The 1993 Florida State Seminoles football team represented

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the st ...

and were the national champions of the

1993 NCAA Division I-A football season The 1993 NCAA Division I-A football season saw Florida State crowned national champions, in both the AP and Coaches poll. Under the Bowl Coalition, undefeated Big 8 champ and No. 2 ranked Nebraska hosted ACC champ and No. 1 ranked Florida State ...

. The team was coached by

Bobby Bowden Robert Cleckler Bowden (; November 8, 1929 – August 8, 2021) was an American college football coach. Bowden coached the Florida State Seminoles of Florida State University (FSU) from 1976 to 2009 and is considered one of the greatest college ...

and played their home games at

Doak Campbell Stadium Doak S. Campbell Stadium (in full Bobby Bowden Field at Doak S. Campbell Stadium), popularly known as "Doak", is a football stadium on the campus of Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida. It is the home field of the Florida State Semin ...

. The season gave the Seminoles their first national title as well as their first Heisman winner in quarterback

Charlie Ward Charlie Ward Jr. (born October 12, 1970) is a former American professional basketball player. Ward was an exceptional football player as well, winning the Heisman Trophy, Davey O'Brien Award, and College Football National Championship while quart ...

Season

FSU beat its first five opponents by an average score of 46–3, during which linebacker

Derrick Brooks Derrick Dewan Brooks (born April 18, 1973) is an American former football outside linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 14 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brooks played college football at Florida State, wh ...

outscored all five opponents combined. The Seminoles' first real contest didn't come until October 9, when the third ranked

Miami Hurricanes The Miami Hurricanes (known informally as The U, UM, or The 'Canes) are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. The Hurricanes compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic A ...

came to Tallahassee with a 31-game regular season win streak. That game was sealed when FSU safety Devin Bush picked off a

Frank Costa Frank Aloysius Costa (3 February 1938 – 2 May 2021) was an Australian businessman. Costa had been a prominent figure in the Geelong region for more than four decades after inheriting Costa Group, the family's produce business, in the late 1 ...

pass and ran it back 40 yards for a Florida State touchdown, making the score 28–10 with 4:59 to play. On November 13, 1993, Florida State played Notre Dame in a matchup of unbeaten teams. FSU was ranked #1 and Notre Dame was ranked #2. In a matchup hailed as the "Game of the Century", the Seminoles bid for a perfect season fell short as Notre Dame prevailed, 31–24. The Irish had leads of 24–7 and 31–17 before the Seminoles scored late (on a pass tipped in the end zone) to cut the final margin to seven points. 1993 NCAA Division I-A football season#Final rankings After that game, Notre Dame was voted #1 and FSU was voted #2. However, #1 Notre Dame lost at home the following week to #17 Boston College 41–39 on a 41-yard field goal as time expired. The voters returned the Seminoles to the #1 spot, and they were matched against Nebraska (now #2) in the Orange Bowl. Florida State rallied late to eke out an 18–16 win, as Nebraska missed a potential game-winning 45-yard field goal on the game's final play. After the bowl games, 12–1 Florida State was voted #1 and 11–1 Notre Dame was voted #2 in both polls.

Schedule

Roster

Starting lineup

Offense

Defense

Special teams

Rankings

Season summary

Kansas

at Duke

Clemson

at North Carolina

Georgia Tech

Miami (FL)

Virginia

Wake Forest

at Maryland

at Notre Dame

NC State

at Florida

vs. Nebraska (Orange Bowl)

Awards and honors

*Charlie Ward, Heisman Trophy *Charlie Ward, Johnny Unitas Award *Charlie Ward,

James E. Sullivan Award The AAU James E. Sullivan Award, presented by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), is awarded annually in April to "the most outstanding amateur athlete in the United States". Representatives from the AAU created the AAU Sullivan Award with the int ...

*Charlie Ward, Walter Camp Award *Charlie Ward, Maxwell Award *Charlie Ward, Davey O'Brien Award

1993 team players in the NFL

The following were selected in the

1994 NFL Draft The 1994 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 24–25, 1994, at the Marriott Mar ...

. The following would play in the NFL in later years. *

Sam Cowart Samuel Cowart III (born February 26, 1975) is a former American college and professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons. He played college football for Florida State University an ...

Kez McCorvey Kezarrick Montines McCorvey (born January 23, 1972) is a former professional football player. He was drafted in the fifth round of the 1995 NFL Draft by the Detroit Lions. He played for six years as a wide receiver and special-teams player, spend ...

Warrick Dunn Warrick De'Mon Dunn (born January 5, 1975) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL) for twelve seasons. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 12th overall in the 1997 ...

* Derrick Alexander *

Tamarick Vanover Tamarick Vanover (born February 25, 1974) is a former professional American football wide receiver. He played for the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League (NFL) and the Las Vegas Posse of the Canadian F ...

Clay Shiver Spencer Clay Shiver (born December 7, 1972) is a former American football center in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys and Carolina Panthers. He played college football at Florida State University, where he was a member o ...

References

{{Atlantic Coast Conference football champions

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher e ...

Florida State Seminoles football seasons College football national champions Atlantic Coast Conference football champion seasons Orange Bowl champion seasons

Florida State Seminoles football The Florida State Seminoles football team represents Florida State University (variously Florida State or FSU) in the sport of American football. The Seminoles compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Colle ...