Clifton Abraham couldn't pinpoint one favorite memory from 30 years ago.

"Thinking about it brings back so many favorite memories," Abraham said and laughed.

"I am going back to what I call my mini-temple. I just know it feels great to still be recognized, and I am so thankful for the FSU family for inviting us back and never forgetting. What made that team special? We had each other's back.

"When when person did great, we all celebrated."

That three-decades-long celebration continues this weekend, when Florida State honors its 1993 national championship team as part of a 30th anniversary of the Seminoles' first football title.

At least 56 returning players and nine assistant coaches from that team will be recognized as part of an on-field ceremony during halftime of Saturday's noon game against Syracuse at Doak Campbell Stadium.

The group is expected to feature three players whose FSU jerseys have been retired (Derrick Brooks, Warrick Dunn and Charlie Ward), 11 FSU Hall of Famers and three former assistants who were Division I head coaches in Mark Richt (Georgia and Miami), Chuck Amato (N.C. State) and Brad Scott (South Carolina).

Additionally, the team will be led on the field from the south end zone by Osceola and Renegade. Allen Durham, who now leads the Osceola/Renegade program, portrayed Osceola in 1993 while he was an FSU student.

FSU's Clifton Abraham 'left it all on the field'

Abraham, 51, is making the trip from Dallas, where he works for the post office. He last traveled to Tallahassee for the team's 20-year anniversary in 2013 that featured coach Bobby Bowden's return to Doak Campbell Stadium for the first time since his 2009 retirement.

Bowden, who directed the Seminoles to a pair of national titles in 1993 and 1999, passed away in August 2021 from pancreatic cancer. He was 91.

FSU finished the '93 season 12-1, beating Nebraska 18-16 in the Orange Bowl to win the national title. The Seminoles thought they squandered their opportunity to play for the championship in mid-November, when they lost at Notre Dame 31-24 in a No. 1 versus No. 2 game billed as "The Game of the Century."

However, the Irish lost the following week to Boston College, returning FSU back in the national title picture. The Seminoles beat N.C. State and Florida to end the regular season, and held off the Cornhuskers in the Orange Bowl in Miami Jan. 1, 1994.

FSU kicker Scott Bentley made a 22-yard field goal with 21 seconds left in the game, while Nebraska's Byron Bennett's 45-yard attempt on the game's last play sailed wide left.

"We were super close team and so determined," said Abraham a redshirt junior on the title team.. "It a great, fun group of guys that share a special bond."

Abraham also recalled how Brooks played Phil Collins' song "In the Air Tonight" on a boom box prior to games. Abraham's pregame routine included visiting each unit on offense, defense and special teams.

"When coach (Bowden) walked into the locker room, we knew to cut off all the music and focus," Abraham said. "I just left it all out on the field. I did the best I could do with my ability. I was just a guy from Texas who wanted to play at FSU after I watched (FSU linebacker) Kirk Carruthers and FSU play Nebraska (1989 season, Fiesta Bowl) on television.

"I remember that like it was yesterday."

Busy weekend planned for 1993 national title team reunion

A busy weekend is planned for returning players, coaches and staff.

FSU coach Mike Norvell, who has led the No. 4 Seminoles to a 5-0 start this season, each week invites former players to attend the team's Friday walk-through. A reception for the 1993 team is scheduled Friday in the Varsity Club at Doak Campbell Stadium.

Prior to Saturday's game, the 1993 team will join the Seminoles on their Legacy Team Walk from the Heritage Tower Fountain (near Dick Howser Stadium) to Doak Campbell Stadium. The group will also be recognized at the Sod Cemetery, adjacent to Howser Stadium and the football practice fields. It will watch the FSU-Syracuse game in the Dunlap Champions Club in the south end zone.

"I am really excited to be going back," Abraham said. "We were close (to a national title) so many times. .. but nobody forgets that first one. A lot of people still love our era, and that's really nice."

Abraham, 51, laughed and added, "At least I will be around people my age."

GAME INFORMATION

Who: No. 4 FSU (5-0, 3-0 ACC) vs. Syracuse (4-2, 0-2)

When/where: Saturday, noon; Doak Campbell Stadium

TV/Radio: ABC/94.9 FM

Live game updates: www.Tallahassee.com; @Ehsan_Kassim, @jackgwilliams and @JimHenryTALLY on X, formerly Twitter

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Florida State football to honor 1993 national champions vs. Syracuse