Mannheimer used to speak to the freshmen each August, to explain the sod tradition, but since Jimbo Fisher took over as coach in 2010, he has asked Mannheimer to address the entire team. Mannheimer also instructs the captains on how to remove the sod: look for divots, use hands or scissors from the trainer, remove a small square.

Many markers are from the early years, like the seasons after Bobby Bowden arrived in 1963 as an assistant. (He served as coach from 1976 to 2009.) Every game seemed like a homecoming game then. Everybody wanted to play lowly Florida State.

“Nearly all of those became sod games if we won them,” Bowden said. “It got to be a problem when we played on AstroTurf. I mean, you’ve got to have a big pair of scissors, boy! And I’m not sure they liked it.”

Bowden was referring to a Sugar Bowl victory against Auburn after the 1988 season, when Odell Haggins, then a defensive lineman, now a longtime Florida State assistant, cut out a piece of the Superdome turf. That cost Florida State $500. The next time the Seminoles played in the Sugar Bowl, officials presented them with a precut sample of the carpet.

Last summer, Florida State built new practice fields, and the cemetery was moved to its current location. A full 90 grave sites needed to make way, and Mannheimer joked that he had to appeal to a circuit court to exhume the graves.

The current cemetery is closer to the stadium and more in public view. It can draw thousands of spectators on game days. A group from the Extra Points Club handles much of the maintenance along with the university’s staff, clipping the grass and shining the markers.

Picking a favorite sod game is like picking a favorite child. Mannheimer likes the 37-37 tie against Bear Bryant’s Alabama in 1967. Or the 51-31 demolition of Michigan in 1991, a game in which Bowden said Florida State was “hot as a firecracker.” Or the game this year when Florida State hung 51 points on Clemson in Death Valley. There are too many to choose from.