Tony Elliott's history lesson about Florida State: 'They've always had the best talent in college football'

If you were born in the 21st century — as all of Virginia's football players were — you might not have the same respect for Florida State that Tony Elliott does.

Elliott played at Clemson, the Seminoles' biggest ACC rival, from 1997-2001 and coached on their staff for more than a decade before taking Virginia's head coaching job in 2022. He also grew up watching Bobby Bowden's Seminoles post a remarkable run of 14 straight seasons (1987-2000) with at least 10 wins, including national championships in 1993 and 1999.

FSU hasn't been nearly as successful lately, posting just two winning seasons since 2017. But Elliott doesn't want his players to underestimate the Seminoles — especially since the Cavaliers have won the last two meetings and are 1.5-point favorites (according to DraftKings) in Saturday's pivotal matchup in Tallahassee.

"Now, do they understand who Florida State is? I don't know," Elliott told reporters at his weekly press conference Tuesday. "But I don't know the kind of climate we're in college football if the players really know the history of college football. But I told them point blank, in my opinion, and maybe I could be getting old and not paying attention to the times, but it's Florida State."

FSU could open its own wing in the College Football Hall of Fame for former stars like Deion Sanders, Warrick Dunn, Derrick Brooks, Leroy Butler, Charlie Ward, Walter Jones, Peter Warrick and many others.

Their current roster may not have anyone with that pedigree, but Elliott paid the Seminoles the ultimate coach's compliment.

"They got dudes," Elliott said. "It's blue blood. I mean, it's one of the big, big-time logos. So that's what's been consistent. There's always been a ton of talent in Tallahassee."

For much of the 2000s, the Atlantic Coast Conference placed its teams in two divisions. From 2009 to 2019, the Atlantic Division champion was either Clemson or FSU. Their annual battles were memorable and almost always earned the winner a spot in the ACC title game.

"I took some butt whooping's from them dudes down there as a player and as a coach," Elliott said. "And if I just start throwing out names. If I just started calling out the names of players, college and pro, it's Florida State. So that's the way that I approach. They got one of the best atmospheres in college football to play in. When Doak Campbell gets rocking, you're not gonna find a more electric atmosphere."

That's why Elliott wants his players to respect, but not fear, an FSU team that has struggled — especially on defense — against quality opponents Alabama and SMU.

He mentioned his own defense's struggles against West Virginia's explosive and versatilie offense, and pointed out that Florida State quarterback Ashton Daniels (6-2, 225) and running back Ousman Kromah (6-1, 215) are even bigger (and just as fast, if not faster) than WVU's Michael Hawkins Jr. and Cam Cook.

"What we learned is just got to tackle, right?" he said. "Got to tackle and rally to the ball. And when you're playing big, strong, fast, athletic guys, usually it's going to take more than one person to get them down. And so, what we learned from the last game is that you have to be disciplined. With a guy like Ashton and stay in your rush lanes.

"And in the run game, you got to stay in your gap and don't get nosy and don't try and do too much and just trust that by you staying in your gap is going to open up an opportunity for somebody else to go make the play and trust that they're going to be there because when you get out of your gap. And you lose the integrity of your rush lanes; they're going to exploit it. And then once they get in the open field, you're talking about a 6-3, 225 pound running back with the ball in his hands."

The Cavaliers have experienced recent success against the Seminoles, beating them 44-38 in a double-overtime thriller in Scott Stadium. Cornerback Omillio Agard watched that game on TV and said it contributed to his decision to transfer to Virginia.

And current Virginia receiver Da'Shawn Martin caught a touchdown pass for Kent State in a 66-10 loss to the Seminoles.

With a 5-15 all-time record against FSU, the Cavaliers haven't been favored often in the matchups. After his team stumbled against WVU, and with no margin for error in the ACC title game race, Elliott doesn't want overconfidence to even enter the equation.

"They've got a really good football team down there [despite] the record, not worried about that," Elliott said. "Not worried about what happened in the first four games, man. It's gonna be a fast, physical, violent game on Saturday. And we're gonna have to play well to put ourselves in position to the fourth quarter to have a chance to win."

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