This Date in Hurricanes History...November 16th, 1991

This Date In Hurricanes History…November 17, 2001
 
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WIDE RIGHT l
 

The November 16th No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown between Sunshine State rivals was described as "the most highly anticipated regular season clash" since the 1971 Nebraska-Oklahoma game.[3] Top-ranked Florida State entered the game with a 10-0 record and a quarterback, Casey Weldon, who was undefeated as a starter.[4] The Seminoles featured a high-flying offense that was averaging 41 points per game[2][5] (third in the nation in scoring) and had earlier in the season shocked the college football world by scoring 51 points in a blowout win over the then-No. 4 Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium. Meanwhile, second-ranked Miami had raced to an 8-0 record on the strength of a defense that was ranked first in the nation in scoring and had not allowed a first-half touchdown all season. The Hurricane defense had surrendered just 58 points all season, and Miami carried a 7-game winning streak against top-ranked opponents into the clash.[2] Miami was outscoring its opponents by an average of 28.9 points per game; Florida State, by 25.9. The Seminoles entered with a then-school record 16-game winning streak, while the Hurricanes had won 14 straight.[2] In the struggle between the proverbial unstoppable force and immovable object, host Florida State was installed as the favorite.

Wide Right I is the colloquial name for a 1991 college football game between the Miami Hurricanes and Florida State Seminoles. The game is one of the most significant in the history of the Miami – Florida State rivalry, and its name is a reference to its dramatic ending: With 29 seconds remaining in the game, Florida State kicker Gerry Thomas missed a 34-yard potential game-winning field goal "wide to the right." It was the 26th meeting between the first- and second-ranked teams in the AP Poll[2] and only the second between top-ranked teams from the same state (the other being the 1968 Purdue-Notre Dame game).

Miami's win represented the fourth time in five years that the Hurricanes knocked Florida State out of national championship contention.[2] The game was also the first of a peculiar string of five over the next 12 years in which Florida State lost to Miami due to a late missed field goal that would have won or tied the game, often with national championship implications at stake. Florida State suffered an immediate case of deja vu when kicker Dan Mowrey missed a field goal wide right on the final play of the 1992 meeting between the schools, a 19-16 Miami win known as "Wide Right II." In later years, two additional "Wide Rights" and a "Wide Left" ensued.



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