Top 5 bowl losses

The Gators have had their share of disappointments when it comes to the post season. But what was their worst bowl loss ever? Depends on your persective. Here are our 5 picks.

Five worst bowl losses in Gator history:

5. 1994 Sugar Bowl: After the 31-31 "Choke at Doak" tie that ended the regular season, Florida faces FSU again in New Orleans. No tie this time. The underdog Seminoles won 23-17.

4. 1989 Freedom Bowl: UF is handled 34-7 by the Washington Huskies in the final game before the Steve Spurrier era.

3. 2002 Outback Bowl: Not coach Ron Zook's finest moment. Florida's first appearance in Tampa's Outback Bowl is known best for the final play. With the Gators trailing 38-30 and marching down the field, Zook took the ball out of QB Rex Grossman's hands by calling for a flea-flicker. The pass by freshman cornerback Vernell Brown was picked off, sealing the win for Michigan.

2. 1991 Sugar Bowl: Fresh off winning their first official SEC title, the Gators faced Notre Dame, a team many felt had no business being in a bowl game. Irish RB Jerome Bettis proved they did, running silly over Florida in a 39-28 win for Notre Dame.

1. 1995 Fiesta Bowl: The Gators finished the season undefeated and faced the Nebraska Cornhuskers for the national title. The Gators jumped to a 10-6 lead in the first quarter. But that was the end of the fun. The Cornhuskers prevailed 62-24 to win their second consecutive title.

Top 5 bowl victories

The Gators are playing in one of their biggest bowl games in school history on Jan. 2 in Arizona. But if you look to the past, which bowl game so far has been the most important in Gator history?

Here are our top 5 picks:

Top 5 greatest Florida bowl victories:

5. 1966 Orange Bowl: Bobby Dodd's last game as Georgia Tech's head coach was an unhappy one. Led by QB Steve Spurrier, Florida won 27-12, with Larry Smith setting a Orange Bowl record when he ran 94 yards for a touchdown, nearly losing his pants on the way.

4. 2005 Outback Bowl: QB Chris Leak threw for 277 yards and two touchdowns as the Gators built a hole too big for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Coach Urban Meyer's first bowl game as a Gator is a victory -- 31-24.

3. 2001 Orange Bowl: In Steve Spurrier's final game as head coach, QB Rex Grossman leads Florida's explosive offense to a school record for points in a bowl game as they defeated Maryland 56-23.

2. 1993 Sugar Bowl: Finishing with their best record to date (11-2), Florida faced the undefeated West Virginia Mountaineers in New Orleans. The 41-7 win was UF's first New Year's Day bowl win since 1967.

1. 1996 Sugar Bowl: The Gators beat the odds to turn their bowl game into the title game. Then they beat FSU 52-20 to claim their first national championship.

Best Gator traditions

The University of Florida is more about wins and losses (well, if not, it should be). The traditions of Gator football are memorable too. Here are our favorites.

Top 5 Gator traditions:

5. Albert and Alberta: Mr. and Mrs. Stuffed Animal are perhaps the best-known male-female mascot pair in college football.

4. The Swamp: Nicknamed "the Swamp" by then-coach Steve Spurrier (because "only gators get out alive"), the stadium is a pit of despair for visiting teams. Fans swelter in the stands, which were originally built in a sink hole on campus. (See pre-game Jumbotron presentation)

3. Mr. Two Bits: Tampa's George Edmonson Jr. has "retired," but he makes an occasional appearance in his trademark orange-and-blue tie and yellow shirt to lead fans at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in a round of the Two Bits cheer. (Click for video)

2. We Are the Boys: At the end of the third quarter, Florida fans wrap arms around each other, sway to this song and sing. (See video here and here)

1. Gator chomp: Fans and Gator players alike revel in slapping their arms together in Jaws-like fashion whenever the spirit captivates them. Like after touchdowns. Or when the opposing team slinks onto the field. (See video)

Top 5 worst moments on the field

See that hole in the wall? That's where some Gator fan kicked it after seeing a moment of true terror on the football field. Everyone has their own nightmare-worth memory. Here are ours.

Worst 5 on-the-field moments in Florida football history:

5. Florida's first appearance in Tampa's Outback Bowl is known best for the final play. in 2002, with the Gators trailing 38-30, coach Ron Zook took the ball out of QB Rex Grossman's hands by calling for a flea-flicker. The pass by freshman cornerback Vernell Brown was picked off, sealing the win for Michigan. (Click here for video highlights of the game; interception at end of video)

4. In 1971, Florida led Miami 45-8 with 1:20 left when Gators defenders laid down and let the Hurricanes score on a run from the Florida 8. That allowed Florida to get the ball back and senior quarterback John Reaves to break Jim Plunkett's record for NCAA career passing yards. A victory, but a shameful moment.

3. Oct. 23, 2004: Jerrious Norwood scores on a 37-yard run with 32 seconds remaining as Mississippi State defeats No. 19 Florida 38-31. The loss ultimately ended Ron Zook's career as coach. He is fired two days later. (See video)

2. Nebraska quarterback Tommie Frazier breaks the tackle of nearly every Florida defender on his way to a 75-yard touchdown run in the 1995 Fiesta Bowl. (See video)

1. Nov. 8, 1980: Run, Lindsay, Run. undefeated No. 2 Georgia trails Florida 21-20 with 1:35 remaining in the annual rivalry when quarterback Buck Belue throws a short pass to Lindsay Scott near the 25-yard line. Scott takes the ball the distance for the winning touchdown. (See video)

Top 5 best moments on the field

These are the moments that nearly stopped the heart of every Gator fan and then caused them to explode. Those "I remember when..." plays for the Florida football team. Here are our favorites.

Top 5 on-the-field moments for Florida football:

5. In a classic play that made Florida play-by-play announcer Mick Hubert's catch-phrase "Ohhhh My" famous, freshman quarterback Danny Wuerffel, in only his second game, hit former walk-on receiver Chris Doering for a 28-yard touchdown pass (only the second of his career, the first earlier in that same game) with three seconds remaining to give the Gators a 24-20 road win over Kentucky on Sept. 11, 1993. I

4. Trailing rival FSU 29-25 with just under two minutes to go, Florida quarterback Doug Johnson connected on a 63-yard deep curl-and-go spiral pass to Jacquez Green, from the 20 to the FSU 17. That set up Fred Taylor's fourth touchdown run and sealed the 32-29 win for the Gators on Nov. 22, 1997, in front of 85,677 at Florida Field. The loss knocked then-No. 2 FSU out of the race for the national title.

3. Freshman Larry Smith breaks free en route to a 94-yard touchdown run in the Orange Bowl after the 1966 season against Georgia Tech, still a record for that bowl game. But what made the play even more noteworthy was the razor-thin running back out of Robinson High started losing his pants during the run, having to keep them hitched up as he ran.

2. During the 1966 season, QB Steve Spurrier kicks a 40-yard field goal with 2:12 remaining to defeat Auburn 30-27 and clinch the 1966 Heisman Trophy.

1. in the 1996 Sugar Bowl, QB Danny Wuerffel shredded the FSU defense for 306 yards. But his 16-yard scramble to the end zone for a touchdown late in the game secured the national title.

Who's the greatest Gator of them all?

Who's the greatest of all Gators? Hard to say. But on and off the the playing field, there are many to consider. Here are our favorites.

Top 5 greatest Gators:

5. Wilber Marshall: All-America and finalist for Lombardi Award in 1982 and 1983. Also a first-team selection in 1999 to UF's Team of the Century. Selected in 1999 as UF's Defensive Player of the Century.

4. Jack Youngblood: Thought by many to be the best defensive end in school history. Youngblood was enshrined into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1992; also the first player from Florida to be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame (2001).

3. Emmit Smith: One of the most highly recruited high school players of his generation, Smith went on to break 58 school records en route to rushing for 3,928 yards and  36 touchdowns -- while playing just three seasons in Gainesville.

2. Steve Spurrier: As a player, he won the Heisman Trophy. In 12 seasons as coach, he led Florida to a national title, six SEC championships and six SEC East titles. He also coached a Heisman winner (Danny Wuerffel), a Heisman runnerup (Rex Grossman) and 20 first-team All Americans.

1. Danny Wuerffel: 1996 Heisman Tropy winner. Completed his career in 1996 as one of the most efficient and productive quarterbacks in college football history. Two-time recipient of the O'Brien National Quarterback of the Year Award (1995-96). Won more SEC titles than any other Florida QB.

Horford to miss Stetson game

  GAINESVILLE - Junior center Al Horford will miss his third game Wednesday night, still nursing a high ankle sprain.

  Florida coach Billy Donovan said Tuesday afternoon that Horford will not play Wednesday night against Stetson, and will most likely miss Saturday's game against No. 3 Ohio State.

  "Al is definitely out for (Wednesday) and I would say right now if you're asking me to assess him playing against Ohio State, I would say no,'' Donovan said. "Now that could change. He did do a little bit in the gym yesterday, just testing his ankle. But he's nowhere near, right now in my opinion, being able to play. And we're probably over cautious with him because of hte nature of the injury being a high ankle sprain. Sometimes those injuries take so long to heal, we just don't want to have something that's lingering.''

  Donovan said he will not bring Horford back before he's ready, risking further injury. That, he said, would be detrimental to both Horford and the team's season.

  "It's a long season,'' he said. "And one game does not make or break a season with a win or a loss. I just don't think we need an injury to any one of our players, having it become a situation that they are having to deal with it the entire year.''

 

 

Horford injures ankle

  GAINESVILLE - Junior center Al Horford suffered a high ankle sprain during Monday's practice and is questionable for Sunday's game against Florida A&M on Sunday at the St. Pete Times Forum.

  UF coach Billy Donovan said Wednesday that Horford suffered the injury diving for a loose ball in practice and will not practice at least Wednesday and Thursday.

  "It's a mild one (sprain), not a severe one, but I think that's kind of a strange injury a little bit, at least in talking to our doctors,'' Donovan said. "It's something that can really last a long time. We went through it with Matt Walsh several years ago when he had it. It's not to the level of that. I guess they grade sprains anywhere from a one to a three and his is probably a 1-plus.''

  Horford's injury came on the same day junior forward Corey Brewer was cleared to return to practice after missing three games due to mononucleosis. Donovan said the obstacles are all part of surviving a long season.

  "There's no question between the illnesses, the mono and Al, we're fighting through some of this stuff right now,'' he said. "But we'll keep moving through it and keep trying to get our younger guys better.''

 

Good luck getting tickets

Florida will play Ohio State on Jan. 8 at Cardinals Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., but getting a ticket to see the game in person will take major dollars.

Florida and Ohio State each received an allotment of 16,000 tickets. Of those, 2,250 tickets were set aside for Florida students, players and band members and 1,500 were allotted for the official traveling party, coaches, staff, sponsors, university guests, University Athletic Board of Directors and the Intercollegiate Athletic Committee.

The remaining 12,250 tickets, at a price of $175 plus a $5 handling charge, were made available for sale to Gator boosters. The UF ticket office received orders for nearly 21,500 tickets and 9,214 were unable to be filled and the money was refunded.

“This, without question, has been the most in-demand game we’ve had in my tenure here.,” said Bill Holloway, Florida’s assistant athletic director/ticket manager. Still, UF is bound by its ticket policy.

“We only get a certain number and we have to satisfy the Gator booster party system," Holloway said. "We have followed it for many, many years and we have not deviated. It’s all tied into contribution. But this was probably the first time some of our season ticket holders have been (negatively) affected.”

Click here to read the full story on tampabay.com.

UF safety named All-America

Florida safety Reggie Nelson was named to the Associated Press first-team All-America defense, with Gator cornerback Ryan Smith making the second team and linebacker Brandon Siler making the third team. No other state teams were represented. The three selections are the most for the Gators since six in 2001. Keiwan Ratliff in 2003 was UF's last first-team selection. Heisman-winning quarterback Troy Smith was among three Ohio State first-teamers (five overall) who will face Florida in the BCS title game.

- Antonya English, Times staff

Brewer cleared to play

GAINESVILLE -- Sixteen days after he was sidelined with mononucleosis, forward Corey Brewer has been cleared to return, coach Billy Donovan said Monday afternoon.

Brewer was allowed to begin individual conditioning drills following last Wednesday's game against Providence, but could not practice with the team until Monday. He has missed three games since being diagnosed with mono, and was previously expected to be out until at least the Dec. 23 game against  Ohio State.

"I'll be ready (Sunday),'' Brewer said Monday prior to the Gators' practice. "I'm feeling good. I'm feeling real good.''

Brewer said the hardest part will be getting back into shape quickly. The Gators' next game is 6 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 17, versus FAMU at the St. Pete Times Forum.

"I've been out of practice for two weeks, so it's pretty hard to get up and down the floor,'' Brewer said. "The way the doctors were talking (when he was first diagnosed), I thought I was going to be out until January. I'm just glad I got back sooner. I guess I've got a good immune system.''

Nelson named to All-America team

Gator junior free safety Reggie Nelson was named the Football Writers Association of America's 63rd All-America Team on Saturday. Nelson is the first Gator selected for the honor since 2001, when Alex Brown, Jabar Gaffney and Rex Grossman all were named to the team.

Nelson stands sixth among the Gators with 50 tackles. His six interceptions rank third in the SEC. He also has blocked two punts this season.

UF falls in volleyball

The Gators won a national title in basketball this year, will play for another one in football next month, but hopes for a title in volleyball were dashed Friday night in Gainesville.

No. 8 seed Minnesota beat Florida 3-1 (23-30, 30-25, 21-30, 26-20) at the O'Connell Center. The Gophers (26-7) advanced to the region final at 4 p.m. today and faces No. 1 seed Nebraska, which beat San Diego.

Florida (30-3) lost at home in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1995. The team reached 30 wins for the 12th time in 16 seasons under coach Mary Wise.

Stiff-armed by the Heisman

Who will win the Heisman Trophy tonight? Probably Ohio State's Troy Smith, who will lead the Buckeyes against the Gators in the BCS title game next month.

Danny Wuerffel was the last Gator to win the Heisman, taking home the trophy in 1996 after a fantastic season in which he finished with a QB rating of 170.6. That Florida team averaged 46 points a game and won the national title after beating Florida State in the Sugar Bowl.

One other Gator who certainly deserved to be a Heisman finalist in the years since '96? That'd be Rex Grossman in 2001. The bottom line is that Grossman lost because he was a sophomore and the winner, QB Eric Couch of Nebraska, was a senior. Grossman threw for more than 300 yards in every game but one -- when he threw for 290.

Harvin named SEC freshman of the year

Coaches named Florida freshman receiver Percy Harvin the SEC freshman of the year, the sixth Gator to earn the honor, a league best. Harvin has 25 receptions for 367 yards and two touchdowns; he also has 406 rushing yards on 36 carries (an 11.3 average). His 773 yards of total offense on 61 touches is an average of 12.7 yards per touch, No. 1 in the nation among freshmen.

Arkansas RB Darren McFadden -- a Heisman finalist -- was named offensive player of the year, and the Razorbacks' Houston Nutt was named coach of the year. Tennessee offensive tackle Arron Sears was named the best blocker.

Getting their act together

Credit former Florida assistant Anthony Grant with lighting a fire under the Gators before their game Wednesday night against Providence.

Grant, now the head coach at Virginia Commonwealth, watched the UF loss to FSU on TV on Sunday and wasn't happy with the team's lack of energy, intensity and focus. So he telephoned UF forward Al Horford and let him have it.

"He called me and he said he didn't like the way that me, Jo (Joakim Noah) and Chris (Richard) looked out there," Horford said. "He really got after me."

Message received. Horford was 8-of-13 from the field and had a team and career-high 21 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Gators over Providence 85-67 on Wednesday night.

-- Antonya English, Times staff

[AP photo]

Hail, hail to Michigan

Gotta love the passion of college football fans -- even when its directed against your team. Here's a letter sent to the Times in reaction to our recent coverage of the BCS title game:

"As a Michigan fan, I resent the articles your sports writer (Tom Jones) has been writing about the team and coach Lloyd Carr. You had Carr as the biggest whiner when all along you were whining when you wrote the article. Michigan did deserve a rematch with Ohio State, and your paper can write all it wants about Michigan, but I am sure Michigan would have beaten Ohio State in a rematch. I will never understand why the coaches voted against such a great team. They surely don't deserve to be dropped to No. 3."

"Let's see who wins the title. I am going to root for Ohio State and look forward to the Rose Bowl with Michigan and USC and will not whine if Michigan loses. That's a good sport. I am not a youngster but a female who is 72 years old. Love that Michigan team. ... Go Blue!"

The waiting is the hardest part

Why, exactly, do we have to wait a month for the BCS national title game?

Think about it. How rusty will Ohio State and Florida be when the game finally arrives?

The problem isn't college football season ends too late. It's that it starts too early. This season started Aug. 31. The Gators played five games by the end of September.

Our idea? Move the season back two weeks and play the national title game no later than Jan. 2.

-- Tom Jones, Times staff writer

What the press is saying

Suffice to say, the sporting press in Michigan is less than happy with their team being left out of the BCS title game. Here's a sampling of their recent comments.

"Michigan fell in the rankings two straight weeks without playing a game, so let's cut through the garbage and admit what this was about. This was about too many people - especially voting coaches - getting squeamish about a rematch, figuring the Wolverines already had their shot at the Buckeyes. I'm sorry, but that's ridiculous rationale for installing Florida, and if there's a major injustice here, that's it." -- Bob Wojnowski, Detroit News

"Did Michigan get jobbed? Sure it did. There is no way, in a logical world, that a big-time, second-ranked team, whose only loss is by three points to the top-ranked team, should fall behind anyone with at least one defeat in a poll. Anyone. Southern Cal. Florida. Anyone." --
Mitch Albom, Detroit Free-Press

Our two cents

Does Michigan deserve to go to the BCS title game? Sure it does. It's just that Florida deserves it more. Fans of the Wolverines argue that their team had one loss and that loss was by a mere three points on the road to the No. 1 team in the country. It's a valid point. The problem is, Michigan fans have based their argument on that one game. Florida's case is based on the entire season.

Add it up any way you want: record against teams ranked in the Top 25; record against teams which are bowl-eligible; where the teams finished in their conference. However you add it up, Florida comes out on top. Bitter Michigan fans are blaming all this on voters who didn't want to see a rematch. And, they claim, it's a travesty that Michigan was jumped in the polls when it didn't even play. Maybe the real wrong was that Michigan was ahead of Florida in the first place. You can go back and forth, around and around, but here's what closes the case:

You have two teams each with one loss, so which team traveled the toughest road? The answer is Florida, which played the toughest schedule in the country. Knowing that, how can anyone argue the Gators aren't the most deserving team in the country to play Ohio State?

-- Tom Jones, Times staff writer

Thumbs up: To Boise State coach Chris Petersen, who did the right thing and voted his team eighth in the college football poll even though it is undefeated. He didn't overrate his team as Rutgers' Greg Schiano did in voting his Scarlet Knights 10th, higher than any other coach. Rutgers is 17th in the coaches poll.

Thumbs down: Sunday's BCS Selection Show on Fox. For a dramatic announcement, there was hardly any drama at all. Fox tried for the slow buildup, but it waited so long that when the announcement came that Florida had been picked, it was anti-climactic. It didn't help that analyst Barry Alvarez seemed almost bored to be there.

[Photos: Getty Images; click to enlarge]

How the BCS berth was won

Who voted for Florida? Who voted for Michigan? Here is a list of the 62 voters (Ohio State's Jim Tressel abstained) and their vote in the USA Today coaches poll.

COACHES VOTING FOR FLORIDA:

• Chuck Amato, North Carolina State
• Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech
• Jack Bicknell III, Lousiana Tech
• Bobby Bowden, Florida State
• Tommy Bowden, Clemson
• Jeff Bower, Southern Miss
• Gregg Brandon, Bowling Green
• Art Briles, Houston
• Watson Brown, Alabama-Birmingham
• John Bunting, North Carolina
• Bill Callahan, Nebraska
• Larry Coker, Miami
• Sylvester Croom, Mississippi State
• Darryl Dickey, North Texas
• Bill Doba, Washington State
• Dennis Franchione, Texas A&M
• Phillip Fulmer, Tennessee
• Walt Harris, Stanford
• Dan Hawkins, Colorado
• Pat Hill, Fresno State
• Steve Kragthorpe, Tulsa
• Rocky Long, New Mexico
• Sonny Lubick, Colorado State
• Dan McCarney, Iowa State
• Les Miles, LSU
• Shane Montgomery, Miami-Ohio
• Houston Nutt, Arkansas
• Tom O'Brien, Boston College
• Chris Petersen, Boise State
• Bobby Petrino, Louisville
• Mark Richt, Georgia
• Rich Rodriguez, West Virginia
• Bobby Ross, Army
• Howard  Schnellenberger, Florida Atlantic
• Mark Snyder, Marshall
• Frank Solich, Ohio
• Steve Spurrier, South Carolina
• Rick Stockstill, Middle Tennessee
• Bob Stoops, Oklahoma
• Jeff Tedford, California
• Dick Tomey, San Jose State
• Tommy Tuberville, Auburn
• Tyrone Willingham, Washington
• Ron Zook, Illinois

COACHES WHO VOTED FOR MICHIGAN:

• Mike Bellotti, Oregon
• Larry Blakeney, Troy
• Mack Brown, Texas
• Lloyd Carr, Michigan
• Randy Edsall, Connecticut
• Joe Glenn, Wyoming
• Terry Hoeppner, Indiana
• Brady Hoke, Ball State
• Brian Kelly, Central Michigan
• Mike Leach, Texas Tech
• Joe Novak, Northern Illinois
• George O'Leary, Central Florida
• Gary Patterson, Texas Christian
• Mike Riley, Oregon State
• Greg Schiano, Rutgers
• John L. Smith, Michgan State
• Joe Tiller, Purdue
• Charlie Weis, Notre Dame

Celebrate their SEC title

Looking for more ways to celebrate the Gators' big win in SEC Championship and jump into the BCS title game? Here are some cool links then:

PC Wallpaper: Gator players holding SEC Trophy

PC Wallpaper: Celebrating in Atlanta

More photos from the game for sale: Click here

Page reproductions from the St. Pete Times: Click here