I fall into the same trap every season. As always, I’m ready to anoint Florida State as the comeback story of the year. The team that owned the top for so long will finally rise again.

Trust me, I have no affection for the Seminoles. I’ve never actually pulled for them, so it’s way out of line to think I’m a fan.

I’ve never much cared for Bobby Bowden and his “dadgums.” Chief Osceola riding his horse Renegade and planting a flaming spear at the 50-yard line isn’t my favorite college football tradition.

The only reason I can come up with for believing that every year is the return of the Seminole is based on history.

I became a die-hard football fan in the 1990s, which happened to coincide with Florida State’s decade of dominance. The Seminoles joined the ACC in 1992 and proceeded to win nine consecutive conference titles before adding three more in 2002, ’03 and ’05.

But, time hasn’t been so good to FSU. The Seminoles dropped off to 7-6, 3-5 in the league in 2006; it was Bowden’s worst overall record since 1985. FSU followed that with a 7-6, 4-4 season in 2007.

You’d think I’d be happy about the recent struggles.

I wasn’t even a teenager, but I still recall how upset I was when FSU barely escaped Clemson with a 24-20 win in the Seminoles’ first ACC season in 1992. I’m not even a Tiger fan.

I was furious in 1993 when FSU lost to the Fighting Irish, who I did have affection for at that time, but still won the national title. Thanks in part to Boston College’s upset of Notre Dame, which I can hardly talk about, I’m scarred for life.

I remember being in the stadium on that chilly October night in 1999 during the first Bowden Bowl. Rooting on a high school friend that played defensive back, my spirit was crushed when he dropped a Chris Weinke pass at the Tigers’ goal line. The would-be interception could have resulted in a 99-yard touchdown return had he held on. Instead, the ’Noles won, 17-14.

It also pained me in 1999 when FSU won the national title over Virginia Tech and Michael Vick, who at the time I believed was going to own the NFL but instead owned an illegal dog fighting ring and now owns a jail cell.

So, why am I even writing about the Seminoles?

I guess I want to pick them to win the ACC. Call me a masochist, starving to hate FSU. But, really, tops in the ACC and playing in a BCS bowl is the way it should be.

So, despite the lack of an offensive line and the continual inconsistencies at quarterback, I’ll have to stick with tradition. Give me the Seminoles over anybody in the ACC championship game.

It just feels right.