There is a football that lives rent-free in the minds of everyone who has ever worn garnet and gold. It was kicked by Gerry Thomas in Tallahassee on November 16, 1991, with less than a minute left and Florida State trailing Miami by one point. The kick was 34 yards. Keith Jackson had just called Thomas a “key persona” for hitting his third field goal of the game. It drifted right of the upright by inches, Miami won 17–16, and the phrase “Wide Right” entered the Florida vocabulary the way hurricanes and sinkholes do — as a recurring natural disaster with no predictable schedule.
That kick was not the last one. It was the first. And the fact that it happened in various forms four more times across the next 13 years tells you something essential about this rivalry. It is not a rivalry that produces tidy outcomes. It produces mythology.
The Foundation
The game was first played on October 5, 1951, at the Orange Bowl in Miami. Florida State had only recently become a coeducational university, having spent decades as a women’s college, and their football program was four years old. Miami won 35–13, and for the next two decades the series was mostly a formality — Miami dominated the early going 15–5 through 1976, and the hatred between the fanbases was still developing.
Then Bobby Bowden arrived in Tallahassee.
Bowden inherited a Florida State program that had won four games in three seasons. He brought a wide-open offensive philosophy, a scheduling manifesto built around playing anyone anywhere, and a specific ambition to make the Seminoles a program recruits couldn’t ignore. By 1979, FSU was finishing ranked. By 1980, they were finishing in the top five.
Down in Coral Gables the same year, Howard Schnellenberger took over a Miami program that the university’s board of trustees was actively considering shutting down. Schnellenberger was a large man with a pipe and a plan. He implemented a pro-style passing attack, recruited Florida junior colleges specifically, and made a declaration that would define the next 40 years of recruiting in the state: he was going to build a “State of Miami” by placing an invisible fence around South Florida and keeping its talent at home. The program’s first national championship came in 1983, a title run that included a victory over Bowden’s Seminoles.
When Bowden’s offense met Schnellenberger’s defense, played between two programs operating as independents with no conference cushion and no margin for error, the rivalry became what it has been ever since: an unofficial national semifinal, the two teams meeting as top-ten opponents in seven consecutive games from 1987 to 1993, with half the country watching.
The Series
Miami currently leads the all-time series 37–33. The margin obscures how violently momentum has swung across seven decades.
Miami dominated early. FSU answered with sustained excellence through the 1990s, finishing in the top five of the AP Poll for an unprecedented 14 consecutive seasons and going 7–4 against Miami in that decade. The Seminoles won national championships in 1993, 1999, and 2013. Miami answered with six consecutive wins from 2000 through 2005. FSU then ran off seven straight from 2010 to 2016 under Jimbo Fisher, which included the 2013 national title with Jameis Winston — 41–14 over No. 7 Miami. Miami won three straight from 2017 to 2020, including a 52–10 rout in 2020. FSU reclaimed control with wins in 2021 (31–28), 2022 (45–3), and 2023 (27–20). Miami responded with consecutive wins in 2024 (36–14 at No. 6 Miami over FSU) and 2025 (28–22 at Doak Campbell, No. 3 Miami over No. 18 FSU). FSU holds a 13–8 advantage since Miami joined the ACC in 2004. Miami leads the series overall and has won the last two. In their six all-time top-five matchups, Miami holds a 5–1 record.
The Wide Right Era
Between 1991 and 2004, Florida State missed potential game-tying or game-winning kicks against Miami in the closing seconds of five separate games, four to the right of the upright and one to the left. It is the most specific, sustained, improbable kicking failure in the history of any college football rivalry.
Wide Right I (November 16, 1991): No. 1 FSU hosting No. 2 Miami, Tallahassee. FSU trailing 17–16 with less than a minute left. Gerry Thomas, 34 yards. Wide right. Miami went 12–0 and split the national championship with Washington. FSU finished 11–2.
Wide Right II (October 3, 1992): No. 3 FSU at No. 2 Miami, the Orange Bowl. FSU trailing 19–16. Dan Mowrey, 39 yards, final play. Wide right. Miami took an undefeated record to the Sugar Bowl, where they lost the national championship to Alabama. FSU finished ranked second.
Wide Right III (October 7, 2000): No. 1 FSU at No. 7 Miami, the Orange Bowl. The defending national champion Seminoles had trailed 17–0 at halftime, came back to lead 24–20 on a Chris Weinke touchdown pass, then gave up the lead when Ken Dorsey found Jeremy Shockey. FSU drove into field goal range on the final drive. Matt Munyon, 49 yards. Wide right. FSU’s five-game winning streak in the series ended. The Seminoles were then controversially placed above Miami in the BCS despite Miami ranking higher in both major polls; FSU lost to Oklahoma 13–2 in the Orange Bowl while Miami defeated Florida 37–20 in the Sugar Bowl.
Wide Left (October 12, 2002): No. 1 Miami at No. 9 FSU. The defending national champion Hurricanes staged a comeback to lead 28–27 in the final minutes. FSU drove into range. Xavier Beitia, game-winning attempt. Wide left. Miami won. FSU went on to win the ACC title; Miami lost to Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl national championship game.
Wide Right IV (January 1, 2004 Orange Bowl): A bowl rematch of the regular-season game. Beitia again, a kick that would have given FSU the lead with five minutes left. Wide right. Miami won 16–14 and finished the year ranked fifth. It also marked the completion of an unprecedented streak: FSU quarterback Chris Rix had started and played in all five of these kicking-game losses, the first time in NCAA history a quarterback had lost five consecutive games to the same opponent.
The psychological weight of these misses on Florida State was real and documented. The effect on Miami was the construction of an identity — a sense that close games bent toward the U, that destiny had a preference. It is a dangerous thing to believe about yourself, and Miami believed it.
The Games That Aren’t About Kicking
1963: Fred Biletnikoff scored three touchdowns — including a 99-yard interception return — as FSU shut out George Mira, the reigning Sports Illustrated cover quarterback, 24–0. It was the first of seven consecutive Seminole wins, all of them on the road at the Orange Bowl. FSU would later put together another seven-game winning streak from 2010 to 2016, the two longest streaks in series history belonging to the same program.
1987: The game that truly announced both programs nationally. No. 3 Miami at No. 4 Florida State, featuring a combined 60 future NFL players. FSU led 19–3 before Miami rallied to take a 26–19 lead. FSU scored a touchdown with 42 seconds left to make it 26–25, and Bowden made the call that defined his personality: he went for two. The conversion pass was broken up by Miami safety Bubba McDowell. Miami won 26–25 and went on to win the national championship.
1989: FSU beat Miami 24–10 with the Hurricanes forced to start freshman Gino Torretta in place of injured Craig Erickson. The game is also remembered for Miami mascot Sebastian the Ibis arriving with a fire extinguisher, a fireman’s helmet, and a raincoat to put out Chief Osceola’s flaming spear — getting tackled and handcuffed by four officers, then released. Torretta told ESPN afterward: “Even if we weren’t bad boys, it added to the mystique.” Miami went on to win the national championship upon Erickson’s return. Torretta himself would later win the Heisman in 1992.
2001: During Miami’s undefeated season, Ed Reed blocked a punt and the Hurricanes won 49–27 at FSU. The 2001 Miami team put 17 players in the first two rounds of the following NFL Draft.
2016 (The Block at the Rock): Miami entered undefeated and ranked 10th. FSU led 20–13 late. Miami scored a touchdown to pull within one at 20–19, then lined up for the extra point. DeMarcus Walker burst through and blocked it. FSU ran out the clock. One point, no kick.
2017 (The Rally in Tally): Miami entered undefeated in three games; FSU was 1–2. The Canes led 17–13 with 5:09 left before FSU true freshman James Blackman hit Auden Tate for what seemed the game-winner with 1:24 remaining. Miami quarterback Malik Rosier responded with a 23-yard touchdown pass to Darrell Langham, who caught it back-shoulder and lunged past the pylon with six seconds left after a five-minute review. Miami’s first win over FSU since 2009.
2021 (4th and 14 / The Van Dyke Spike): FSU entered 3–6 and fighting for bowl eligibility. Jordan Travis converted on fourth-and-14, then scored a rushing touchdown and two-point conversion to give FSU a 31–28 lead with 26 seconds left. Miami quarterback Tyler Van Dyke attempted a spike on the final play, but officials ruled the game over — the spike came with less than three seconds remaining, the NCAA minimum. FSU celebrated their first win over Miami in four seasons.
The Recruiting War — and How Both Programs Fight It
Florida produces more NFL-caliber players per capita than any other state, and Miami and Florida State have been fighting over them since Schnellenberger drew his invisible line around South Florida in 1979.
Miami’s recruiting process starts in the tri-county area — Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach — which the program treats as sovereign territory. Coaches cast a wide net nationally but keep their sharpest focus on Florida, evaluating not just athleticism and game film but also character and academic fit. Official visits are engineered to show prospects what the full Hurricane experience looks like: state-of-the-art facilities, academic support, and the specific pull of playing in a global city where endorsement opportunities are plentiful. Miami’s vibrant market is a genuine recruiting asset — the ability to build a personal brand in South Florida carries commercial weight that programs in smaller markets simply cannot replicate. The program has put 380 players in the NFL, including 2025 No. 1 overall pick Cam Ward, and NIL education is now built into the recruiting conversation: prospects are walked through how to leverage Miami’s market responsibly and effectively.
FSU’s NIL infrastructure works differently but fights just as hard. The Seminoles operate through two primary collectives: The Battle’s End, which focuses specifically on football roster retention — keeping star players and key recruits in Tallahassee rather than entering the transfer portal — and Rising Spear, which takes a broader approach across all sports and connects athletes with charitable and community initiatives. Both operate through the Opendorse-powered FSU NIL marketplace, which allows local businesses to browse athlete profiles, propose specific activities, and run measurable campaigns. FSU has produced 323 NFL players, including 2024 Defensive Rookie of the Year Jared Verse, and the Doak Campbell atmosphere — 82,300 seats, Chief Osceola and Renegade planting the flaming spear at midfield, the War Chant — remains one of the most compelling environments in college football.
Miami fans and FSU fans can now participate directly in these recruiting battles through verified NIL deals on RallyFuel, backing athletes from either program and tracking real performance stats. The ACC distributed approximately $45 million per school in 2023–24 and is restructuring distributions to reward viewership, with top programs potentially approaching $65 million annually — adding conference-level financial pressure to every recruiting decision both programs make. RallyFuel’s Trophy Case tracks Heisman and major award contenders throughout the season — Miami and FSU have combined for five Heisman winners — and the weekly college football predictions game lets fans turn correct picks into NIL support for their program’s athletes. The schools leaderboard ranks programs by total fan-driven NIL contributions — a live measure of which fanbase is more mobilized off the field.
The Conference Dimension and What Comes Next
Miami joined Florida State in the ACC in 2004, and the rivalry gained conference title implications it never had as an independent matchup. The ACC’s 2025 settlement of lawsuits brought by Clemson and Florida State restructured how distributions are calculated, tying 60 percent to five-year TV viewership metrics. Both Miami and FSU have significant financial incentive to win games that generate national viewership, and this rivalry reliably delivers both.
FSU’s 2023 season — undefeated, ACC champion, excluded from the College Football Playoff despite finishing in the top four — remains an open wound in Tallahassee. Mike Norvell called the committee’s decision “disgusting.” The program went 5–7 in 2024, its worst record since 1974. Miami entered 2025 ranked No. 3 and won 28–22 at Doak Campbell. The series is Miami’s again for the moment. It has been FSU’s before and will be again.
That is the structure of this rivalry. Nobody holds it for long. The ball goes wide right and then it doesn’t, and then it does again across 70 games and 74 years, accumulating into a series that neither program can define itself without. When they line up against each other in October, the records are accurate and irrelevant at the same time.
