In honor of Halloween, we came up with five things that scare Florida State fans. Most FSU fans who have been watching the team over the years or even just this year would agree that all of these things give off that uneasy feeling. What obviously didn’t make the list was Florida, Miami and the SEC.

1. Game-winning Field Goal Attempts

Last second field goals are quite common in football, but unfortunately for Florida State fans, they rarely seem to go the Seminoles’ way. There of course, was Scott Bentley’s kick to beat Nebraska in the 1994 Orange Bowl and a few other exceptions, but in most cases, last-second kicks have not been kind to FSU. The most glaring example over the years has been contests with Miami. Since 1991, Florida State has lost five times to the Hurricanes on a missed fourth quarter kick and in the final seconds four times. While Miami is the most renowned example, another case is more fresh on Seminole fans’ minds. Last week, Georgia Tech blocked Roberto Aguayo’s game-winning attempt and returned it 78 yards for the winning touchdown as time expired.

2. Thursday Night Road Games



Florida State suffered its first ever ACC loss just a couple days after Halloween on a Thursday night in 1995 when it fell at Virginia 33-28. While the Seminoles have dominated the ACC since entering the conference in 1992, winning 15 conference titles in 23 years, Thursday night road games have not always been kind. Since 1995, FSU has lost five Thursday night road contests.

3. ACC Officiating

As spooky as last second field goals and Thursday night road trips are, few things scare FSU fans as much as ACC officiating. Just this season alone, other Florida State sites have made graphics showing all the missed horse collar tackles against FSU players. Traditionally, fans from around the conference have joked that ACC stands for “Another Crappy Call”. While ACC officiating in general can tingle the FSU faithful’s spine, perhaps the scariest figure associated with it is head official Ron Cherry. Frightening, frightening stuff…

4. The College Football Playoff Committee



This one doesn’t have the long history of things going wrong like the first three items on the list do, but in the first year of the College Football Playoff in 2014, the committee sure was bad. For much of the season, Florida State was the only undefeated team from a major conference and still found a way to slide on what seemed to be a weekly basis. When the committee uses “game control” and “quality losses” as its rationale, everyone should be worried and not just FSU fans. If the season had been just a couple weeks longer last year, the Seminoles might have won their way out of the playoff.

5. Dalvin Cook’s Hamstring

Florida State sophomore running back Dalvin Cook has been the heart and soul of the FSU offense this year and is on pace to obliterate the single-season FSU rushing record. Unfortunately for FSU fans, Cook has been nursing a hamstring injury since early this month. Cook has pulled up lame more than once, including on a long run against Miami that might have otherwise resulted in a touchdown. Cook will miss Saturday’s game against Syracuse with an ankle injury. Considering the lack of consistency from the offense this season, that in itself is a very scary thing.