The Associated Press

MIAMI - Winning conference championships and playing for national titles have become almost routine for Florida State and Miami.

Until now.

When the No. 9 Seminoles play the No. 10 Hurricanes in the Orange Bowl today, it will end a five-year run in which one or the other played for the national championship. It also will mark the final meeting between the instate rivals before they become conference foes.

And with the Hurricanes joining the Atlantic Coast Conference next season, it will make winning conference and national championships much more difficult for both teams.

"It's probably hard to believe, but it will make the rivalry that much more intense," Florida State quarterback Chris Rix said.

"It's going to be much more difficult for us to win a conference championship," Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said. "You're going to play them every year, and you might have to play them twice. Now you've got double trouble."

Bowden pushed for Miami to join the ACC along with the Seminoles in 1992. Instead, the Hurricanes merged with the Big East.

The move worked out well for both as they dominated their leagues for 12 seasons. The Seminoles won 11 ACC titles; the Hurricanes captured eight Big East crowns.

The teams were so superior that winning the conference became merely a stepping stone. Getting to the title game and winning it all was the primary goal.

And history shows why. Either Florida State or Miami has played for the national championship in 12 of the last 18 seasons. The Hurricanes also entered bowl games after the 1988 and '94 seasons with an outside shot at the title.

Their series has been one of the best in college football, defined by close games, missed field goals and national championship implications.

Miami played in the last two national championship games, beating Nebraska in the 2002 Rose Bowl and losing to Ohio State in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl in double overtime.

Florida State played in the three title games before that, falling to Tennessee in the 1999 Fiesta Bowl, beating Virginia Tech in the 2000 Sugar Bowl and losing to Oklahoma in the 2001 Orange Bowl.

Neither the Hurricanes nor the Seminoles had the same success this season, with each team losing twice but still winning a league trophy.

Now they find themselves playing the second of three games against each other in less than 11 months.

The Hurricanes beat Florida State 22-14 on a sloppy field in October, and the teams are scheduled to open the 2004 season against each other Sept. 6 in Miami.

"We're not saving anything for September," Miami coach Larry Coker said.