Examining the Rivalry: Miami

Today, we continue in our rivalry series with the University of Miami. The Miami football program began in 1926 and has won an impressive 5 National Championships. All of this success came prior to Miami joining the ACC in 2004 as they have yet to win an ACC Championship. Just like FSU, Miami has just been mediocre lately but is looking to rebuild under it's new coaching staff.

The Miami-FSU rivalry is also known as one of the greatest rivalries in the nation. Some can argue that the FSU-Miami rivalry tops the FSU-UF rivalry because both teams are members of the ACC. This game usually have more implications due to conference records being on the line in addition to bragging rights.

The rivalry has had a history of unforgettable heartbreak endings. "Wide right" I, II and III in addition to "wide left" gave the 'Noles four tough losses by 3 or less points on a missed fied goal as time expired.

There is no doubt that a couple of the Hurricanes' National Championships were taken away from the Seminoles. In years such as 1991 and 1992, when "wide right I" and "wide right II" occured, the loss was the only one of the season for Florida State whereas Miami went onto play in the National Championship game both years, winning one of them.

The matchup of Miami-Florida State is always one of the most watched games on television. The 2006 and 2009 FSU-Miami games are the two most watched regular season college football games in ESPN's history. Miami currently leads the series 31-24, but FSU has won 4 of the last 6 meetings and seems to be ahead of Miami in returning to a national powerhouse. This impressive rivalry will only heat up once more when both teams return to the national spotlight.