PITTSBURGH - The road back to Charlotte has been a long one for Florida State football.

Nearly nine years, three head coaches and hundreds of players fill the gap between the last time the Seminoles played for and raised, an ACC Championship. 2014 was the last time the Seminoles made the trip to Bank of America Stadium, defeating Georgia Tech, 37-35 for back-to-back ACC titles.

FSU ousted Pittsburgh, 24-7, on Saturday at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh to advance to 9-0 and clinch that championship game berth it had been reaching for years.

An appearance in the game means a lot to everyone on the team, but a little more to those who have been on the climb from the base to the summit.

Sticking with the process

Linebacker Kalen DeLoach is one of those players who's stuck with the program thick and thin and gets to experience this moment that seemed almost impossible at times.

"This means a lot. I almost want to cry," DeLoach said. "We've put so much work into this from my first time being here to what we have now. I appreciate all those guys who came in and bought into the process because it wasn't always pretty. For us to get to where we're at means a lot."

Players were made aware that a championship game berth was on the line earlier this week, but coaches wanted to make sure it wasn't distracting. FSU head coach Mike Norvell is still making sure it's not distracting as the Seminoles prepare for a home game next week against rival Miami.

However, he's not taking the moment for granted. Norvell said he's embracing the simplicity of the berth as FSU gets one more game to play.

"I told them this week, if they put themselves in a position that they won today, they got to play one more game together," Norvell said. "Well, they accomplished that. Am I proud of it? Absolutely. I watch them work 365 days a year and just the mindset. Even when they're off, they're working..."

"It's a team that you should be proud of, and I'm proud of them. Are we a finished product? Absolutely not. If we don't get better next week than we are this week then we have failed."

Wide receiver Ja'kahi Douglas is another player who has been with FSU since one of its lowest points. He arrived at FSU right when Norvell was hired as head coach and in his freshman season the Seminoles went 3-6.

Now, coming off a career performance against Pitt, recording 97 yards receiving on six receptions, similar to DeLoach, he gets to look forward to a game that didn't seem possible three years ago.

"Since I've been here, four years, we've been through some ups and downs," Douglas said. "It's great that we get the chance to show the ACC and the whole world that Florida State is back."

Others, like defensive lineman Braden Fiske, get to experience a conference championship game for the first time, and in his case, get a little bit of comfort reaching that game.

Fiske was part of a Western Michigan team that lost heartbreakingly to Ball State to qualify for the 2020 Mid-American Conference championship game.

A multi-lateral play with no time left in the game led to an apparent game-winning touchdown but was called back after an illegal forward pass.

Fiske is grateful for the moment, the opportunity and the season overall.

"It's awesome to be in this position, 9-0, and ranked all of the above is amazing," Fiske said. "It's a blessing for me and this team. That play still sticks in my mind for sure. Thanks for bringing that up."

Jack Williams covers Florida State athletics for Tallahassee Democrat. Contact him via email at jwilliams@tallahassee.com or on Twitter @jackgwilliams.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Berth in ACC Championship game 'means a lot' for FSU football