Tennessee, 45-3

Number 5 Tennessee was unbeaten in 12 games despite 2 ties earlier in the year. Florida was unbeaten and ranked ninth. Trailing 7-3 at halftime, all hell broke loose in the third quarter, including a kickoff return for a TD, an interception return for a TD, a trick play for a TD (a tight end pass to a wide receiver), and a long TD drive. UF had 7 turnovers in the debacle.

Florida State, 45-30

FSU, ranked 8th, and UF, ranked 6th, engaged in an offensive showdown that Casey Weldon initiated with a 76 yard bomb to Lawrence Dawsey on the second play of the game. FSU back Amp Lee killed UF with 2 receiving TDs and 147 yards rushing. Both teams had over 480 total yards, but FSU's attack proved the more deadly, and UF could never really narrow the gap.

Syracuse, 38-21

Florida took a road trip to ranked Syracuse for a nationally televised game: their first in the spotlight and their only real non-FSU, non-conference regular season test of the decade. They failed. They flopped. In the Carrier Dome, the Cuse put Florida immediately on its heels with a kickoff return for a TD, and UF played in a fog the whole game. Had they played their normal cupcake, Florida would have finished 11-0 and played Miami in the Sugar Bowl.

Notre Dame, 39-28

Disappointingly, 10-1 Florida was forced to play 17th ranked Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl. Some had hoped to lure undefeated Miami in a game that could draw Florida into the national championship picture, but instead monetary reasons for both the Sugar and Miami forced the inferior matchup. Florida won the first half, but Notre Dame proved superior in the second, as UF found no answer for Jerome Bettis up the middle.

Tennessee, 31-14

Another bad road trip to Knoxville. Number 4 Florida played number 14 Tennessee; neither school though had nearly its best team of the 90s. Unlike 1990, Florida was bitten more by circumstance than bad play. Then an astro turf stadium, Erricht Rhett twisted an ankle early in the first half. In the second half, down 17-7, the referees blew a call that cost Florida a likely TD (a Tennessee fumbler was incorrectly ruled down prior to losing possession). Torrential second half rains stymied UF's air attack. It was just not our day.

Mississippi State, 30-6

Another horrible, horrible road trip for Florida. The 13th ranked Gators took on the 24th ranked Bulldogs, and Shane Matthews had the worst performance of his career. Matthews threw 5 interceptions on the day. An Erricht Rhett fumble opened the second half with UF down only 10-6, and that started State's offensive surge. Florida fell to 1-2, its only losing record of the 90s.

Florida State, 45-24

Charlie Ward kicked off his two year Kick Gator Butt Tour with over 400 yards of total yards by himself (70 rushing and 331 passing). Tamarick Vanover returned two kicks over 75 yards, just missing (but setting up) TDs. Shane Matthews did not play badly, but was pulled after the first half to preserve him for the inagural SEC championship the following week. Terry Dean looked good in the second half, but the Seminoles were tremendous.

Alabama, 28-21

After either winning or losing by blowouts in the Spurrier years, the SEC championship gave Florida fans their first heart-breaking loss. Tied 21-21 with the future national champs, Shane Matthews threw an ill-advised pass with 3 minutes left that Antonio Langham picked off and returned 27 yards, untouched, for the victory. The pass ended what had been a heroic comeback from a 21-7 deficit; Matthews had brilliantly crafted two drives against the stingy Tide defense, throwing mostly to Willie Jackson. With 6 minutes to go, a shanked punt gave UF the ball at the Bama 41, but the Bama defense forced a 3 and out punt.

Auburn, 38-35

The much ballyhooed Spurrier-Bowden matchups of the early nineties got a twist in 1993 when Bobby Bowden's son Terry took over the Auburn Tigers. The UF offense was terrific; Erricht Rhett was 4 yards shy of 200 and Danny Wuerffel threw 14 yards shy of 400. Down 35-27, Wuerffel commanded an 81-yard drive, hooking up with a leaping Jack Jackson to make it 35-33, and with Willie Jackson to make it 35-35. On the Tigers' last drive, UF had them stopped at 3rd and 8 from the 42, but Lawrence Wright was called for a late hit. Probably a bad call, Auburn went on to kick the winning field goal.

Florida State, 33-21

Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward finished 38 of 51 for 446 yards, and Warrick Dunn had 140 yards receiving. UF got started slowly, but down 26-14, Terry Dean led the Gators on a terrific fourth quarter drive, capped off when Jack Jackson made a circus catch in the end zone to make it 26-21. The UF defense looked like it would stop FSU and force a punt, but Ward, after 2 batted passes, hit Warrick Dunn on a pass out in the flat. Dunn dodged one tackler and outraced a couple more en route to an 80-yard back-breaking TD.

Auburn, 36-33

Danny Wuerffel replaced Terry Dean (who had thrown 4 interceptions) and went 10 for 13 with 3 TD, but Auburn was able to hang in against the number one Gators. Patrick Nix had a huge day passing, and Stephen Davis ran for over 100 yards. Ahead 33-29, Wuerffel made his only mistake of the game. Reidel Anthony ran a deep corner route on 3rd and 15, but the QB misunderstood the pattern and lobbed it deep over the middle. Spurrier was criticised for throwing deep rather than eating up clock. On the ensuing possession, Nix hit Frank Sanders on a post for the winning TD on 4th and goal from the 8.

Florida State, 31-31

Not a loss, but one of the most horrible experiences of 90s Florida football. The Florida offense was unstoppable in building a 31-3 lead over three quarters, but stalled in the second half. The Noles scored 28 points in the final 13 minutes of the game thanks to a soft Florida zone and terrific passing by Danny Kannell (232 yards in the fourth quarter alone). He finished an amazing 40 for 53 for 421 yards.

Florida State, 24-17

The so-called "Fifth Quarter In The French Quarter". The defenses ruled the day; Florida had 5 yards rushing and FSU just 76. The key play for FSU was a halfback option pass by Warrick Dunn which bounced off of a Gator defender into Omar Ellison's hands for a TD. FSU held a 20-10 lead at halftime thanks to an 82 yard TD pass to Ike Hillard. UF would mount a comeback in the second half, limiting FSU to just 3 points. Gator QB Danny Wuerffel was 28 of 39 for 394 yards, and scored on a sneak to make the game 23-17. But the FSU defense buckled down, and the game ended with that score.

Nebraska, 62-24

An unbearable, unmentionable game. After driving down the field impressively and going up 7-0 on a Danny Wuerffel to Chris Doering hookup, Nebraska thoroughly dominated. Lawrence Phillips was unstoppable, and, on one memorable play, Nebraska quarterback Tommie Frazier squirmed away from 8 UF tacklers on a 75 yard TD run. The Cornhusker pass rush was unstoppable; Spurrier was unable to get enough blockers and the passing offense was unable to exploit man on man coverage. A second half kickoff return by Reidel Anthony did little to salvage UF's pride that day.

Florida State, 24-21

Both teams were undefeated and highly ranked. Florida State's offense staked them to a 17-0 first quarter lead and played close to the vest the rest of the way. An outstanding Peter Boulware blocked punt highlighted the first quarter. The Gator running game was non-existant. Danny Wuerffel was 23 of 48 for 362 yards, but his 3 interceptions under the intense pass rush were difficult to overcome. Warrick Dunn had his biggest game ever as a Seminole (to the tune of 185 yards); several runs in the fourth quarter helped ice the game for the Seminoles by preventing a last chance drive for Florida. In the end, the #1 Gators fell short in their comeback bid, 24-21.

Louisiana State, 28-21

The Gators were ranked number 1. Quarterback Herb Tyler had an outstanding game, but it was Cedric Donaldson's timely two interceptions that buried UF that night. The second one was returned 31 yards for a TD to make it 21-14. On the ensuing kickoff, Bo Carroll fumbled and Herb Tyler converted on a quarterback draw a few plays later for a 28-14 lead. A final drive at 28-21 was spoiled by three penalties and Doug Johnson's fourth interception of the night.

Georgia, 37-17

Florida took an SEC pounding the likes of which it hadn't seen since 1992. Robert Edwards had over 100 yards rushing, and Mike Bobo shredded the Florida defense throwing for 260 more. Doug Johnson struggled and was benched at halftime, but in fairness, UF receivers were busy dropping TD passes. Noah Brindise led two scoring drives to make it 17-14 Florida, but Georgia ran away with it in the second half.

Tennessee, 20-17

Often when one team has a psychological advantage on the other, they can play poorly and still win. But on this day Florida outplayed Tennessee and lost. Tee Martin was horrible (7 of 20 for 64 yards) but Florida had 5 turnovers. The UF highlight was a 70-yard Jesse Palmer to Travis McGriff bomb. Tied 17-17, Florida's Travis Taylor dropped a potential TD pass, and Florida was forced to kick a field goal. Collins Cooper missed it; Jeff Hall had made his and Tennessee won, 20-17.

Florida State, 23-12

Both teams were 9-1; Florida hadn't won in Tallahassee since 1986. The game opened with some bad breaks for Florida. After a 50-yard TD pass to McGriff and an FSU field goal, Marcus Outzen, replacing an injured Chris Weinke, fumbled in the Seminole end zone and was recovered by Gator lineman. A second or two later, the ball was knocked loose and the refs ruled the play a safety. Instead of a 14-3 Gator lead, it was 9-3. At half time, the Gators led 12-6, but then the Seminoles defense took over. Florida would gain just 204 yards of total offense. An excellent defensive performance by Florida (363 yards allowed) was marred by getting burnt on a trick play: a Peter Warrick TD pass on an option that iced the game for the Seminoles.

Alabama, 40-39

The Tide ended UF's 30-game home winning streak in improbable fashion. After hanging with UF all day, Doug Johnson threw a TD pass to Darrell Jackson to make it 33-26. Despite time ticking away, Alabama elected to punt on fourth down on the next drive and Jackson dropped the punt. Shaun Alexander, held in check all day, burst through on 4th and 2 for a 13-yard tying score. Florida scored in overtime to go ahead, but Jeff Chandler missed the extra point. Alexander ripped off a 25-yard TD run on Bama's first OT play, and Bama kicker Chris Kemp missed his extra point. But UF's Bennie Alexander was offside, and Kemp shakily got the retry through for the 40-39 win.

Florida State, 30-23

Peter Warrick cappped off a brilliant FSU drive with a 4-yard run that saw him going almost to one sideline, reversing field, and going to the other corner for the TD. Two successive drives to inside the Gator five resulted in two short field goals, while Jeff Chandler kicked two long ones to keep it just 13-6 at the half. Bennie Alexander took an errant Chris Weinke pass for a 43-yard TD in the third to make it 16-13 UF, but Weinke showed poise and played strong the rest of the way. A Tommy Polley punt block led to a 23-16 lead. A late UF hail mary nearly bounced into Brian Haugabrook's hand, but fell hamlessly away.

Alabama, 34-7

Florida looked like the offense of old, moving easily down the field and scoring 7 points on their first drive. But that was it. Florida would only gain 114 total yards on the night, easily the worst offensive performance of the decade. The statistics: 0 for 9 on third down, less than 20 minutes possession time, and 3 inteceptions. The Tide tacked on 19 points in the run away fourth quarter, including a brilliant 77 yard run by Freddie Millons.

Michigan State, 37-34

The Florida offense returned a bit with Travis Taylor having a huge day. But Michigan State's Plaxico Buress was even better, amassing 3 TDs and 13 receptions. Doug Johnson hooked up with Taylor for 3 scores as well. UF was ahead 21-20 at halftime. In the fourth, Robert Gillespie made a brilliant play by recovering his own fumble in the end zone to make it 34-26 Florida. Bill Burke found Burress again for a 30-yard TD, then converted a 2-point play to tie the score. Paul Edinger won it on the game's last play with a 45-yard field goal, bringing to a close Florida's most painful season of the 90s.