Flasbhack 1995: Virginia beats Florida State

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This is quite possibly the game that put ESPN Thursday Night Football on the map. November 2, 1995 wasn't just a Thursday Night, it was a Thursday Night during interesting times for the Mid-Atlantic region in sports. Cal Ripken Jr. was the all-time leader in MLB Consecutive Games Played, the Atlanta Braves finally managed to win a World Series for the first time since their Milwaukee days, the Baltimore Stallions were on their way to being the only American team ever to win the Grey Cup, and the city of Baltimore was about to get a new NFL franchise for the first time since the Colts bolted during an overnight the previous decade.

Come to think of it, these were not great times for Cleveland sports fans. This ain't about Cleveland though, this is about the ACC where in 1992 the Florida State Seminoles and head coach Bobby Bowden arrived as not just the new kids in town, but the new bully on the block. From their 1st ACC game all the way to this night, the 'Noles were undefeated in conference play. The Atlantic Coast became known as Florida State and the Eight Dwarfs.

Among those dwarfs was Virginia and the product of consistency that was head coach George Welsh. Under Welsh, the Cavaliers were reliable in terms of having a winning season. Of course any chance of being at the elite level pretty much died off for them and other ACC squads with FSU dominating.

Florida State was 6-0 coming into this game including wins over fellow Floridian teams Miami-FL and the week before that, something called a Central Florida who would join the I-A/FBS ranks the following season. No team had tested them, it wasn't even close. Of all the woodshed disciplines in those first 6 games only Clemson was able to stay within 20 points of them, losing by 19.

While FSU were the juggernauts, UVa was, well not so much. The Cavs started the campaign with a 1 point loss in Anaheim against Michigan in what was essentially a Week 0 game before such designations officially existed. They won their next 5 then lost 2 of their next 3. Heading into this contest in Charlottesville, Virginia was 6-3 and coming off a loss to Texas in Austin. All 3 of UVa's losses, to Michigan, North Carolina, and Texas were all by 1 score.

That brings us to the Thursday Night Special where the 'Noles offense was cooking under offensive coordinator Mark Richt, quarterback Danny Kanell, and halfback Warrick Dunn. FSU also had a redshirt freshman named Randy Moss, but as a redshirt he didn't get to play, winding up at Marshall where he got things together in time for an NFL career.

But this isn't about Randy Moss. This is about Virginia playing a home game against an impossible to beat opponent. The good news for the Cavaliers was that this was a home game and while they had 3 losses, all 3 were away from Scott Stadium which meant at home they were unbeaten. At this point, you go for any little advantage you can find. Another factor in Virginia's favor was that they had on their roster a couple of guys named Tiki Barber and Ronde Barber. The Barber Twins were both looking at NFL careers ahead of them.

Something else to keep in mind about this game. It's a trophy game. The trophy in question is the Jefferson-Eppes Trophy. The trophy is named after President Thomas Jefferson who represents the Virginia side of things and Francis Eppes VII, Jefferson's grandson and representing the Florida State side.

So, it's a 44k packed in crowd at Scott, it's a conference rivalry UVa is 0-3 in, there's a trophy on the line and also Bowl consideration at a time where only 18 such games existed at the I-A level. Needless to say, the pressure was on to produce an all-time upset.

After struggling a bit in the 1st Quarter, UVa got it together with their defense locking down. They gave up 14 points the opening quarter and then 14 the rest of the way. It was close to being 20 though.

Everything comes down to the final play where UVa fans start to engage in premature celebration, causing pissed off Cav players to wave their fans off out of fear of a penalty. No penalty was given and I'm sure there are FSU fans who don't appreciate that considering what happened next.

If you've ever played Tecmo Super Bowl for the NES, you're already familiar with the Direct Snap play or as I call it, the Thurman after Thurman Thomas. The Buffalo Bills in that game had that as one of their default running selections. The Seminoles gave that a shot with the snap going to Dunn, only for Dunn to come up just shy of the goal line as time expired.

Of course there are Florida State fans who may argue otherwise on that point.

In any event, Virginia scored the big win, 33-28. Florida State would rebound with wins over North Carolina and Maryland before losing to Florida while Virginia would get a win over Maryland before losing to Virginia Tech which back then wasn't as commonplace. Both teams would go bowling with Florida State beating Notre Dame in the Orange Bowl to get the Driver's Ed finish at 10-2 while Virginia would beat Georgia in the Peach Bowl to finish at 9-4.

The 1995 campaign saw the ascension of Nebraska, Eddie George as a Heisman winner with an NFL upside, the Bowl Alliance, the end of the Southwest Conference, I-A's first ever OT game as well as its last tie, North Texas officially joining the I-A ranks, and Pacific bidding adieu to football.

Right up there with all of that is this game, the game that quite possibly made Thursday Night College Football a must watch. Highlights are compiled by palmeroids.