On Nov. 30, 1986, Florida's Ricky Nattiel beat broken coverage from a talented but young Florida State secondary and caught an 18-yard fourth-quarter touchdown. In a driving rainstorm, the Gators won their sixth straight game over Bobby Bowden's Seminoles. It left a famously talkative coach without answers.
"I thought maybe 8-3 would be the worst we could do," Bowden told local media the next morning over coffee. "I really thought we'd beat Florida and go into next year with a lot of momentum."
After charging to back-to-back AP top-6 finishes in 1979 and '80, FSU had fallen into a rut.