College Football

FSU Football's Most Memorable Bowl Wins: No. 9

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 8:29 p.m. ET

Fansided, Jason Parker/FanSided via Chop Chat

FSU football is heading back to another bowl game – here’s a look at the one of the more memorable postseason games in program history.

On January 2nd, 1950, the Florida State Seminoles made program history in just their third season of play. FSU football traveled from Tallahassee to Tampa to take on the Wofford Terriers in the Cigar Bowl – the first time the ‘Noles had been selected to play in a postseason bowl game since the program started.

This season, the Seminoles will take part in their 46th all-time bowl game when they play in the (bowl game) against the (opponent). It will be another in the list of memorable postseason contests for FSU football – a list that has taken the team everywhere from Miami to San Francisco and Atlanta to Dallas and points all over the place.

But, which bowl games have truly been the best ever for the Seminoles? Here’s a look at another memorable moment in the postseason for Florida State.

No. 9 – 2013 Orange Bowl (Florida State 31 Northern Illinois 10)

For the first time since the 2005 season, the Seminoles could call themselves champions of the ACC. A one point upset loss to N.C. State and a letdown against the Gators (Jimbo Fisher’s only loss against an in-state foe) meant FSU football would be playing for an Orange Bowl title against a Huskies team that crashed the BCS party and thought they had a legit chance to win.

For their part, the men from the MAC did keep things interesting early on. After Lonnie Pryor’s long touchdown to start the scoring, NIU kept it close until Rashad Greene caught a touchdown pass with 11 seconds left in the first half. In the third quarter, the ‘Noles could only muster a field goal while Northern Illinois got into the end zone to make the score 17-10 FSU.

The fourth quarter would be a different story and show why the smaller conferences can’t usually hang with the big boys. E.J. Manuel would run it in from nine yards out on the first play of the quarter, than Pryor would add his second score of the game with a 37 yard run to seal the scoring. The Seminoles would double up the Huskies in total yardage on the night and win their first Orange Bowl game since the 1995 season.

While it would be the final game for stars like Manuel and Bjorn Werner, it was the stepping-stone for what would be a magical season in 2013 and the school’s third national title. It was also special to get a bowl win in the Sunshine State, as this was the fourth win in a row and sixth in their last eight bowls played in Florida.