Tag: Steve Spurrier

Dooley’s Dozen: 12 best offenses in Florida football history

Here are Florida football’s 12 best offenses of all time, according to Pat Dooley.

There was a time when you won with defense.

Especially in this conference.

And then a guy named [autotag]Steve Spurrier[/autotag] came along and changed everything. Stubborn coaches eventually gave in and started throwing the ball all over the place.

Today, it is pretty clear how you win games.

With everything.

Analysts, nutritionists, bells, whistles, portal experts, NIL experts and even some guys who coach the players.

The players are still the key, of course, and you had better have them on both sides of the ball.

This is a long-winded way of getting you our next Dooley’s Dozen, the 12 best offenses in Florida history.

Totally subjective and we only include the modern era again which is 1962 Auburn and beyond (because that was my first game).

Dooley’s Dozen: 12 best receiver rooms in Florida football history

Florida has long been known as a school that likes to air it out, as demonstrated by Pat Dooley’s latest list.

It has been a while since Florida could brag about being DBU. That happens when you have a three-year run of historically bad defenses.

But this was also known as Wide Receiver University for a long stretch, especially when [autotag]Steve Spurrier[/autotag] was the coach.

Much of it was because Florida had great quarterbacks during those years including three Heisman Trophy winners. But you have to have multiple receivers who can make plays to build up gaudy statistics.

For the Dooley’s Dozen today we look at the 12 best receiving rooms in Florida history. Of course, the game has changed with the passing game becoming such a prominent part of the offenses since Spurrier came here as a quarterback, so all of the best rooms were here in the last six decades.

Florida football to play first-ever season-opening Thursday game at Utah

A date for Florida football’s season opener against Utah has finally been set!

The official date for Florida football’s 2023 season-opener was finally announced on Tuesday. The Gators will travel to face the Utah Utes on August 31 in Salt Lake City to complete the home-and-home series in which the Orange and Blue came away with an upset victory in Gainesville last year, 29-26.

The last time Florida played a football game on a Thursday was 31 years ago when [autotag]Steve Spurrier[/autotag]’s No. 13-ranked Gators traveled to Starkville, Mississippi, on Oct. 1, 1992, to take on the then-No. 24-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs. Unfortunately, UF took the loss in that one getting steamrolled by MSU, 30-6, giving the visitors its second of four losses during that campaign.

Most recently, the Gators began playing their annual Orange and Blue game on Thursdays to better accommodate high school recruits. This spring will be the second year that the program plays earlier in the week and comes just five months before the newly-minted Thursday game to open the regular season.

Last season, Florida moved its game against the Florida State Seminoles back a day to Friday in an attempt to capitalize on the Thanksgiving holiday viewership.

The decision to set an unorthodox date to open the schedule was heavily influenced by the Pac-12 Network as well as the Gators’ travel schedule. [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag]’s team opens up its home schedule on Sept. 9 against the McNeese State Cowboys which should allow enough time to avoid the delays that Utah experienced last year.

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The 10 biggest ‘What ifs’ in SEC history

What if Nick Saban stayed at LSU? What if Tim Tebow went to Alabama? Here are some of the biggest “what ifs” in SEC history.

Despite the success LSU had under [autotag]Les Miles[/autotag] and [autotag]Ed Orgeron[/autotag] (both won national titles at LSU), there’s always been a lingering question among LSU fans.

What if Nick Saban never left LSU?

Saban leaving Baton Rouge for the Dolphins, only to head back to the SEC West, is a move that has defined this era of the sport.

The college football landscape is vast and wide. One move, big or small, can cause a massive butterfly effect. Here, we’ll be looking at some of the decisions and results that have shaped our current era of college football, and what may have happened if things played out differently.

Steve Spurrier comments on Florida’s 2023 quarterback situation

Spurrier commented on the Florida Gators’ QB room heading into 2023.

If there’s one person whose opinion on the Florida Gators quarterback situation holds weight, it’s Steve Spurrier’s.

On a recent episode of The Tailgate, the Head Ball Coach brought up a conversation he had with Shane Matthews, one of Spurrier’s former quarterbacks when he coached the Orange and Blue back in the 1990s. In that conversation, Matthews asked the HBC what he thought of the Gators’ quarterbacks room. His response was one only the most important figure in Florida football history could give.

Here is what the HBC said about the Gators’ current quarterbacks room.

“I was talking to Shane and he said, ‘I’m not sure we have a great quarterback right now,’”

“I said, Shane, they told me that when I took the Florida job back in ’90. You gotta find somebody and coach the heck out of him.”

To provide some context, the Florida quarterbacks room could be confused for a carousel over the last few months. 2022 starter Anthony Richardson will not be returning after declaring for the 2023 NFL draft. [autotag]Jalen Kitna[/autotag] was arrested and dismissed from the team. That left former Ohio State quarterback [autotag]Jack Miller III[/autotag] to take the field for the Gators’ 30-3 Las Vegas Bowl loss to Oregon State.

[autotag]Jaden Rashada[/autotag], a five-star quarterback prospect from California, signed his letter of intent in December and was expected to arrive on campus after playing in the All-American Bowl in Orlando. After he did not arrive on campus, a national saga played out with a reported $13 million name, image, and likeness deal that fell through at the center. He was released from his letter of intent in January and has since enrolled at Arizona State.

Add in Wisconsin transfer [autotag]Graham Mertz[/autotag], and the Gators went from a quarterbacks room with a projected first-rounder and five-star prospect, to two former transfers and [autotag]Max Brown[/autotag], a former three-star prospect, as the only scholarship quarterbacks on the roster.

It seems like the Heisman Trophy winner and national championship-winning head coach is a believer in developing the talent you have on the roster. While head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] is expected to add another quarterback to the roster via the transfer portal, Spurrier may get his wish for 2023.

Whoever is brought in from the portal, the 2023 starting job is expected to come down to Mertz and Miller, two players who will have all spring to earn the job.

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This Gator holds one of the most embarrassing college football records

John Reaves’ nine INTs against Auburn in 1969 is very unlikely to be replicated ever.

The Florida Gators have seen some lofty highs over the course of their football program’s history but have also seen some valleys, from their peak seasons that saw two national championships in three years to their 0-10-1 season back in 1979. Overall, with a resume that includes three Heisman Trophy winners things have been better than they have worse.

However, one of the most embarrassing moments in school history came back in 1969, when quarterback [autotag]John Reaves[/autotag] — the heir to the starting job under center after the legendary [autotag]Steve Spurrier[/autotag] — through an unheard-of nine interceptions in a road matchup against the Auburn Tigers. The Orange and Blue came into the game ranked No. 7 while the Tigers sat at No. 17, and Ray Graves’ team lost their only game of the season, 38-12.

Those nine picks in that game were enough to make College Sports Wire’s top five individual records unlikely to be broken in college football, coming in at No. 5. Here is what author Patrick Conn had to offer on the ignominious distinction.

Hearing that a quarterback threw nine interceptions in a single game is almost unheard of. This would be the one record on our list that you wouldn’t want any part of. At some point, a head coach would either stick to running the football or put in the backup. However, in 1969 Florida stuck with quarterback John Reaves as he threw nine picks in a single game, it would have been 10 if a penalty didn’t negate it. It helped No. 17 Auburn upset No. 7 Florida on this day, 38-12.

Florida finished the season 9-1-1 after beating the Tennessee Volunteers in the Gator Bowl, 14-13.

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Two Florida football rivalry games among the best in college sports

What makes college sports different than the professional level is a particular type of emotion that comes along with being an amateur fanatic. The connection between an individual and the school of their choice can be driven by a myriad of forces; …

What makes college sports different than the professional level is a particular type of emotion that comes along with being an amateur fanatic. The connection between an individual and the school of their choice can be driven by a myriad of forces; whether they matriculated at the institution or are a bandwagon fan, the joy of victory and the sting of defeat still resonates the same.

One of the things that the University of Florida prides itself on is the strength of its fanbase, the Gator Nation, a collection of people from across the globe who share a love of the Orange and Blue. But that collective consciousness did not arise spontaneously from the ether, but rather, over decades of grinding out yearly schedules. Most important were the rivalry matches, which often came against other highly-regarded institutions that helped elevate the university’s image to a higher level.

College Sports Wire’s Patrick Conn published his list of the top college sports rivalries games and Florida had two of its annual matchups selected. First up is the in-state feud between the Gators and the Florida State Seminoles, which came in sixth on the list. Here is what Conn had to offer on one of the best rivalries games in college football — even during down seasons.

Why The Ranking?

The Florida Gators and the Florida State Seminoles might not play in the same conference, but these two teams face off every season. There isn’t a more bitter rivalry in the Sunshine State than this game, and I would argue it is the best rivalry for the Gators and Seminoles. Even the former Head Ball Coach would get into the act of this hatred between the two Florida teams.

“You know what FSU stands for, don’t you? Free Shoes University.” – [autotag]Steve Spurrier[/autotag], Former Florida head coach

This rivalry really blossomed during the 1990s with Steve Spurrier facing off with Bobby Bowden. Some of the best matchups featured the “Choke at the Doak” in which Florida held a 31-3 lead but ended in a 31-31 tie. The Seminoles won the rematch in the Sugar Bowl. In the 1996 season finale, the Noles would knock off the Gators in Gainesville, 24-21. In the rematch, Florida throttled their rivals 52-20 in the Sugar Bowl to secure the national championship.

Florida holds the overall edge, 37-27-2. The first matchup came in 1958 when the Gators won 21-7 in the Swamp.

Next up is the inevitable cross-border battle between Florida and Georgia — a rivalry so heated it has to be played on a neutral field in Jacksonville. Conn had some choice words about his selection for the eighth-best rivalry in college sports.

Why The Ranking?

We have another border war with the Florida Gators and Georgia Bulldogs’ annual dust-up in Jacksonville, Florida.

Once again, this rivalry spilled out to the coaching staff and the HBC Steve Spurrier has yet another epic quote.

“I sort of always like playing [Georgia] that second game because you could always count on them having two or three key players suspended.”

This series became very one-sided from 1990-2010 where the Gators won every matchup with the exception of three games. Since the Dawgs’ rise to prominence, these two schools have traded blows. Since 2015, the winner of this game has gone on to represent the East in the SEC title game.

Some of the memorable moments include ‘Fourth and Dumb’, ‘Herschel over the Top’, ‘The Gators upset No. 4 Bulldogs’, and ‘The Gator Stomp.’ The series dates back to 1915 when Georgia won 37-0 in Jacksonville. The Bulldogs own the all-time series edge 54-44-2.

Billy Napier and the Gators are slated to face Georgia in Jacksonville on Oct. 28 and the Seminoles in Gainesville on Nov. 25 next season. Kickoff times and broadcast information have not yet been announced.

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Do you know who Florida’s highest-rated recruit of the last decade is?

This former Gator was the second-highest-ranked prep prospect overall in the 2015 recruiting cycle.

Once upon a time, the University of Florida was a premiere destination for the top prep talent in the nation. Unfortunately, those days are now in the distant past but first-year head coach [autotag]Billy Napier[/autotag] is hell-bent on getting the Gators back to that promised land.

The peaks of the program came under [autotag]Steve Spurrier[/autotag] and [autotag]Urban Meyer[/autotag], with [autotag]Ron Zook[/autotag] connecting the two tenures with some solid recruiting of his own. But after the drama that surrounded Meyer’s final year in Gainesville, Florida fans were dealt a string of letdowns that led to a difficult decade in the Swamp.

However, in the recruiting class split between the outgoing [autotag]Will Muschamp[/autotag] and the incoming [autotag]Jim McElwain[/autotag], the Orange and Blue landed one of the crown jewels of the 2015 cycle — five-star offensive tackle [autotag]Martez Ivey[/autotag], who was the No. 2 overall prospect in his class and the top-rated player over the past decade for Florida. Here is what 247Sports’ writer Cameron Salerno offered on the former standout, who held a .9991 grade.

Coming out of Apopka (Florida) High School, Ivey was ranked as the No. 2 overall prospect in the 2015 recruiting cycle by 247Sports. The player that was ranked ahead of Ivey was Trenton Thompson, who signed with SEC rival Georgia. After going undrafted during the 2019 NFL draft, Ivey signed with the New England Patriots as an undrafted free agent. He currently plays for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League.

Ivey was one of many disappointments to come out of Florida during the middle of the decade and his failure to follow through on his immense talent undoubtedly took its toll on McElwain’s efforts. It just goes to show that nothing is ever certain when it comes to sports recruiting.

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Gators legend Steve Spurrier being honored with street naming

Legendary Gators quarterback and coach Steve Spurrier is getting a street named after him outside of his restaurant in February.

Florida legend [autotag]Steve Spurrier[/autotag] is getting a street named after him on Feb. 10, according to the Alachua Chronicle.

A ceremony will take place to unveil Steve Spurrier Way at the Head Ball Coach’s restaurant, Spurrier’s Gridiron Grille. The event is scheduled to take place from 5:30 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. EST at the Celebration Pointe Promenade. The Grille released a press statement through the Chronicle to announce the news on Jan. 17.

“Steve Spurrier Way will run through the heart of Celebration Pointe, just as the legend himself runs through the heart of Gator Nation,” according to the release. “On hand to celebrate the street unveiling will be local and state dignitaries, as well as many Gator legends, including Coach Spurrier. The event is open to the public.”

Spurrier’s presence in Florida has been undeniable for nearly six decades. He won the Heisman Trophy as the Gators’ quarterback in 1966 and returned to the Swamp to begin his coaching career 12 years later after a decade in the NFL. His 11-year run as Florida’s head coach began in 1990 and ended in 2001 after a national championship, six SEC championships, five SEC Coach of the Year Awards and the program’s second Heisman Trophy winner.

After coaching South Carolina to historic success (and a stint with the Orlando Apollos before the Alliance of American Football went under), Spurrier returned to Gainesville to create his restaurant in 2020. It has since become one of the most successful restaurants in the country. His success

“This is a great honor and I want to thank the Florida Gators, Celebration Pointe, and my team at Spurrier’s Gridiron Grille for making it happen,” Spurrier said. “Only the best coaches, like Don Shula, Bobby Bowden, and Coach Fulmer in Tennessee, usually get this honor, and I’m glad to join them.”

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Comparing Billy Napier to Florida’s other first year head coaches throughout history

Here’s a laundry list of every Florida football head coach’s first season dating all the way back to Jack Forsythe in 1906.

Billy Napier’s first season at the helm of the Florida Gators football program was not quite as successful on the field as most had hoped, but keeping in mind both the turnover of talent as well as what remained after the departure of [autotag]Dan Mullen[/autotag], the first-year head coach dealt with some significant challenges on the sidelines last fall.

Over the course of history, the debut campaign for new head coaches has been a bit of a crap shoot, with some like [autotag]Steve Spurrier[/autotag] getting off to strong starts to their tenure while others like [autotag]Charlie Pell[/autotag] starting off at rock-bottom. Much of their successes — or lack thereof — were dependent upon the strength of the roster left by the previous staff but there are also other variables in play as well.

Below is a look at every single first-year head coach of Florida’s football program dating back to Jack Forsythe, who kicked things off in Gainesville way back in 1906. This list should give the reader a good data set with which to compare the Gators’ current skipper to those of the past.