Fun Fact Friday: FSU Will Play Schools From Texas and California in Same Season for First Time Since 2006

Florida State’s name has been mentioned quite a bit as talks of conference realignment continue. In modern college football, conferences have gone from geographic to big-time money makers.

From a football standpoint, the ACC didn’t make enormous splashes with additions of Stanford or California, but SMU, last season’s American Athletic Conference champion, could become an instant contender. What the ACC did do, however, was spread its geographical footprint.

With the addition of the two former Pac-12 schools and the Mustangs, the ACC now has schools from the three most populated U.S. states — Florida, Texas and California. FSU won’t see Stanford in 2024, but will close September with back-to-back contests against ACC newcomers. After hosting Cal on Sept. 21, FSU heads to Dallas to take on SMU on Sept. 28. The Seminoles have previously never faced either of those two schools on the gridiron.

As the most populated states, it’s no surprise that Texas, Florida and California are among the states with the most FBS schools. Texas has the most with 13. Florida and California are each tied for third with seven behind the Lone Star State and Ohio.

Despite the large number of FBS schools, FSU hasn’t played a school from both Texas and California in the same season since 2006. That year, FSU blasted Rice in Tallahassee before defeating UCLA in the Emerald Bowl to close the season.

Entering the 2024 season, FSU hasn’t faced a team from Texas since 2015 when it closed the year with a loss to Houston in the Peach Bowl. FSU’s last regular season game against a Texas school came to open that season against Texas State.

As FSU gets set to travel to Dallas on Sept. 28, it will be FSU’s first game in the state of Texas since a 20-14 loss to Arizona State in the Sun Bowl to close the 2019 season. It will be FSU’s first true road game in Texas since 1976 — Bobby Bowden’s first season — when it won a memorable 21-20 battle in the snow over head coach Hayden Fry and North Texas State (now North Texas).

FSU isn’t slated to travel to the Golden State until 2025 when it visits Stanford. The home contest with the Golden Bears, however, will be the first for FSU against a California school since Lorenzo Booker shined in the aforementioned 44-27 win over the Bruins in the Emerald Bowl.

It will be the Seminoles’ first regular season game against a California school since knocking off USC 30-10 in a top-20 matchup in Tallahassee in 1998 after beating the Trojans in the Los Angeles Coliseum in the 1997 opener. That was also the last time that FSU played schools from Texas and California in the regular season. The Seminoles opened the 1998 campaign with a 23-14 win over Texas A&M in the Kickoff Classic at Giants Stadium.

While FSU’s conference future is the subject of widespread speculation, the Seminoles and their traveling fans are sure to find themselves in unfamiliar settings over the next several years. That starts later this month when FSU opens its season in Ireland against ACC foe Georgia Tech.

- Mike Ferguson is the lead writer for Double Fries No Slaw. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson. For all of his work, “Like” or “Follow” Mike on Facebook.