Fans Flock To State Capital For Sunshine State Showdown
TALLAHASSEE (CBSMiami) - With the fight for Florida just one day away, football fans from both ends of the state are ready to settle the score.
The University of Miami Hurricanes will take on the Florida State Seminoles Saturday night at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee.
Despite being the underdogs, many 'Canes fans have made the trip to the state capital.
"It's a trip that I've made the last 5 times," Bobby Johnson said. "It's great to see both teams back on top. But obviously, we want Miami to win."
The Florida State Seminoles are prepared to prove why they're the 22-point favorites going into the in-state showdown.
"Just look at the last two games Miami has played. I don't think they've played well at all. especially against an unranked team. Last week, they didn't do so well," FSU student Blake Finnegan said. "We've been blowing out our opponents by 20-something plus points."
Miami fans know they're fighting an uphill battle.
"I know we're huge underdogs, but I'm all right with that," Nathan Coopersmith said. "I think if we can control the ball, don't turn it over, we have a very good chance of beating Florida State."
The Noles are 3rd in the BCS standings, thanks in large part to redshirt freshman quarterback Jameis Winston.
The Canes are ranked 7th.
Miami leads the all-time series 31 wins to 26.
FSU has won the last three games by an average of 15 points a game.
This marks the first time the teams have been unbeaten and ranked in the top ten this late in the season since 1991, when Florida State missed a field goal to win the game.
"I was a freshman in college for "wide right". It was the greatest game I've ever been to," Coopersmith said.
Dr. David L. Skaff graduated from FSU in 1984, when Miami's teamed reigned supreme.
Saturday's game will be his first game back at Doak since 1991.
"Field goal unit comes out. You could hear a pin drop," Skaff explained.
"Obviously, it was history. It was an incredible game," Steve Amster said.
This is Amster's first trip back to Tallahassee since his that game in 1991.
He ventured back in an RV with his family.
"This time I brought my two boys and my wife to kind of try to relive that," Amster said.
22 years later, there's a new generation of fans in town.
They're just as confident as their parents that their team reigns supreme.
"I think we'll beat them by more than 22 points," FSU fan Noah Ede said. "I think we'll beat them by 50 points!"
At AJ's Bar and Grill, Miami fans brought a slice of South Florida to the upstate.
They danced to Latin music while chanting for their beloved Canes.
"You go back in history, the best football games ever have been Miami and Florida State," Harry Rothwell of AllCanes said.
His friend, Wayne Curtis, a Seminole alumni, agreed.
"That's what makes football so fun," Curtis explained. "If there wasn't rivalries it would be boring, right?"
Both teams have won a combined 7 national championships.
