Photo courtesy of Florida State athletics
Florida State will aim for its third straight home win on Saturday as the Seminoles welcome in Pittsburgh.
The Seminoles were blasted two weeks ago against Louisville, but hope the week off pays dividends. Since starting 3-0, the Panthers have lost four straight games.
The teams have met just nine prior times and not in Tallahassee since 1982, but there have been some memorable moments along the way. Here’s a look back on the top three moments for FSU in its history against the Panthers:
3. Huff Caps National Passing Yardage Title
Pittsburgh 13, FSU 31
Nov. 27, 1971
Entering the final week of the 1971 season, Florida State junior quarterback Gary Huff led the nation in passing yards. Against Pittsburgh, Huff did nothing to relinquish that title. Although his day started with an interception that was returned for a Pittsburgh touchdown, Huff bounced back to pass for 261 yards and three touchdowns. After Huff’s 52-yard touchdown pass to Kent Gaydos tied the game, James Jarrett’s 26-yard touchdown run put FSU ahead for good. Huff would add touchdown passes to Gary Parris and Rhett Dawson. Dawson led FSU with 103 yards receiving while Paul Magalski powered the ground attack with 104 yards rushing for the Seminoles. Huff would finish the year with an FSU record and nation-leading 2,736 yards passing. That was 159 yards more than Virginia Tech’s Don Strock. Huff became the first FSU player ever to lead the nation in passing yards.
2. Winston’s Debut for the Ages
(11) FSU 41, Pittsburgh 13
Sept. 2, 2013
Florida State was coming off its first ACC title in seven years as it opened the 2013 season on Labor Day against a Pittsburgh team playing its first game as a member of the ACC. The Panthers scored first, but the night would belong to FSU redshirt freshman quarterback Jameis Winston. In his highly-anticipated debut, Winston was near perfect. Winston finished the night 25-for-27 passing with 356 yards and five total touchdowns. Winston found tight end Nick O’Leary for three touchdowns. He added a touchdown toss to Rashad Greene and rushed for another. Greene finished with eight catches for 126 yards in the win. Winston would go on to become the youngest Heisman Trophy winner ever while leading FSU to more points than any team in FBS history during what would be a national championship campaign for the Seminoles.
1. FSU Upsets a Top-5 Team for Second Time in as Many Weeks
(4) Pittsburgh 22, (11) FSU 36
Oct. 11, 1980
Florida State was coming off a historic win over No. 3 Nebraska in Lincoln as it returned home to take on No. 4 Pittsburgh in 1980. The top-5 opponent may have been different, but the result was the same. Rick Stockstill passed for three touchdowns for the Seminoles in the victory while Sam Platt propelled the ground game with 123 yards rushing. The story for FSU however, was the defense. Florida State intercepted Pittsburgh quarterback Dan Marino three times and forced seven turnovers in the victory. Bobby Butler, Keith Jones and Monk Bonasorte all came up with interceptions in the win. It would be nine years later before the Seminoles beat another top-5 team at home.
Mike Ferguson is the managing editor for Fifth Quarter. Be sure to follow Mike on Twitter at @MikeWFerguson. Follow all of Mike’s work by liking his Facebook page.