|
| SJS College Football Extravaganza |
|
| Decade In Review | ||
Here are the first 5 of my 15 greatest wins of the decade for the Florida Gators:
| #1 The National Championship | ||
|
Florida State had seemingly ended Florida's bid for a national title in November in a classic matchup in Tallahassee. But with 11-1 Florida ranked #3 at season's end, the Gators faced off against the 11-0, #1 Seminoles in a Sugar Bowl rematch. The story of the first matchup had been Warrick Dunn and the Semonole pass rush; the rematch would be all about shutting down Dunn (28 yards on 9 carries) and avoiding the rush. The latter was less successful, but the nearly exclusive use of the shotgun formation bought Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel just a little extra time... and it was enough for the senior to eat up the Nole secondary. Early in the game the Seminoles drove to the Florida 23 and elected to go for it on fourth and one. In a stand that would set the tone for the Seminoles' rushing prospects the whole game, Florida stuffed Poo Bear Williams and took over. The 77-yard drive was capped by an Ike Hilliard TD for the early 7-0 lead. The teams then traded field goals, before a swift 73 yard TD drive by the Gators early in the second quarter made it 17-3. Thad Busby, hot early in the game, answered with a 63 yard FSU drive highlighted by two twenty-plus yard completions, one to Messam and the TD toss to E.G. Green. The next scoring drive featured the Sugar Bowl's signature play, a 31-yard TD pass to Ike Hilliard, who juked two FSU DBs on his way to the end zone. Many people forget that the pass would never have taken place had it not been for a 40-yard Wuerffel to Jaquez Green connection when it looked like the Seminoles had stopped Florida on 3rd and 16. Down 24-10 and perhaps on the way out, Busby commandeered yet another gutsy drive capped off by a pretty off tackle run by Warrick Dunn, just 40 seconds before halftime. It was Dunn's only flash of his usual brilliance against the Gators, as he would not be a factor in the second half thanks to leg cramps. Florida State scored its final points just five minutes into the third quarter, a Scott Bentley field goal. From then on, the Gators rolled. The hero of the night, Ike Hilliard, had a third TD catch, and decade MVP Wuerffel essentially nailed the door shut with a courageous 16 yard scramble for a TD in the thrid quarter. From then on it was good running by Terry Jackson (118 yards) and Fred Taylor (60 yards), and a personal foul-aided final Florida TD that made the margin 52-20. It was Florida's best performance ever in a bowl game, and it came against the number one team in the country. An easy choice for the #1 Florida win of the decade. |
|
|
| #2 It's Finally Official | ||
|
Florida had never won an SEC title. Sure, they had won it on the field in 1984, 1985, and 1990, but those titles (perhaps dubiously in 1990) were nullified due to off-field violations of NCAA rules. In fact, the Gators were assured of a share of the SEC title going into the Kentucky game, but a loss would have cost the Gators a 7-0 SEC mark, an outright crown, and a Sugar Bowl bearth. So a lot was on the line. It was one of the scariest games I've ever been to. This was 1991, and the Gators hadn't shed the choke image. Kentucky was more than a 30-point underdog, and looked like it as two Tre Everett circus TD catches and a trick play TD (wide receiver Alonzo Sullivan throwing back to quarterback Shane Matthews) propelled the Gators to a 28-6 halftime lead. Kentucky marches back as the Gators enter the choke zone, making it 28-26 with 8 minutes to play. That's when Shane Matthews stepped up and won the outright crown, commandeering a 5:30 touchdown drive to put the game away at 35-26. And we could breathe, and scream for joy, again. |
|
|
| #3 The Triumph Of Emory And Henry | ||
|
Still the most-watched SEC championship game of all time. And why not? Sixth-ranked Florida was 9-1-1 after being ranked #1 in the preseason, and Alabama was 11-0, ranked third, just two years removed from their national championship. And those that tuned in saw perhaps the greatest SEC championship game to date. A tight, back and forth game was highlighted by defensive stars, like game MVP Ellis Johnson, who bottled up the Tide's rusher Sherman Williams all night long. Alabama managed to stay in the game thanks to kicker Michael Proctor, among whose three field goals were two of the longest ever kicked in a championship game (a 47 and a 48 yarder). Curtis Brown had a big game at wideout, but the Gators were also able to move the ball behind Danny Weurffel's passing. Florida took a 17-16 lead into the final quarter, and the Gators had the ball with nine minutes to go. On a play eerily reminicent of the first SEC championship game, when Antonio Langham intercepted a Shane Matthews pass deep in Gator territory for the winning score, Dwayne Rudd picked off a Danny Wuerffel toss and took it 23 yards for the score. That made it 22-17. With nine minutes left, Alabama coach Gene Stallings made the unusual call to eschew the 2 point conversion attempt (to make it a seven point game) and instead ordered the kicking team on. As well as the Bama defense was playing, Stallings felt safer with a sure 2 field goal lead as opposed to the possibility of only being up five. In the favor of the coach's call, UF had only once crossed midfield in the second half. Opposed to the decision was a creative offensive mastermind in Steve Spurrier and a clutch performer in Wuerffel. Down 23-17, Spurrier called one of the most inspired drives in his career, and Wuerffel, after his earlier mistake, executed it with Heisman-esque calm. The centerpiece formation was the Emory and Henry, one the team had been experimenting with all year long and which had proven successful on several occasions. In that formation, Wuerffel lined up behind a center and two guards, with a back (Fred Taylor or Elijah Williams) behind him. The offensive tackles, however, lined up near the hashmarks, flanked by wide receivers. Behind this pair (on each side) was a second wide receiver. The Gators took over the ball at their own 20 and moved to the 33. At a pre-arranged signal, Wuerffel feigned an injury, and hobbled off to be replaced by Eric Kresser. If the Tide were expecting a conservative play call for the back up, then they were foolish; the strong-armed Kresser fired a bullet to Ike Hilliard for a 25-yard completion. Wuerffel immediately came back, ballplay ready, in a precursor perhaps to the quarterback rotation scheme that Spurrier used to beat the 1997 Florida State Seminoles. It was an Emory and Henry completion to Reidel Anthony for 9 yards. Not long after, the Gators would run a gadget play out of Emory and Henry, with Weurffel tossing it immediately to Chris Doering on the left side. Wideout Aubry Hill and the tackle on that side appeared to be blocking for Doering, but Hill released from his block and streaked down field, catching a lob from Doering and going 20 yards before being pushed out at the two. Spurrier then called a quarterback sneak, but Wuerffel called an audible and hit Doering on a 2 yard TD score. Doering beat future NFL star Sam Shade on the play. The extra point was the margin of victory. |
|
|
| #4 Where Only Gators Get Out Alive | ||
|
The seniors on the 1991 team had never had the pleasure of beating FSU; the drought was 4 years old. On the line would be Florida's home winning streak: perfect in the Spurrier era. Despite a narrow loss to Miami in their previous game, the 9-1 Seminoles were ranked third and were undoubtedly one of the best teams in the country. The much ballyhooed game of offensive powerhouses (FSU had scored 51 at Michigan and Spurrier's fun and gun reputation had begun to take hold) quickly descended into a classic defensive struggle. An early break appeared to come when Seminole defensive back Terrel Buckley bit badly on a hook and go, but the TD pass to Tre Everett was called back on a penalty. The great gambler Buckley then intercepted the very next play. On an FSU drive, the Seminoles got down to the one yard line, but a five-yard penalty set them back on second down. On third down, Harvey Thomas forced a Casey Weldon fumble which the Seminoles recovered on the 28 yard line. Once 2nd and goal from the one, the Seminole possession ended with no points. The big break came on a UF mistake. Tight end Charlie Dean misunderstood his route and ran the wrong way, causing confusion in the Seminole secondary, leaving linebacker Reggie Freeman covering speedy wideout Harrison Houston. Houston caught a bounce off of Freeman's back and raced for the 72 yard TD. Up 14-3 and about to go up 21-3, Shane Matthews is picked off in the end zone. FSU drives and scores an Amp Lee TD (14-9), but Florida defends the 2 point conversion attempt. On Florida's second to last drive, which stalls just shy of midfield, Spurrier pulls out a beauty of a play. At 4th and 3, UF calls time out. The punt team goes on the field, lines up, then races off the field to be replaced by the first team offense (we in the stands thought he was nuts). In punt return formation facing the offense, FSU calls its second time out. Spurrier never intended to go for it, just deplete FSU of time outs. After the punt, FSU drives down to 4th and 8 from the 12, but a Weldon pass is deflected by Will White. Corner back Del Speer pushes FSU receiver Matt Frier to the ground as the ball falls out of reach. Thanks to the time out ploy, FSU is unable to stop the clock on Florida's final series. |
|
|
| #5 Revenge Is Sweet | ||
|
I've said it before and I'll say it again: the 1991 Tennessee-Florida game was the loudest game I have ever been to. The loudness caused several procedure penalties against the extremely talented Vols. My decade-long hatred for Tennessee had begun the year before, when, after forcing an ankle injury to freshman Erricht Rhett, the Volunteers humiliated Florida, 45-3. They also chanted "At least our students don't get killed," a sick allusion to the Gainesville student murders of 1990. Florida returned the favor, at least on the football field. The Gator defense held Tennessee to just 49 yards rushing, but Andy Kelly had a big day through the air. The Vols, coming in ranked fourth in the nation, started off with a safety of quarterback Shane Matthews, but UF answered with a TD toss to the tight end on a gutsy fourth and goal play called by Steve Spurrier. The star of the game was Larry Kennedy, who broke up 5 bombs intended for Vols wideout Carl Pickens. Kennedy's biggest play was a 44 yard interception return for a touchdown with 3 minutes to play to stave off a late Volunteer surge. The score sent Florida fans screaming with joy, with payback for 1990 and the biggest hurdle overcome for an official SEC title. |
|
|
