Florida State and Miami’s beef got mascots handcuffed and decided national champions

In the 1970s, college football looked nothing like what we know today.

This is especially true when considering the money tied to the sport. Today, football programs are cash cows for universities, but only if the university committed to the sport long ago. And looking back just a handful of decades at Florida State University and the University of Miami, two programs that have long been in the upper echelon of the NCAA ranks, no amount of success (or even existence) was guaranteed.

Both schools questioned continuing with their football programs. They considered deprioritizing the sport and dropping down to a lower level of competition. Some even argued to “nuke it” all altogether. Sure, they weren’t playing great, but that feels a bit extreme.

Instead, the schools powered through the dog days and found coaches who took it a bit more seriously. They improved. They battled. They found themselves in the end-of-season Top-25 rankings. Fortunately for all of us, they did this all at the same time, which turned into a Floridian power struggle that culminated in year after year of battles that tied directly into the national title race.

It was beautiful, and it was beefy.