Cataloging our top 100 FSU plays countdown: A look back at a series for the ages

It’s been a few days since the 2018 Florida State football season began, and just about as many since our countdown of the top 100 plays in Seminole football history wrapped up. Today, we take a moment to look back at the constituent elements of the countdown.

When?

Not surprisingly, more plays from the 1990s made the countdown than from any other decade of Seminole football history. Here’s the breakdown:

• ’90s: 36
• ’10s: 25
• ’80s: 19
• ’00s: 9
• ’60s: 8
• ’70s: 2
• ’50s: 1
• ’40s: 0

Furthermore, 78 of the plays came within the regular season, while 22 came in the postseason— and 11 occurred during a national title game appearance.

Where?

Bobby Bowden earned the nickname “King of the Road” by taking his squads into hostile stadiums to make a name for the program. Fittingly, more plays occurred in away games than at any other venue. 42 took place on the road, 35 in Doak Campbell Stadium, and 23 happened at neutral sites.

Against Whom?

In playing so many tough national opponents over the years, many of which took place while FSU was independent, the majority of these plays (56) have happened against teams not currently in the ACC. 44 were vs. current conference foes. As far as specific counterparts go, the usual suspects are probably rather predictable. Here are the teams most victimized by Florida State in our top 100 plays countdown:

• Florida: 22
• Miami: 16
• Clemson: 14
• Nebraska: 7
• Auburn: 6

That’s right: more than half of the Seminoles’ top plays came against the Gators, Hurricanes, and Tigers.

But for as much fun as it’s been to pay tribute to the most important plays in FSU history, I’d like to take a moment here to offer up sincere gratitude to the players on our staff who saw this arduous task through to completion.

When this was just a fledgling idea of a way to countdown the days until kickoff, our Bud Elliott advised me against the undertaking— and for good reason. Series of this length, especially over the summer when so many are traveling, can easily go off the rails. But at the heart of this idea was a small, dedicated nucleus of contributors and friends in which I place considerable belief and respect.

And frankly, they’re the ones who saw this project through to fruition. Leading the way were Matt Minnick and The K-Man, who penned more entries than any others and offered invaluable tips and historical notes for pieces written by others as well. In addition to myself, Kyle Griffis and Trey Rowland also added double-digit contributions and important insight to the countdown.

Thanks also go out to Perry Kostidakis, Jon Marchant, LastNoleofKrypton, Courteney Korosec, Dak Moyer, ricobert1, Juan Montalvo, Brianna Biancardi, and evenflow58, who chipped in with articles as well.

This was certainly not a perfectly executed series. There were well-intentioned disagreements, miscommunications, and unforeseen circumstances that arose, requiring one of us to pick up the slack for another, at times with very little notice. But someone always stepped up, even if it meant canceling plans to fill-in for a fellow staffer and ensure continuity, making sure that a planned piece ran on its intended day.

And whether it happened in the morning, afternoon, or at night, every single one did. For 100 straight days. I’m beyond thankful for the energy and effort that all of our contributors sunk into this countdown while seeing it through to its finish. It wasn’t always easy, but we exchanged some great stories along the way, learned a lot about FSU football history, and, in the end, had a great time. We hope you did as well.