The Day FSU Kicked a Field Goal to Beat Miami in the Orange Bowl

Okay, it was September 18, 1971. But you can still amaze your friends with the fact that FSU did beat Miami in the Orange Bowl on a 25-yd. field goal by a little barefoot kicker named Frank Fontes. And with just four minutes and 38 ticks left, the Noles held off two late Miami drives to walk off the winners.

Don Sparkman (1970 — '73) was a sophomore OL that day. Now a Ford executive in Detroit, Sparkman remembers it this way:

"It was a nationally televised game at 1 O'Clock. It was so hot that when we put our hands down on the AstroTurf — the Orange Bowl had one of the first versions of the stuff — it was like putting your hands on blazing asphalt. 

"I recall the game coming right down toward the end. It was pretty close the whole way. Even back then, just like today, Miami sent tons of players to the Pros. They were bigger than Florida State. They were faster than Florida State. But Frank was just an unflappable individual. So when we lined up to kick the field goal, there wasn't much doubt that Frank was going to make it."