Florida State’s 14-year run of top-five finishes earned recognition as college football’s third-most unbreakable record, according to ESPN’s Chris Low.
The Seminoles finished in the top five of every final AP poll from 1987 to 2000 under Bobby Bowden.
That stretch feels distant now. Florida State hasn’t won a national title in more than a decade and managed just six winning seasons since their last championship. Last year’s 2-10 campaign represented rock bottom for a program that once dominated college football.
For all the late Bobby Bowden accomplished during his Hall of Fame career, his remarkable consistency could be the most impressive thing. His Florida State teams finished in the top five of every final AP poll from 1987 to 2000, an amazing run no matter the era.
Bowden finished his legendary 34-year career at FSU with two national championships (and could have won a few more had it not been for those dreaded missed field goals against Miami), and more importantly, he put Florida State football on the map.
Think about it: Fourteen straight top-five finishes. Pete Carroll had some dominant teams at USC, and the Trojans’ longest streak was seven straight top-five finishes (2002-08). The same is true for Oklahoma under Wilkinson (1952-58). And while Alabama won six national titles under Nick Saban, his longest run of top-five seasons was five in a row (2014-18).
The numbers show just how special that era was. Only one of those 14 finishes ranked as low as fifth – the final year in 2000.
The Seminoles captured national titles in 1993 and 1999. They sent a steady stream of talent to the NFL throughout the run.
Since that streak ended, Florida State has posted just two top-five finishes in 2013 and 2014. The program managed five top-10 finishes during that same period: 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2023.
Bobby Bowden retired after 34 years in 2009. The program hasn’t found the same consistency since.
Three coaching changes have followed Bowden’s departure. Jimbo Fisher lasted eight seasons as Bowden’s handpicked successor and delivered a national championship. Willie Taggart lasted less than two years.
Mike Norvell enters his sixth season in 2025. Only Fisher has lasted longer among post-Bowden coaches.
How much longer Norvell remains depends largely on avoiding another disaster like last season. Another poor campaign would only highlight how far the program has fallen from the days when top-five finishes were expected, not celebrated as rare achievements.
The Seminoles’ 14-year run stands alone in modern college football. Even the most dominant programs of recent decades – USC under Carroll, Alabama under Saban, Oklahoma’s 1950s dynasty – couldn’t sustain that level of excellence for nearly as long.
That consistency made Florida State a national brand and put the program on college football’s map permanently. Whether they’ll ever return to those heights remains the question that hangs over Tallahassee.
