Perhaps fittingly, one of Florida State’s most prominent and frequent out-of-conference opponents, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, first took the field against the garnet and gold during a brash and unprecedented 5-game road stretch for FSU.
The year was 1981, and the Seminoles’ head coach Bobby Bowden decided to further build Florida State’s brand by challenging 5 of the greatest college football powers in history- in 5 consecutive road games. Even though they only finished with a 6-5 record on the year, FSU turned heads when they went 3-2 at Nebraska, Ohio State, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, and LSU.