The Sod Cemetery

Sod Games and the Florida State University Football Sod Cemetery have become one of the great traditions in all of college football.

In 1962, as the football Seminoles completed their Thursday practice in preparation to face the University of Georgia at Sanford Stadium, Dean Coyle Moore, a long-time professor and member of FSU's athletics committee, issued a challenge: " Go win at Georgia when nobody thinks you can do it and bring back some sod from between the hedges at Georgia." On Saturday, October 20, the Seminoles scored an unexpected 18-0 victory over the favored Bulldogs. The team believed even when others doubted them. Team captains Gene McDowell and Red Dawson remembered Dean Moore's challenge and pulled a small piece of grass from the field and returned it to Tallahassee. At the next practice they presented the sod to Dean Moore. He and FSU Coach Bill Peterson had the sod buried on the practice field as a symbol of victory. A monument was placed to commemorate the triumph. The tradition of the Sod Game was born.

Sod Games represent the most difficult of battles, away from home and against the odds. All FSU games played at the University of Florida, ACC Conference Championship Games, Football Playoff Games, and bowl games are Sod Games, no matter the odds. The Coyle Moore Family Trust and The Florida State University honor past and future victories of courageous and persevering Seminoles whose achievements are symbolized in the Sod Game Tradition.

Today the Sod Cemetery is located just outside the gates of the Football Practice Field, between the Bobby Bowden Statue and Dick Howser Baseball Stadium. Sod game monuments celebrate more than 100 Seminole victories.

Over half a century after its founding, the Sod Cemetery Tradition lives and grows. Since 2014, on home football gamedays, 90 minutes before kickoff, hundreds of Seminole fans gather at the Sod Cemetery Plaza for SodTalk. Legendary former Seminole football players return to tell the stories of FSU teams that defied the odds and brought home their symbols of victory.

The Florida State Sod Cemetery has added a new fan-friendly feature for the 2021 season. Fans and visitors can now "Press a Button" on the cemetery fence 24/7 and hear a brief history of the Sod Game Tradition, including music and historic game radio clips created by Seminole Productions.

Click on picture to enlarge. Click on link for game summary and stats.

The games:

1. 10/20/1962 Athens, Ga.	2. 11/10/1962 Atlanta, Ga.	3. 11/24/1962 Auburn, Ala.
4. 09/20/1963 Coral Gables, Fla.	5. 09/19/1964 Coral Gables, Fla.	6. 09/26/1964 Fort Worth, Tex.
7. 10/17/1964 Athens, Ga.	8. 01/02/1965 Gator Bowl Jacksonville, Fla.	9. 09/24/1966 Coral Gables, Fla.
10. 10/15/1966 Lubbock, Tex.	11. 11/05/1966 Columbia, S.C.	12. 09/23/1967 Birmingham, Ala.
13. 10/07/1967 College Station, Tex.	14. 11/04/1967 Memphis, Tenn.	15. 11/25/1967 Gainesville, Fla.
16. 12/30/1967 Gator Bowl Jacksonville, Fla.	17. 10/26/1968 Columbia, S.C.	18. 11/16/1968 Raleigh, N.C.
19. 11/29/1968 Jacksonville, Fla.	20. 09/26/1969 Coral Gables, Fla.	21. 11/08/1969 Blacksburg, Va.
22. 10/24/1970 Columbia, S.C.	23. 10/30/1970 Coral Gables, Fla.	24. 11/08/1974 Coral Gables, Fla.
25. 11/01/1975 Clemson, S.C.	26. 11/22/1975 Houston, Tex.	27. 10/09/1976 Chestnut Hill, Mass.
28. 11/13/1976 Denton, Tex.	29. 10/01/1977 Stillwater, Okla.	30. 12/03/1977 Gainesville, Fla.
31. 12/23/1977 Tangerine Bowl Orlando, Fla.	32. 09/09/1978 Syracuse, N.Y.	33. 09/15/1979 Tampa, Fla.
34. 10/27/1979 Baton Rouge, La.	35. 11/23/1979 Gainesville, Fla.	36. 09/06/1980 Baton Rouge, La.
37. 10/04/1980 Lincoln, Neb.	38. 10/03/1981 Columbus, Ohio	39. 10/10/1981 Notre Dame, Ind.
40. 10/02/1982 Columbus, Ohio	41. 10/30/1982 Coral Gables, Fla.	42. 12/30/1982 Gator Bowl Jacksonville, Fla.
43. 09/10/1983 Baton Rouge, La.	44. 10/29/1983 Tempe, Ariz.	45. 12/30/1983 Peach Bowl Atlanta, Ga.
46. 09/22/1984 Coral Gables, Fla.	47. 11/03/1984 Tempe, Ariz.	48. 12/22/1984 Citrus Bowl Orlando, Fla.
49. 09/07/1985 Lincoln, Neb.	50. 12/30/1985 Gator Bowl Jacksonville, Fla.	51. 12/31/1986 All-American Bowl Birmingham, Ala.
52. 09/26/1987 East Lansing, Mich.	53. 11/07/1987 Auburn, Ala.	54. 11/28/1987 Gainesville, Fla.
55. 01/01/1988 Fiesta Bowl Tempe, Ariz.	56. 09/17/1988 Clemson, S.C.	57. 01/02/1989 Sugar Bowl New Orleans, La.
58. 12/02/1989 Gainesville, Fla.	59. 01/01/1990 Fiesta Bowl Tempe, Ariz.	60. 12/28/1990 Blockbuster Bowl Miami, Fla.
61. 09/28/1991 Ann Arbor, Mich.	62. 01/01/1992 Cotton Bowl Dallas, Tex.	63. 09/12/1992 Clemson, S.C.
64. 10/17/1992 Atlanta, Ga.	65. 01/01/1993 Orange Bowl Miami, Fla.	66. 11/27/1993 Gainesville, Fla.
67. 01/01/1994 Orange Bowl Miami, Fla.	68. 11/12/1994 Orlando, Fla.	69. 01/02/1995 Sugar Bowl New Orleans, La.
70. 01/01/1996 Orange Bowl Miami, Fla.	71. 11/08/1997 Chapel Hill, N.C.	72. 01/01/1998 Sugar Bowl New Orleans, La.
73. 11/20/1999 Gainesville, Fla.	74. 01/04/2000 Sugar Bowl New Orleans, La.	75. 01/01/2002 Gator Bowl Jacksonville, Fla.
76. 11/29/2003 Gainesville, Fla.	77. 01/01/2005 Gator Bowl Jacksonville, Fla.	78. 09/17/2005 Chestnut Hill, Mass.
79. 12/03/2005 Jacksonville, Fla.	80. 09/04/2006 Coral Gables, Fla.	81. 12/27/2006 Emerald Bowl San Francisco, Calif.
82. 09/29/2007 Jacksonville, Fla.	83. 11/03/2007 Chestnut Hill, Mass.	84. 10/04/2008 Coral Gables, Fla.
85. 11/22/2008 College Park, Md.	86. 12/27/2008 Champs Sports Bowl Orlando, Fla.	87. 09/19/2009 Provo, Utah
88. 10/22/2009 Chapel Hill, N.C.	89. 11/14/2009 Winston-Salem, N.C.	90. 01/01/2010 Gator Bowl Jacksonville, Fla.
91. 10/09/2010 Coral Gables, Fla.	92. 12/31/2010 Chick-fil-A Bowl Atlanta, Ga.	93. 11/26/2011 Gainesville, Fla.
94. 12/29/2011 Champs Sports Bowl Orlando, Fla.	95. 12/01/2012 Charlotte, N.C.	96. 01/01/2013 Orange Bowl Miami Springs, Fla.
97. 10/19/2013 Clemson, S.C.	98. 11/30/2013 Gainesville, Fla.	99. 12/07/2013 Charlotte, N.C.
100. 01/06/2014 BCS Championship Game Pasadena, Calif.	101. 12/06/2014 Charlotte, N.C.	102. 11/28/2015 Gainesville, Fla.
103. 10/08/2016 Coral Gables, Fla.	104. 12/30/2016 Orange Bowl Miami Gardens, Fla.	105. 11/25/2017 Gainesville, Fla.
106. 12/27/2017 Independence Bowl Shreveport, La.	107. 11/09/2019 Chestnut Hill, Mass.	108. 10/09/2021 Chapel Hill, N.C.
109. 11/20/2021 Chestnut Hill, Mass.	110. 12/29/2022 Cheez-It Bowl Orlando, Fla.	111. 09/03/2023 Orlando, Fla.
112. 09/23/2023 Clemson, S.C.	113. 11/25/2023 Gainesville, Fla.	114. 12/02/2023 Charlotte, N.C.