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 Florida State–Miami football rivalry, and its name is a reference to its dramatic ending: with 29 seconds remaining, 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 and only the second between top-ranked teams from the same state (the other being the 1968 Purdue–Notre Dame game).

Miami's win was the fourth time in five years that the Hurricanes knocked Florida State out of national championship contention. Top-ranked Florida State entered the game with a 10–0 record and a quarterback, Casey Weldon, who was undefeated as a starter. The Seminoles featured a high-flying offense that was averaging 41 points per game (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.

With the win, Miami ascended to number one in the AP Poll and kept that ranking for the rest of the season. The Hurricanes won their final two regular season games and blanked No. 11 Nebraska 22–0 in the Orange Bowl, en route to their fourth national championship. Miami would share the national championship with the Washington Huskies, who finished first in the Coaches' Poll.

Florida State was upset in their final regular season game two weeks later by Florida, 14–9. The Seminoles would rebound to beat Texas A&M by a score matching their regular season record, 10–2, in the Cotton Bowl Classic, finishing ranked fourth in both the AP and Coaches' Polls.

See also

  • Florida State–Miami football rivalry
  • Wide Right II
  • Wide Right (Buffalo Bills) – (Super Bowl XXV) (January 27, 1991)
  • 1991 Miami Hurricanes football team
  • 1991 Florida State Seminoles football team
  • List of nicknamed college football games and plays

References

  • "1991 College Football -- Miami 17 FSU 16 (wide right)" Replay of Wide Right I