Welcome to Hurricanes-Seminoles Week 2014, the latest installment in one of college football's most recognizable rivalries. When it's UM-FSU, shit goes down -- it's science.
Canes-Noles is a game that garners attention around the nation regardless of the stakes, and rightfully so -- the matchup has produced multiple memorable moments over the past few decades, many of which have had national championship implications. The faces on the sidelines may change, but Hurricanes-Seminoles continues to produce classic college football highlights. Here are ten of the most memorable.
See also: Five Reasons UM-FSU Is College Football's Greatest Rivalry
10. Sebastian the Ibis Gets Detained (1989)
In 1989, Sebastian the Ibis almost got his oversize bird ass thrown in the slammer when he "accidentally" sprayed a fire extinguisher right into the chest of a police officer at Doak Campbell Stadium.
"I heard someone yelling, 'Give me the effing fire extinguisher! Give it to me!'" the mascot later said. "And so I screamed, 'No!' But of course nobody could hear me because I'm in a bird costume.
"As I screamed, I jerked away from him and I just happened to squeeze the trigger, which splashed onto the chest of a Leon County officer, and at that moment I realized, Uh-oh, something is wrong here."
Luckily for Sebastian, the Leon County Police Department let him slide; fill in your own joke here.
9. The Seminoles Rap (1988)
We are the Seminoles of Florida State,
Some say we're good, some say we're great,
Our goal is simple, best in the land,
Rockin' to the beat of the Marching Chiefs band.
And then the Seminoles got their asses kicked 31-0. The defending National Champion Hurricanes were already pissed off about the Seminoles being the top-ranked team entering the season, but this just made shit way worse.
8. The Shootout at Doak (2009)
One of the most underrated games in the rivalry happened in 2009, in a 38-34 Hurricanes win. The game featured a combined 880 yards of offense but was decided by just two, because the Noles couldn't convert at the two-yard line as time expired. The game was a coming-out party for Jacory Harris, who threw for 386 yards and three scores, and it was said to be the moment "the U was back."
Unfortunately for Jacory Harris and Miami, things have been pretty much downhill since then.
7. Michael Barrow. Tamarick Vanover. The Hit. (1992)
"They did that play earlier in the game. I went to go get him, and the umpire got in my way, and I was like, 'Awwwwww,"' Barrow said. "I remembered Vanover from when he visited Miami, and I went up to him and said something like, 'Man, you chump, I'm glad you went to that girls' school, because you weren't tough enough to come here."' And a couple plays later, I got the hit."
6. Stanford Samuels Destroys Roscoe Parrish in the Rain (2003)
Another hit that represents the way Miami and FSU play each other, this Stanford Samuels hit on Roscoe Parrish sticks out. Both players come crashing down after the collision and splash around on the grass like fish out of water. This is what UM-FSU is all about.
5. The Noles Hang On (2008)
In a series that is best known for Seminole heartbreaks, this one almost was added to the list. After leading the Canes 24-3 at halftime and 31-10 in the third quarter, the Seminoles found themselves up just 34-32 late in the fourth. Antone Smith broke a 20-yard run for a touchdown, and Tallahassee exhaled as the Noles eventually pulled out the 41-39 win. The game remains one of the most exciting -- and highest-scoring -- in the rivalry's history.
4. The Noles Beat the Champs (1989)
When the Seminoles knocked off the second-ranked Hurricanes 24-10 in 1989, they thought they had played spoiler, eliminating their rivals from championship contention that year. Not so fast. The loss to the Seminoles would be Miami's only defeat of the season, and as it turned out, 11-1 was good enough -- the Canes beat Alabama in the Sugar Bowl to win their third national title.
The Seminoles went on finish second in the coaches' poll.
3. "Did That Really Just Happen? That's Supposed to Happen to Us!" (2005)
FSU running back Lorenzo Booker couldn't believe it, and neither could almost everyone else -- a failed late-game kick that benefited the Noles? Unheard of. In the 2005 tilt, the Seminoles led by three with 2:30 left. Canes kicker Jon Peattie lined up for a gimme 28-yard field goal that would have tied the game at 10, and then the "Miami Muff" happened. The Hurricanes botched the play in epic fashion, giving the Noles the victory in possibly the ugliest game of the storied rivalry.
2. The Game That Started It All (1987)
It was 1987, and the Hurricanes were No. 3, while Florida State was No. 4. Both teams were smack-dab in the middle of the hunt for the national championship. FSU shot out to a 19-3 lead. but the Canes would storm back, eventually taking the lead for good on one of the most recognizable Miami Hurricanes plays ever. Michael Irvin's 73-yard catch and sprint down the sideline put Miami up 26-19 with a little more than two minutes to play.
The Seminoles would score late and opt to go for the two-point conversation and the win. The attempt would fail, and the Hurricanes would eventually pull out a 26-25 win that catapulted them to a national championship.
If they could've done it all over, the Noles would've probably just kicked the extra point.
But then again, about those kicks:
1. Four Wide Rights and a Wide Left (1991, 1992, 2000, 2002)
The kicks that changed college football history, the games dubbed "Wide Right" and "Wide Left" will forever be synonymous with missed field goals at any level of football. Within a decade, four UM-FSU games were decided by missed Florida State field goals, plus another in the 2004 Orange Bowl. When you think FSU and UM, you think heartbreaking Florida State last-second losses; then if you're a Florida State fan, you cry. You cry a lot.
The Hurricanes host the Seminoles this Saturday at 8 p.m. at Sun Life Stadium.
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