The 1990s were a magical time in college football history — an era when the gridiron game emerged as one of the nation’s preferred avenues of entertainment as the game blossomed from just another amateur sport into something that would ultimately grow into a media behemoth.
The Florida Gators played a prominent role in that decade’s expansion into the public consciousness, earning five Southeastern Conference titles while appearing in a pair of championship games and winning their first-ever title in 1996. Of course, plenty of failures accompanied those successes, but simply being part of the hype helped bring the University of Florida into prominence.
With that in mind, The Athletic’s senior writer Joe Rexrode recently put together his list of 90 things we miss most about college football in the 1990s, which included a few entries dealing with the Orange and Blue. Here is a look at what he had to offer.
Steve Spurrier vs Bobby Bowden
The very first entry on Rexrode’s list is the epic duel between the head coaches of Florida’s two biggest public schools: Steve Spurrier and Bobby Bowden. The two skippers famously traded punches during the 90s as their respective programs reached the pinnacle of the historic Sunshine State rivalry, entertaining fans of both teams as well as anyone else with even a passing interest in college football.
“Any remembrance of college football in the 1990s should start with Florida’s Spurrier and Florida State’s Bowden — the coach of ‘Free Shoes University,’ as Spurrier once noted amid an NCAA investigation into FSU — and a coaching rivalry that has a case as the best ever,” Rexrode notes.
Choke at Doak
Next up on the list at No. 36 is Florida’s infamous collapse in Tallahassee at Doak Campbell Stadium between the nation’s two top-ranked teams in the final game of the 1994 regular season. The Gators came in as top dogs and looked every bit the part during the first three quarters before allowing the second-ranked Seminoles to score 28 unanswered points to force a tie.
“‘The Choke at Doak,’ the wildest game of the best rivalry of the decade, Florida blowing a 31-3 lead at Florida State in the fourth quarter and being relegated to a tie,” Rexrode offers.
It is worth noting that overtime did not exist at the collegiate level back then, but the two-point conversion did. Bowden opted to take the PAT for the tie — a decision that many at the time saw as a cowardly move. Settling for a tie with your biggest rival was considered to be “like having to kiss your sister.”
Danny Wuerffel runs the Fun ‘n’ Gun
Checking in at No. 47 is Florida’s second Heisman Trophy winner, Danny Wuerffel, and Spurrier’s Fun ‘n’ Gun offense that exhilarated the national audience during the former’s tenure in Gainesville.
“Danny Wuerffel operating Steve Spurrier’s Fun ‘n’ Gun at an unprecedented level, winning all the awards and serving notice that an NFL takeover was forthcoming.”
Make no mistake, watching Wuerffel heave the ball downfield to targets like Willie and Jack Jackson, along with Chris Doering, Reidel Anthony, Jaquez Green and others, was like witnessing poetry in motion. Florida’s passing offense peaked from 1995-96, with Wuerffel leading the SEC in passing yards and yards per game both seasons while topping the nation in both yards per attempt and adjusted yards per attempt.
The Gators’ gunslinger also led the nation in passer rating in 1995 while leading the SEC in the same category in 1996. In the earlier year, he led the conference in yards per completion while topping the entire country in the latter season.
What a time to be alive.
1996 Fiesta Bowl
No. 49 on the list references the most gut-wrenching game of the decade for the Gator Nation — more painful than the Choke at Doak and more deflating than any other loss the team sustained during the 1990s. It was Florida’s first-ever appearance in a national title game and the first national championship game held under the auspices of the Bowl Alliance: the 1996 Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Arizona.
The second-ranked Gators took on the top-ranked defending national champion Nebraska Cornhuskers, with both entering the matchup undefeated. The Huskers absolutely embarrassed Spurrier and Co. in a manner that still sends chills down the spine of those who witnessed the slaughter.
No. 49: “Spurrier haters delighting in what Nebraska did to Florida — that would be a final of 62-24 — on Jan. 2, 1996, in the Fiesta Bowl.”
Fortunately, Florida was able to get the monkey off its back the next season and finally reach the promised land. But it was a rough road to reach the top.
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This article originally appeared on Gators Wire: Looking back at Florida football during the 1990s: The good and bad
Reporting by Adam Dubbin, Gators Wire / Gators Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Adam Dubbin, Gators Wire | USA TODAY Network
