247Sports released its top 10 list of the most hated teams in college football history, with the Steve Spurrier’s national championship-winning 1996 Gators team coming in at No. 5.
This is the Florida team that I grew up hearing about. The Fun-N-Gun was electric, so much so that [autotag]Danny Wuerffel[/autotag] became the first Florida Gator to win the Heisman since his head coach [autotag]Steve Spurrier[/autotag] did it back in 1966. The hatred came not because they won, but because of how they won. They talked trash, ran up the score, and were unapologetic about how they carried themselves.
They were a 90s football version of Michigan‘s Fab Five. Not in the sense of their cultural impact, but in the sense of “I’m going to play the game completely different than how you think it should be played and I’m going to destroy you doing it” type of way.
Here is what 247Sports’ Brad Crawford had to say about the ’96 Orange and Blue:
You could probably put one of Florida’s [autotag]Tim Tebow[/autotag]-led teams here too, but for the most part, the star quarterback was universally-well received. Prior to Tebow, Gainesville was Steve Spurrier’s city and the visor-wearing, slick-tongued ball coach left a lasting impression on the college football world. Sending verbal barbs to his opponents and running up the score with Heisman-winning quarterback Danny Wuerffel in the Fun-N-Gun was his specialty. He hated Georgia, hated Tennessee and the feeling was mutual. The Gators won the national championship that fall with a 12-1 campaign, beating five top 15 teams in the process. Later in his career, Spurrier seemed to get a pass after wise crack and became somewhat of a football Jesus to sports writers.
Let’s not forget, this was a decade in which Nebraska won three national championships (1994, 1995, 1997) running the single-wing offense. Meanwhile, the 1996 Gators were a disrupter and the catalyst for the offensive revolution we would see in the 21st century.
All thanks to the HBC.
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