Here are some excerpts from a recent ESPN inside story on FSU:

The Florida State Seminoles were sitting at something of a crossroads coming into the 1987 campaign. The Noles had posted a 7-4-1 mark the previous season and notched a school-record fifth straight bowl appearance, but those positive vibes were seemingly more than offset by two major negatives -- six straight losses to the archrival Florida Gators and the possibility that coach Bobby Bowden was going to leave Tallahassee to pursue his lifelong dream of coaching the Alabama Crimson Tide.

This certainly did not look to be the starting point of one of the greatest dynastic runs in college football history, but once Bowden made up his mind to commit to Florida State for the long term, the program almost immediately changed from a regional power to a perennial national championship contender, going 11-1 in a season that began FSU's string of top-5 finishes.

The 2011 Seminoles might be in much the same boat as that 1987 squad.

Here is a story written on this site back in January.

http://www.tomahawknation.com/2011/1/30/1931858/was-2010-1986-all-over-again-for-the-seminoles

See any similarities?