awesome game when they beat down Vick... game seemed closer when watching it. Vick was just so GOOD. Every play, you hold your breath "please don't break one for a TD..." Scary good in college.
1999: Florida State 46, Virginia Tech 29
Redemption was the game for Florida State in 1999, as it entered the season looking to shake off the previous year’s Fiesta Bowl loss to Tennessee. And the Seminoles, led by quarterback Chris Weinke, could think of no better way to find that atonement than aiming for an objective that had, at that point, yet to be accomplished.
“Our goal that year was to be the first team in history to go wire-to-wire at the No. 1 position,” Weinke said. “It’s one of the biggest challenges in college football.”
But such a run was easier said than done, and the ‘Noles spent the ‘99 season fending off every opponent’s best shot, including down-to-the-wire wins over Georgia Tech, Miami, Clemson and arch rival Florida.
“There is a target on your back when you’re ranked No. 1 and historically, over the years, we’ve seen that no. 1 team lose that position a number of times,” Weinke said.
“I think the unique thing about whoever wins the national championship in whatever year is that there’s always some adversity that they face, and the great teams that end up winning it somehow found a way to overcome it. But you feel that pressure week in and week out regardless of who the opponent is.”
An 11-0 regular season would put FSU back in the BCS championship game again — this time at the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans — but after a relentless attack got them there, self-righteousness nearly got the best of the ‘Noles against Virginia Tech, as the Hokies overcame deficits of 14-0 and 28-14 to take a 29-28 lead after three quarters.
“Like anything else, I think if you get out to an early lead and things are going well for you, human nature allows complacency to set in,” said Weinke, who threw for 329 yards and four touchdowns in the title game.
“There were parts of the game where we weren’t executing on all cylinders and when they took the lead, it was simply a wakeup call for us. The ultimate thing was that we had great leadership on both sides of the ball, and when they took the lead, our leadership kind of stepped up and said ‘enough is enough.’”
Florida State responded with 18 points in the first 7:18 of the fourth quarter, capped off by a 43-yard touchdown from Weinke to game MVP Peter Warrick, as the ‘Noles took home a national title and claimed the “wire-to-wire” championship it set out for from the beginning.
“It’s always nice to be the first to do something,” Weinke said. “It’s always nice to be able to set your goals high and then meet them. And I think the motivation of losing the previous year in the national championship only added fuel to the fire.”
