1985 Florida State Seminoles football team

American college football season

1985 Florida State Seminoles football

Gator Bowl champion

Gator Bowl, W 34–23 vs. Oklahoma State

Conference| Independent
Ranking
Coaches| No. 13
AP| No. 15
Record| 9–3
Head coach|

* Bobby Bowden (10th season)

Offensive coordinator| Wayne McDuffie (3rd season)
Offensive scheme| No-huddle spread
Defensive coordinator| Mickey Andrews (2nd season)
Base defense| 4–3
Home stadium| Doak Campbell Stadium

Seasons

<- 1984

1986 ->

1985 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

* v
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| Conf |  |  | Overall

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Team | W |  | L |  | T |  |  | W |  | L |  | T
No. 3 Penn State |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 11  | - | 1  | - | 0
No. 9 Miami (FL) |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 10  | - | 2  | - | 0
Army |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 9  | - | 3  | - | 0
No. 15 Florida State |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 9  | - | 3  | - | 0
West Virginia |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 7  | - | 3  | - | 1
Southern Miss |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 7  | - | 4  | - | 0
Syracuse |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 7  | - | 5  | - | 0
Virginia Tech |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 6  | - | 5  | - | 0
Pittsburgh |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 5  | - | 5  | - | 1
Cincinnati |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 5  | - | 6  | - | 0
Notre Dame |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 5  | - | 6  | - | 0
South Carolina |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 5  | - | 6  | - | 0
Southwestern Louisiana |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 4  | - | 7  | - | 0
Navy |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 4  | - | 7  | - | 0
Temple |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 4  | - | 7  | - | 0
Boston College |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 4  | - | 8  | - | 0
Memphis State |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 2  | - | 7  | - | 2
Rutgers |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 2  | - | 8  | - | 1
East Carolina |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 2  | - | 9  | - | 0
Louisville |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 2  | - | 9  | - | 0
Tulane |  | - |  | - |  |  |  | 1  | - | 10  | - | 0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1985 Florida State Seminoles football team represented Florida State University in the 1985 NCAA Division I-A football season.

The Seminoles offense scored 402 points while the defense allowed 258 points. Florida State competed in the Gator Bowl.

## Schedule

[edit]

Date| Time| Opponent| Rank| Site| TV| Result| Attendance| Source

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August 31| 12:30 p.m.| at Tulane| No. 19|

* Louisiana Superdome
* New Orleans, LA

| TBS| W 38–12| 37,478| [1]
September 7| 3:00 p.m.| at No. 10 Nebraska| No. 17|

* Memorial Stadium
* Lincoln, NE

| ABC| W 17–13| 75,943|
September 21| 12:00 p.m.| Memphis State| No. 6|

* Doak Campbell Stadium
* Tallahassee, FL

| TBS| W 19–10| 54,877|
September 28| 7:00 p.m.| Kansas| No. 4|

* Doak Campbell Stadium
* Tallahassee, FL

| | W 24–20| 57,135|
October 12| 12:30 p.m.| at No. 12 Auburn| No. 4|

* Jordan-Hare Stadium
* Auburn, AL

| TBS| L 27–59| 75,000| [2]
October 19| 7:00 p.m.| Tulsa| No. 13|

* Doak Campbell Stadium
* Tallahassee, FL

| | W 76–14| 53,500|
October 26| 1:00 p.m.| at North Carolina| No. 11|

* Kenan Memorial Stadium
* Chapel Hill, NC

| | W 20–10| 50,132| [3]
November 2| 3:30 p.m.| No. 11 Miami (FL)| No. 10|

* Doak Campbell Stadium
* Tallahassee, FL (rivalry)

| ABC| L 27–35| 61,250|
November 9| 7:45 p.m.| South Carolina| No. 16|

* Doak Campbell Stadium
* Tallahassee, FL

| ESPN| W 56–14| 54,121| [4]
November 16| 7:00 p.m.| Western Carolina| No. 15|

* Doak Campbell Stadium
* Tallahassee, FL

| | W 50–10| 52,778|
November 30| 12:30 p.m.| at No. 6 Florida| No. 12|

* Florida Field
* Gainesville, FL (rivalry)

| | L 14–38| 74,461| [5]
December 30| 8:00 p.m.| vs. No. 19 Oklahoma State| No. 18|

* Gator Bowl Stadium
* Jacksonville, FL (Gator Bowl)

| ABC| W 34–23| 79,417| [6]

* Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[7]

## Rankings

[edit]

Main article: 1985 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes| Week

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Poll| Pre| 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| 6| 7| 8| 9| 10| 11| 12| 13| 14| 15| Final
AP| 19| 17| 7| 6| 4| 4 (1)| 4| 13| 11| 10| 16| 16| 14| 12| 18| 18| 15
Coaches| 13 (1)| 13 (1)| 5 (1)| 6 (1)| 5| 4 (1)| 4| 11| 9| 9| 16| 14| 12| 11| 17| 16| 13

## Game summaries

[edit]

### at Nebraska

[edit]

|  | 1 | 2| 3| 4| Total

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• No. 17 Seminoles | 7 | 10| 0| 0 | 17
No. 10 Cornhuskers | 7 | 6| 0| 0 | 13

* Date: September 7
* Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska
* Game attendance: 75,943
* Game weather: 93 °F (34 °C) (133 °F (56 °C) on the field)

See also: 1985 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

[8]

### Miami (FL)

[edit]

#11 Miami (FL) at #10 Florida State  |  | 1 | 2| 3| 4| Total

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• No. 11 Hurricanes | 14 | 0| 7| 14 | 35
No. 10 Seminoles | 14 | 10| 0| 3 | 27

* Date: November 2
* Location: Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, Florida
* Game attendance: 61,250
* TV announcers (ABC): Tim Brant

| Scoring summary

1| 10:04| FSU| Hassan Jones 8-yard pass from Chip Ferguson (Schmidt kick)| FSU 7-0
1| 7:23| Miami (FL)| Brian Blades 10-yard pass from Vinny Testaverde (Cox kick)| Tied 7-7
1| 7:06| Miami (FL)| Blades 38-yard pass from Testaverde (Cox kick)| Miami (FL) 14-7
1| 0:25| FSU| Brian Davis blocked punt recovery in end zone (Schmidt kick)| Tied 14-14
2| 6:52| FSU| Derek Schmidt 37-yard field goal| FSU 17-14
2| 2:39| FSU| Pat Carter 26-yard pass from Chip Ferguson (Schmidt kick)| FSU 24-14
3| 8:15| Miami (FL)| 2-yard fun (Cox kick)| FSU 24-21
4| 11:07| FSU| Derek Schmidt 44-yard field goal| FSU 27-21
4| 9:55| Miami (FL)| Michael Irvin 30-yard pass from Testaverde (Cox kick)| Miami (FL) 28-27
4| 3:06| Miami (FL)| Brett Perriman 2-yard pass from Testaverde (Cox kick)| Miami (FL) 35-27

See also: 1985 Miami Hurricanes football team and Florida State–Miami football rivalry

[9]

### at Florida

[edit]

See also: 1985 Florida Gators football team and Florida–Florida State football rivalry

### vs. No. 19 Oklahoma State (Gator Bowl)

[edit]

#18 Florida State vs. #19 Oklahoma State  |  | 1 | 2| 3| 4| Total

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• No. 18 Seminoles | 3 | 10| 14| 7 | 34
No. 19 Cowboys | 0 | 0| 17| 6 | 23

* Date: December 30
* Location: Gator Bowl Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida
* Game attendance: 79,417
* Referee: Jim Kemerling (Big Ten)

Main article: 1985 Gator Bowl

See also: 1985 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team

## Roster

[edit]

1985 Florida State Seminoles football team roster

Players  | Coaches
Offense | Pos. | # | Name | Class

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QB | `5` | Chip Ferguson | Fr
RB | `27` | Victor Floyd |  Fr
FB | `42` | Cletis Jones | Sr
G | `64` | Jamie Dukes | Sr
OT | `77` | John Ionata | Sr
TE | `85` | Pat Carter | So
WR | `88` | Hassan Jones | Sr
Defense | Pos. | # | Name | Class

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CB | `32` | Martin Mayhew |  So
DT | `45` | Isaac Williams | Sr
LB | `38` | Paul McGowan | So
LB | `57` | Jesse Solomon | Sr
LB | `84` | Garth Jax | Sr
S | `22` | Kenny Kitchens | Fr
Special teams | Pos. | # | Name | Class

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P | `6` | Louis Berry | Jr
K | `18` | Derek Schmidt | So

Head coach

* Bobby Bowden

Coordinators/assistant coaches

* Mickey Andrews - Defensive coordinator
* Wayne McDuffie - Offensive coordinator
* Chuck Amato - Defensive line
* Mark Richt - Graduate assistant

* * *

Legend

* (C) Team captain
* (S) Suspended
* (I) Ineligible

* Injured
* Redshirt

## Team players in the NFL

[edit]

The following were selected in the 1986 NFL draft.

Player | Position | Round | Overall | NFL team

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Hassan Jones | Wide receiver | 5 | 120 | Minnesota Vikings
John Ionata | Guard | 9 | 242 | Dallas Cowboys
Cletis Jones | Running back | 10 | 276 | New England Patriots
Garth Jax | Linebacker | 11 | 296 | Dallas Cowboys
Jesse Solomon | Linebacker | 12 | 318 | Minnesota Vikings
Isaac Williams | Defensive tackle | 12 | 326 | Indianapolis Colts

[10]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "For openers, FSU not too bad, 38–12". Tampa Bay Times. September 1, 1985. Retrieved October 25, 2021 - via Newspapers.com.
2. ^ "Auburn routs FSU". The Index-Journal. October 13, 1985. Retrieved November 4, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
3. ^ "Defense saves day for FSU in 20–10 win". St. Petersburg Times. October 27, 1985. Retrieved January 31, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
4. ^ "Fla. State buries South Carolina". The Daily Advertiser. November 10, 1985. Retrieved January 31, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
5. ^ "Gators top FSU in Consolation Bowl". The Palm Beach Post. December 1, 1985. Retrieved November 4, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ Tom Kensler (December 31, 1985). "Seminoles Shock Cowboys, 34-23". The Daily Oklahoman. pp. 17, 20 - via Newspapers.com.
7. ^ "Florida State Football - 1985 Year In Review". nolefan.org. Retrieved May 29, 2017.
8. ^ "Surprising Florida State Stuns No. 10 Nebraska". The Los Angeles Times. September 8, 1985. Retrieved August 8, 2021.
9. ^ "Miami's Come-From-Behind Victory Really 'Special'". The Palm Beach Post via newspapers.com. November 3, 1985. Retrieved January 18, 2020.
10. ^ "1986 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007. Retrieved May 29, 2017.

## External links

[edit]

* 1985 Media Guide

* v
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Florida State Seminoles football

Venues|

* Centennial Field (1947–1949)
* Doak Campbell Stadium (1950–present)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Bowl games
* Florida Cup
* Clemson
* Florida
* Miami
* Virginia

Culture & lore|

* Osceola and Renegade
* The War Chant
* Marching Chiefs
* FSU Hymns
* Sod Cemetery
* Wide Right I
* Wide Right II
* 1993 'Game of the Century'
* Choke at Doak
* 2015 Georgia Tech game
* Bob Crenshaw Award
* Tomahawk chop

People|

* Alumni
* Head coaches
* NFL draftees
* Statistical leaders
* Annual awards

Seasons|

* 1902
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*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
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*[Conf]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[No.]: Number