An Old Rival

By Jim Joanos

FSU had no varsity football program from 1905 through 1946. At the time, it was a women’s college named Florida State College for Women. In 1947, the legislature returned Florida State to its coeducational status and it reinstated football.

In the beginning, FSU had a strictly amateur program. While some of the players were receiving G.I. Bill assistance, there were no athletic scholarships. For a number of years, FSU belonged to a strictly amateur conference which it dominated.

In 1952, that changed when FSU began awarding athletic scholarships.

Tom Nugent was hired as the head coach. He was quite anxious to get to the business of an upper class program and expand the program by adopting annual schedules of tougher, well-known established teams.

Georgia was one of the major, well-known programs that would play FSU in the early days. It was not only willing to play FSU but would even come to Tallahassee to play some of the games.

In all, Georgia would play FSU eleven times. The first nine, starting from 1954, were part of the regular annual schedules: four in Athens, three in Tallahassee and one at a neutral site in Jacksonville. Years later, FSU played Georgia in two bowl games. Georgia won five of the matches, FSU four, and the Citrus Bowl in Orlando was a tie.

All eleven of the games were well attended and each was interesting in its own way.

Head Coach: Tom Nugent
	Sep 18, 1954	Home	L 0-14
	Oct 15, 1955	Home	L 14-47
	Sep 29, 1956	Away	L 0-3
	Oct 11, 1958	Jacksonville	L 13-28
Head Coach: Perry Moss
	Oct 31, 1959	Away	L 0-42
Head Coach: Bill Peterson
	Oct 14, 1961	Home	W 3-0
	Oct 20, 1962	Away	W 18-0
	Oct 17, 1964	Away	W 17-14
	Oct 16, 1965	Home	W 10-3
Head Coach: Bobby Bowden
	Dec 22, 1984	Orlando	T 17-17	Citrus Bowl
	Jan 1, 2003	New Orleans	L 13-26	Sugar Bowl
Head Coach: Mike Norvell
	Dec 30, 2023	Miami Gardens	??	Orange Bowl

FSU historians would point out that playing for FSU in the first matchup were a couple of well-known players: Lee Corso caught a pass for 36 yards, rushed twice for 14 yards and had an interception. Burt “Buddy” Reynolds ran once for 33 yards. The game was played in Tallahassee and FSU lost 14-0.

FSU lost the second game 47-14. It was the second game in a row where Georgia traveled to Tallahassee.

The third game (1956) was played in Athens, Georgia, “between the hedges.” It looked like a tie was in the making but in the last few minutes of the game, Georgia intercepted a pass and then kicked a field goal to win 3-0.

The fourth game was played on a neutral site (Jacksonville) where Georgia won 28-13. FSU’s team that day included some familiar names: Fred Pickard, Bobby Renn, Tony Romeo and Joe Majors.

The 1959 game was lost by FSU, 42-0, in Athens.

FSU would beat Georgia the next four games:

• 3-0 in 1961 at home. Doug Messer kicked a 25-yard field goal the first time FSU had the ball.
• 18-0 in 1962 in Athens. This was the first sod cemetery game. FSU kept the shutout when Dave Snyder intercepted a pass and ran it back for a 20-yard touchdown with four minutes to go.
• 17-14 in 1964, again in Athens. Fred Biletnikoff caught a 20-yard touchdown pass from Steve Tensi with six minutes left in the game.
• 10-3 in 1965 at home. Georgia kicked a field goal in the second quarter then FSU scored 20 in the fourth quarter on a Bill Moremen TD-run and a Pete Roberts field goal.

This ended the regularly scheduled games between the two schools.

After the 1984 season, the two tied in Orlando’s Citrus Bowl, 17-17. Trailing 17-9 with 4 minutes to go, Lenny Chavers blocked a punt and Joe Wessel picked up the ball and ran 14 yards for the score. Darrin Holloman completed the two-point conversion on a run. With no time left on the clock, Georgia’s Kevin Butler tried a 70-yard field goal. It fell agonizingly short, perhaps 3 or 4 yards.

FSU lost the last game the two schools have played, in the Sugar Bowl after the 2002 season, 26-13. FSU put up a valiant fight but the four field goals and 71-yard interception return by Georgia was too much to overcome.

There is a lot more that could be written about the upcoming Orange Bowl game between FSU and Georgia, especially that FSU, an undefeated team, was passed over from the upcoming championship playoffs. But there is still plenty to be won by a victory over Georgia, an old rival.

Go Noles!

About the author:

Jim Joanos

Memories of Garnet and Gold

Jim Joanos and his wife Betty Lou have deep roots at Florida State University. Avid sports fans, they have literally seen, and done, it all. Fortunately for us, Jim loves telling first-hand accounts dating back to FSU’s first football game, a 1947 clash with the Stetson Hatters on Centennial Field, where Cascades Park is today.

The Osceola will run a series of these colorful stories written by the former Tallahassee lawyer and judge, which we feel our readers will find enlightening and/or nostalgic.

Jim and Betty Lou, who was Associate Director of the FSU Alumni Association (1991-2003), have been married 66 years and are each listed as one of FSU’s 100 Distinguished Graduates. The couple were enshrined in the FSU Hall of Fame in 2015 as Moore-Stone Award Recipients. Ironically, both Deans Moore and Stone were instrumental in the Joanoses career development.

“Both Jim and Betty Lou Joanos have been exemplary fans and supporters of Florida State University, both academically and athletically,” said Andy Miller, retired President and CEO of Seminole Boosters, Inc. “You can’t go to an athletic event of any kind that you don’t see both Jim and Betty Lou Joanos together. They love their university as much as they love each other.”