CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1989 Florida State

10–⁠2, coached by Bobby Bowden, finished No. 3 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Florida State in 1989, game by game: lost vs. Southern Miss 26–30; lost vs. No. 10 Clemson 23–34; won at No. 21 LSU 31–21; won vs. Tulane 59–9; won at No. 17 Syracuse 41–10; won at Virginia Tech 41–7; won vs. No. 11 Auburn 22–14; won vs. No. 2 Miami 24–10; won vs. South Carolina 35–10; won vs. Memphis 57–20; won at Florida 24–17; won vs. No. 6 Nebraska 41–17+50−11Lost 26–30 vs. Southern Miss-4Southern MissLost 23–34 vs. No. 10 Clemson-11No. 10 ClemsonWon 31–21 at No. 21 LSU+10No. 21 LSUWon 59–9 vs. Tulane+50TulaneWon 41–10 at No. 17 Syracuse+31No. 17 SyracuseWon 41–7 at Virginia Tech+34Virginia TechWon 22–14 vs. No. 11 Auburn+8No. 11 AuburnWon 24–10 vs. No. 2 Miami+14No. 2 MiamiWon 35–10 vs. South Carolina+25South CarolinaWon 57–20 vs. Memphis+37MemphisWon 24–17 at Florida+7FloridaWon 41–17 vs. No. 6 Nebraska+24No. 6 Nebraska
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsSouthern MissL 26–⁠3067%
Sep 9vs10ClemsonL 23–⁠3460%
Sep 16at21LSUW 31–⁠2152%
Sep 23vsTulaneW 59–⁠983%
Oct 7at17SyracuseW 41–⁠1046%
Oct 14atVirginia TechW 41–⁠773%
Oct 21vs11AuburnW 22–⁠1464%
Oct 28vs2MiamiW 24–⁠1053%
Nov 4vsSouth CarolinaW 35–⁠1083%
Nov 18vsMemphisW 57–⁠2095%
Dec 2atFloridaW 24–⁠1769%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs6NebraskaFiesta BowlW 41–⁠1756%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Nebraska 41–⁠17 in the Fiesta Bowl; No. 3 in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 5th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 78 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 6
  2. Wk 2: 16
  3. Wk 5: 25
  4. Wk 6: 22
  5. Wk 7: 19
  6. Wk 8: 14
  7. Wk 9: 9
  8. Wk 10: 6
  9. Wk 11: 5
  10. Wk 12: 5
  11. Wk 13: 5
  12. Wk 14: 6
  13. Wk 15: 5
  14. Wk 16: 5
  15. Final: 3

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1989.

Consensus All-AmericanLeRoy Butler, DB

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
—
AP final
No. 3 peak No. 3
Points
424–⁠199
Coach
Bobby Bowden
Elo
1833 +130 this season
SP+ rating
30.8 No. 2 of 103; offense No. 4, defense No. 9
SRS
26.2 No. 1 of 106 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Wayne McDuffie
Defensive coordinator
Mickey Andrews
Captains
Peter Tom Willis, LeRoy Butler and Dexter Carter
Offense
I formation, Pro set
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1990

The 1990 draft
Rd 1Dexter Carter RBSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 2LeRoy Butler DBGreen Bay Packers
Rd 3Peter Tom Willis QBChicago Bears
Rd 3Ron Lewis WRSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 5Eric Hayes DTSeattle Seahawks