just ran out of time." - Vince Lombardi
i know its a homer pick - but charlie leading the comeback against georgia tech in 92
i was actually at a huge party at a frat at unc’s campus watching that game w/ a buddy who went there -
when gt went up 21 – 7 in the fourth the front man for the band announced to the drunken crowd that g tech had just upset fsu and said ‘f*** the seminoles!’ and the entire place went completely insane -
so 20 min later, when we won, i walked out to the main party w/ my fsu cap on and i was actually heckled by a few drunken unc frat boys who thought we had lost –
so imagine my pleasure when i got to announce to the singer that the news of our demise was greatly exaggurated, and the seminoles had in fact won
i think every person there hated me at that moment – it was so sweet
also, it was truly the dawn of the c ward era imo…
I remember exactly where I was watching this game
Hooters at Jacksonville landing with all the haytors giving me the business…..what a coming out party for Mr. Ward. After that game every NOLE knew we had a very special talent rocking the G and G
I remember too, because I was at the game.
I was in law school at the time and one of my clasmates was season ticket holder at GT, so he invited me to the game. I always wondered if we had lost that game, would we have been as dominant in the ACC for the rest of the decade. Winning that game gave us a certain mystique among the other teams that no lead was safe.
I was at that game
Deion got us into it. We were with tech students and waited late to get in. Tech had general admission for students, just show your ID and grab a seat. Stands were full and they closed the gates. Hundreds of students were clammiringbto get in.
Just then, a black helicopter landed near us. Out got Deion and his entourage, all dressed in black. He was playing for the falcons back then, I think. Anyway, the crowd parted as Deion made his way to the gate. They cracked it for him and the students flooded in behind as the gates came down.
We sat in the end zone with tech students and endured the beating/ridicule for most of the game. Then came the glorious fourth quarter when Charlie ward Gave birth to dr eason’s fast break offense.
Charlie scored the winning td right in front of us. The noles prevailed, sucking the life right out of the stadium. (I thought we were going to repeat it a couple of years ago, but Marcus sims … Oh, Marcus sims. Ugh. )
after the game, we celebrated over at underground Atlanta where we watched the braves win. May have been the night sid slid. At least, that’s how I remember it.
by Sabon on Jul 9, 2010 4:48 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
thats a cool story - esp the deion part -
so did you sneak in, or did he get you in?
When the gates fell
A few hundred of us ran in. Thanks, Deion!
by Sabon on Jul 11, 2010 8:37 AM EDT via mobile up reply actions
Just remembered
the season Deion Sanders had in 1988. He won every award imaginable and followed up our heart breaking opening season loss by picking off a Brett Favre pass and returning it for a touchdown in a 49-13 romp over Southern Miss. The next game he returned a punt 76 yards for a go-ahead touchdown against Clemson in the famous Puntrooskie game. Lastly in the Sugar Bowl against Auburn he picked off a pass in the Seminoles endzone to seal a 13-7 win. Tons of big plays.
"We didn't lose the game; we just ran out of time." - Vince Lombardi
Rix to PK sam in the Swamp
I was at a friends house in Gainesville watching this game because I couldn’t get tickets. There were 5 or 6 people living at the house and all of their families were in town for the game. It was me and 2 of my buddies from FSU in the middle of a bunch of Gayturds but when he caught that pass we went nuts. After a whole day of hearing them UF fans talk in our ears it was so sweet to get the W. That night only the 3 of us went out in Hog Town and there was nothing but FSU fans on the streets. Can’t wait to see that in Gainesville again.
Bring back Peter Tom Willis— a true Nole! -FiestaNole
Holds up 4 fingers
The Choak at Doak nuff said.
Need to throw the word "Defensive" into the article headline.
Strange things are afoot at the Circle-K.
Crap...meant to delete this and not post it when I saw Bud's comment above.
Strange things are afoot at the Circle-K.
Beating the Cane's in 2005, but 2005 as a whole.
I think they won like 6 in a row against us, and when they muffed the snap on the FG that would have tried the game, it was the loudest I have ever heard Doak. After the game I bought a post game scoreboard print-out then walked up and down Pensacola, holding it above my head asking UM fans if they knew the score of the game or who won. Before they could answer I would yell 10 – 7 as loud as I could, this went on for hours! Admittedly probably the most obnoxious I have ever been, but I suffered through similar antics TWICE the year before. People who don’t see me often still yell 10 – 7 at me when they see me. Two weeks later I was at the BC game after the game I got hundreds of Noles to chant “Wicked Chowder” at the disappointed Eagles supporters. Then after a couple hard to stomach losses to NC State then UF we redeemed ourselves versus VT in the inaugural ACC Title Game then the Orange Bowl, the only game I wasn’t angry about losing. That was a great year despite of some tough losses.
I remember it vividly.
Hearing the warchant echo underneath the stands is one of my favorite memories. I’ve never heard it louder than that day. It was epic.
Mike Martin should go coach Hawaii. Then he could have all the poi's he ever wanted - MattDNole
Showing my age
My first FSU/UF game as a student. Cold night game where Casey Weldon hit Dawsey for the 76yd TD bomb, can still picture the ball in the air and all of us going crazy when he hauled it in. Great game and the start of a lot of Spurrier disappointment against the Noles.
A.J. Nicholson vs. Boston College in 2005
19 tackles, 17 solo, 2 interceptions (1 for a touchdown).
by QNole on Jul 9, 2010 2:41 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
I was in attendance for that Greatness!
I remember Matt Ryan coming into to that game because we knocked out the starter, Quinton Porter and Ryan was very impressive, and almost brought them back.
by NationWideNole on Jul 9, 2010 3:18 PM EDT up reply actions
You stole mine!
HAHA. This might not be my favorite, but it was the first performance that came to mind. I was in attendance for that game, which was awesome. I was with a pretty big group and needless to say we were talking a TON of smack – it was great. This middle aged BC fan hit one of my friends and got thrown out, which was hilarious.
Side note – was this the game that Kiwi ran down Lorenzo Booker all the way to the goal line and forced a fumble for a touchback? It couldve been another BC/FSU game that I went to though.
Marvin Jones vs. Va. Tech in 1990
True freshman tallies 20 tackles, 15 unassisted and 4 for loss. Man among boys.
Also:
Derrick Brooks against Georgia Tech in 1992: 13 tackles, 5 for loss; and also Derrick scoring more TDs in the first five games of 1993 than the opponents (not to mention, the goalline stand against Kansas)
Reinard Wilson against Miami in 1996: Three sacks and a slew of QB pressures and hits. By the end of the game, his nameplate had been torn off because Miami’s o-linemen were holding him so much.
The most significant sack in FSU history, or, the Sack heard across the nation.
The date: October 4, 1980
The place: Lincoln, NE
The game: #16 FSU vs #3 Nebraska
Paul Piurowski, who finished with 12 solo and 18 total tackles, sacks the Neb. QB forcing a fumble, and starting the Road Warrior legacy and the start of the Nole Dynasty..
There, on second down, with 17 seconds to play, Quinn rolled left, searching the end zone for a receiver. Linebacker Paul Piurowski, who had already made 11 individual tackles, charged. Quinn raised his arm to throw just as Piurowski grabbed him from behind by the collar of his shoulder pads, pulling him backward to the ground. The ball rolled free, stopping within inches of Quinn’s outstretched fingertips. Held in Piurowski’s grasp, he lay like a man in a nightmare, seeing the ball but unable to reach it. Florida State’s Garry Futch covered the fumble and Nebraska’a last hope died.
If you care to read what Sports Illustrated had to say about this milestone game, and to learn about FSU’s best punter ever, Rohn Stark, and kicker Bill Capece, here you go.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1123848/1/index.htm
>-----:----:------>Spearing 'em and Scalping 'em like it's 1999
I'm not so sure this Jimbo fella is the right man for the job.
BTW: The Nebraska fans gave the Seminoles a standing ovation as they walked off the field after beating their own Huskers. They are one of the classiest fan groups in the nation.
>-----:----:------>Spearing 'em and Scalping 'em like it's 1999
I'm not so sure this Jimbo fella is the right man for the job.
Nole fans used to be a close second behind Nebraska in the class category
but the first MNC changed things…unfortunately for the worse….
2005 ACC Championship Game
Willie Reid did everything he could to help us win that game. That punt return to start the second half was awesome!
Mike Martin should go coach Hawaii. Then he could have all the poi's he ever wanted - MattDNole
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