College Football Stories

For some reason that I cannot seem to remember, I missed this game. Maybe there was not a ticket for me, or maybe I decided last minute that I did not want to go. Whatever the reason, looking back, I am eternally grateful to my parents for not taking me to this game. At the time of this match-up, I was 15 years old. I had only ever known of the dominant Florida State Seminoles football program. The second game I ever attended at Doak Campbell Stadium was a 58-7 annihilation of the Wake Forest Demon Deacons by my beloved Noles.

In the late 1990’s, Bobby Bowden’s rosters were littered with future NFL Draft picks, as well as College and/or Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees. I vividly remember Peter Warrick’s Heisman-caliber game against the Virginia Tech Hokies in the 2000 Sugar Bowl. The defensive dominance orchestrated by Mickey Andrews coupled with Mark Richt’s offensive onslaught was a recipe to win every single game. A single regular season loss–especially an Atlantic Coast Conference loss–felt like the end of the world. Like most Seminole fans, I was not yet used to the losing ways of these new era Noles.

Between 2001 and 2005, FSU went 44-20 overall, 31-9 in conference play, finishing in the top 25 of the AP Poll each season. They won three ACC championships in those five seasons. They were 2-3 in bowl games, and 3-8 combined against their arch-rivals, the Florida Gators and the Miami Hurricanes. This was a poor representation of the Bowden dynasty. Like most fans clad in Garnet and Gold, I expected that this was just a bump in the road, a re-tooling or re-loading before the next strong push back towards national prominence. Forget prominence, for the next several years, Florida State football would be lucky to gain national relevance.

If the previous five seasons showed signs of normal wear and tear for the Florida State program, the 2006 season revealed that damage to be irreparable. After beginning the season with a huge road victory over Miami, the Noles stumbled into Veterans Day weekend with a bleak 5-4 overall record, including a 3-4 record in the ACC. This was already the worst start for FSU in recent memory. Prior to the 2005 season, the Noles had never lost more than twice in ACC play in a single season.

On November 11th, 2006, Bowden’s Seminoles were playing in the prime time slot on ABC; same as it ever was. A nationally-ranked team would be suiting up and playing in Doak Campbell Stadium that night; only this time it was the visiting team, the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. The Deacs rolled into Florida’s capital city at 8-1, ranked No. 18, controlling their own destiny within the ACC Atlantic division.

The Wake Forest football program was the antithesis of the Bowden-led Florida State squads. The team in Winston-Salem, North Carolina did not have incredible talent. They did not have a recent history of success; or any history of success, for that matter. Prior to 2006, Wake’s only conference title was in 1970. That year, the Deacs finished 6-5 overall and went 5-1 in the ACC.

Some interesting notes on that 1970 football season: Wake’s only conference loss was a 43-7 defeat at the hands of the South Carolina Gamecocks, who left the league the following year. The Deacs only non-conference win was against the Virginia Tech Hokies, an independent at the time. Speaking of independents, the closest non-conference loss for the Deacs was against Florida State, 19-14. Wake lost by an average of 22 points per game in their four non-conference losses. Nevertheless, the Deacs reigned supreme in the ACC at the end of the year.

Across the sidelines from Bowden was Wake’s sixth-year head coach, Jim Grobe. Already, Grobe had exceeded expectations in Winston-Salem, going 26-32 in his first five seasons. Grobe took over a program that was 26-63 in the eight seasons before he arrived, including a 12-52 record in league play. He was well ahead of schedule in the minds of Wake fans and administration.

Prior to this match-up, the Deacs had not won in Tallahassee since 1959. They had only beaten Florida State twice, ever. A lot had changed since Wake’s 9-7 home victory over the Noles in 1973. Bowden was still coaching the West Virginia Mountaineers, and Grobe was playing nose tackle for the Virginia Cavaliers.

The Game

On Veterans Day 2006, Wake exorcised some Demons in Doak Campbell Stadium. The Noles’ offensive performance, in particular, would be the final nail in the coffin for FSU offensive coordinator Jeff Bowden. The numbers on offense are terribly offensive, to say the least. FSU averaged just 2.7 yards per play. The Seminoles were 1 for 13 on third down. Two quarterbacks combined to go 9 of 28 for 139 yards, with 4 interceptions. The combined quarterback rating for Drew Weatherford and Xavier Lee was a whopping 3.4. The running game was no better; FSU averaged just 1.1 yards on the ground.

For Wake, QB Riley Skinner would get the first of his three consecutive victories against Florida State. The Deacs signal caller did just enough, going 13 of 19 for 138 yards and a touchdown. More importantly, he did not turn the ball over. Running back Kenneth Moore had 24 rushes and caught 5 passes, totaling 115 yards from scrimmage. Fullback Rich Belton exploded for a 33-yard touchdown run. Tight end John Tereshinski reeled in an 18-yard touchdown catch. This game, however, was about the Wake defense.

For the eighth time in ten games, the Demon Deacons held their opponent under 20 points and for the sixth time that year, their opponent was held under 100 rushing yards. This was Wake Forest’s first shutout since 2002 and first road shutout since 1985. Deacs cornerback and Pahokee, Florida native Alphonso Smith led Wake with 5 solo tackles, including a sack. Smith, a future consensus All-American and second round pick of the Denver Broncos, also added an interception of Noles QB Xavier Lee early in the second quarter to set the Demon Deacons up with prime field position.

The Deacs defense had 8 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, and 4 interceptions, including one returned by safety Kevin Patterson 48-yards for a touchdown. The Noles had almost as many punting yards (400) as the two teams had total yards from scrimmage combined (446). Grobe’s defense harassed the Noles all night, in a game that FSU QB Drew Weatherford called the “worst football game that I have ever been a part of”.

Aftermath

Skinner went on to be the winningest quarterback in school history, going 26-11 as a starter. Skinner would beat FSU in each of the next two seasons, including an ugly 12-3 contest in Doak in 2008. Skinner would lead the Deacs to the ACC Championship Game against Georgia Tech. Wake Forest beat the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 9-6 to secure the league crown.

The Noles suffered their worst home loss since 1981, a 58-14 beat down at the hands of the Southern Miss Golden Eagles. It was the first time FSU had been shutout since 1988 against the Miami Hurricanes. Florida State finished the year 7-6, beating UCLA in the Emerald Bowl. FSU finished 3-5 in the ACC, with four of those five losses coming by a single score. The Noles played admirably in a 21-14 loss against the eventual national champion Florida Gators.

That season was the beginning of the end for Bobby Bowden’s tenure at Florida State. From 2006 to 2009, the Noles went 16-16 in the ACC and 30-22 overall. FSU was a combined 3-9 against rivals Florida, Miami, and Clemson. The Seminoles, once proud owners of a 37-game home winning streak and 54-game home unbeaten streak, lost 11 games in Doak Campbell Stadium from 2006 to 2009.

Bowden would step down in December of 2009, handing the reins to offensive coordinator Jimbo Fisher. Four short years later, the Noles would be back among the college football elites. Fisher led FSU to a BCS National Championship victory over Auburn in 2013.

From 1950 to 2000, Wake had almost as many win-less seasons (2) as bowl appearances (3). They were under .500 in 38 of those 51 seasons. That stretch included six seasons of double-digit losses. In 2006, the Deacs won double-digit games for the first time in school history, finishing 11-3. In addition to their second-ever ACC title, Wake Forest made their first appearance in the Orange Bowl. Wake finished 2006 ranked 18th in the AP Poll, their highest post-season ranking ever, and the first time they had finished ranked at all since 1992.

The Deacs and Noles have met almost every year since that fateful 2006 night. In that time, FSU holds an 11-6 advantage in the series, including a seven game win streak from 2012 to 2018. From 2012 to 2014, during Fisher’s dominant run and three consecutive ACC titles, the Noles outscored the Deacs 154-6.

Grobe moved on from Winston-Salem after a 4-8 finish to the 2013 season. The Deacs won 28 games from 2006 to 2008, and just 23 in Grobe’s final five seasons. Grobe had one more run in the college football sun in 2016. After the Baylor Bears suspended and later fired Art Briles for his involvement in a sexual assault scandal, Grobe steered Baylor to a 7-6 record and a Cactus Bowl victory.

Dave Clawson took over for Grobe starting in 2014 and led the Deacs back to relevance. Clawson’s teams posted six winning seasons, five bowl victories, and secured the highest final AP ranking in school history at No. 14 in 2021. The 2021 Demon Deacons tied the school record with 11 wins, appearing in the ACC title game for the first time since 2006. Clawson resigned after the 2024 season.