The next chapter in one of the best rivalries in college football will be written Monday night when Miami plays Florida State.
Other rivalries might have more bile or longer histories. But you won’t find more suspense, close outcomes or bizarre moments.
Miami-FSU is must-see TV, and despite the whining about how unfair it is for the schools to meet in the opener, the players are thrilled to have the national stage to themselves. It’s a brilliant blastoff for the season, and ESPN plans to do it again next year.
Will Miami or FSU, the two most successful programs of the last 20 years, contend for the national title?
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We’ll begin to find out Monday night as two rookie quarterbacks, Kyle Wright for the Hurricanes and Drew Weatherford for the Seminoles, make their debuts.
Miami is favored by the narrowest of margins, which is fitting because only 14 points separate these teams over 49 games since 1951, with FSU holding a 973-959 edge.
In Tallahassee they’ll be meeting for the fourth time in less than 23 months, and Miami hopes to extend the six-game winning streak that began with a 27-24 win in 2000 when FSU missed a game-tying field goal as time expired in the Orange Bowl.
When the Hurricanes and Seminoles play, it always seems to come down to the last minute or a field goal. A few feet to the left or right, and Bobby Bowden would be the greatest coach in college football history. Miami has been his nemesis, blocking his path to the championship in gut-wrenching fashion.
The rivalry is freighted with the emotions of alumni, and of the players, many of whom played with or against each other in high school.
“I remember back in the day, the rivalry was a real bloodbath, with lots of fights,” Miami linebacker Jon Beason said. “We still talk a lot of talk, but there’s a lot of respect now.”
The rivalry appeals to football connoisseurs far beyond the borders of the state.
“I always watched the Miami-Florida State game because I knew it would be a great game,” said Miami senior linebacker Eric Winston, a Texan who knows his college rivalries. “So many great athletes have played in it through the years. This is my fifth game against FSU, and a couple have already been instant classics.”