History of FSU Football: 1999 - Ten Years Ago...A National Championship Season
By Jim Joanos
Ten years ago, Florida State University had a perfect, national championship football season. Several events have been planned this fall to celebrate that great time in the history of FSU athletics. For FSU fans there will be lots to remember.
When the FSU football team reported for preseason practice in August of 1999, they were already ranked number one in the major polls of the day. Unlike any other prior major college football team in history, they would retain that status every single week of the season and the post season.
The 1998 season had been a good one. It had ended, however, with FSU losing to the University of Tennessee in the national championship game. Ever since, the team members returning from that loss looked forward to redeeming themselves.
FSU 41 Louisiana Tech 7. The first game of the season against Louisiana Tech was expected to be a one sided affair for FSU, and ultimately it was. However, the Seminoles started slowly and did not score until five seconds before the end of the first half on a pass play from Chris Weinke to Anquan Boldin. Surprisingly, Tech came back in the second quarter and tied it up on a touchdown pass of their own. But that was it for the visitors to Doak Campbell Stadium, as FSU scored 34 unanswered points thereafter.
FSU 41 Georgia Tech 35. The second game, also in Tallahassee, turned out to be one of the most exciting of the season. FSU's all-world pass receiver, Peter Warrick, starred for the Seminoles while Georgia Tech's All-American quarterback Joe Hamilton put on a show of his own. When the gunfight was over, only FSU was left standing. During the game, Warrick caught eight passes for 142 yards and ran for another 25 yards. Hamilton, for the visitors, threw for 387 yards and three touchdowns. He ran for another.
FSU 42 North Carolina State 11. Playing their third straight game at home, the Seminoles took charge in the second quarter and rolled to a one sided victory. The game featured some great defense by FSU as well as five field goals by the Seminoles' kicker Sebastian Janikowski who had won the Lou Groza Award as the nation's best kicker at the end of the 1998 season and would repeat at the end of the 1999 season.
FSU 42 North Carolina 10. In their first road game of the season, the Seminoles dominated early and cruised past North Carolina. FSU running back Travis Minor ran for two touchdowns in the first four minutes of the game. Before the day ended, the visiting Seminoles had played 70 different players in the game. A 75-yard touchdown run by Peter Warrick was spectacular.
FSU 51 Duke 23. Playing in Jacksonville, FSU scored 21 unanswered points in the first quarter and 23 in the second to lead at halftime, 44-0. Duke fared better in the second half as FSU played mostly backups. During the day, Peter Warrick caught three touchdown passes and threw another.
FSU 31 Miami 21. Back home in Tallahassee, the Seminoles, without Peter Warrick, played sluggishly in the first half and were tied with their Miami rivals at halftime, 21-21. The Canes had scored on three touchdown passes of 48, 8, and 80 yards. In the second half, Miami was held scoreless while the Seminoles scored 10.
FSU 33 Wake Forest 10. In the seventh game of the season, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons came to Tallahassee and surprisingly held the Seminoles to three field goals by Janikowski in the first half, one of them for 52 yards. The second half was different as the Seminoles scored three touchdowns and a field goal to reach 7-0 for the season. Weinke had a good day passing for 354 yards including 2 touchdowns.
FSU 17 Clemson 14. At Clemson, Coach Bobby Bowden was down at halftime to son Tommy Bowden's Tigers, 14-3. A touchdown and a field goal by FSU in the third quarter tied the game with fifteen minutes left. The fourth quarter was a defensive battle but FSU managed to make a 33-yard field goal by Sebastian Janikowski. With less than two minutes to go, Clemson missed on its last chance, a 42-yard field goal attempt and FSU had its eighth victory of the season and Bobby Bowden had his 300th career victory.
FSU 35 Virginia 10. At Charlottesville, FSU's quarterback Chris Weinke had a rough start throwing three interceptions in the first half allowing the Cavaliers to lead at halftime, 10-7. The second half was a different story as Weinke threw two touchdown passes including a 50-yard beauty to Peter Warrick. The comeback victory also included a neat 66-yard touchdown run by Travis Minor.
FSU 49 Maryland 10. In Tallahassee, the Seminoles put on an air show in cruising to their 10th victory of the season. Playing only the first three quarters, quarterback Weinke threw six touchdown passes. In the game, wide receiver Peter Warrick caught nine passes, three of them for touchdowns.
FSU 30 Florida 23. The Seminoles finished off the regular season with a very exciting victory at Gainesville. Neither team gained much on the ground and Florida edged FSU in passing yards but FSU made theirs count more as the Seminoles outscored the Gators. A big play of the game was linebacker Tommy Polley's punt block which led to a touchdown. Stars of the game also included Janikowski who kicked three field goals, including one for 54 yards and Peter Warrick who caught nine passes.
FSU 46 Virginia Tech 29. In New Orleans, the National Championship game was a thriller. Both teams, undefeated during the regular season, played all out football. Led by Peter Warrick and Ron Dugans, FSU dominated early. However, in the third quarter, Virginia Tech behind the leadership of magician-like quarterback Michael Vick came storming back, took the momentum and took the lead 22-21. Fortunately, in the fourth quarter, Vick seemed to run out of steam and the Seminoles would not be denied. Between the passing of Weinke and the continued pass catching heroics of Dugans and Warrick, the Seminoles took back over in the fourth quarter and closed out the victory and the national championship run. One of Warrick's touchdown catches with a defender draped all over him was unbelievable.
Post season honors poured in upon the national champion Seminoles. Four players attained NCAA Consensus All-American honors. They included Peter Warrick, Sebastian Janikowski, offensive lineman Jason Whitaker, and nose guard Corey Simon. Nine members of the team were All-ACC first teamers, while seven were on the second team, and four more were honorable mention.
It was, indeed, a great year.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |