Which college football team was the most influential ever in the prestigious sport? That is a question ESPN’s Bill Connelly attempted to answer in his recent ranking of the top 30 most influential teams in the history of the amateur gridiron.
Unsurprisingly, the Florida Gators made the list. Maybe somewhat surprising is that the program landed a top-10 team in the rankings, but most Orange and Blue fans probably did not expect which team got the call.
According to Connelly, the 1993 squad led by [autotag]Steve Spurrier[/autotag] was the one to make the cut at No. 9 thanks to the Head Ball Coach’s innovative approach that led to an explosion of offense from the mid-1990s on all across the country. This new brand of football brought viewers in from every corner of the country and ushered in a golden era for the Southeastern Conference.
“Alabama ruled the SEC for most of the 1970s with otherworldly defense and a dynamic run game,” Connelly begins. “Georgia ruled from 1980 to 1982 with defense and Herschel Walker. Auburn won four of seven conference titles from 1983 to 1989 with defense and runners like Bo Jackson.
“Johnny Majors’ Tennessee won it in 1990 with a 1,200-yard rusher, a top-15 defense and, just for grins, two ties. Alabama won both the SEC and national titles in 1992 by allowing 8.2 points per game and doing only what it had to on offense.
“Florida won the SEC in 1991 with [autotag]Shane Matthews[/autotag] throwing for 3,130 yards. The Gators won again in 1993 with [autotag]Danny Wuerffel[/autotag] and [autotag]Terry Dean[/autotag] throwing for a combined 3,881 yards. One of the SEC’s best-ever QBs, Steve Spurrier, had Florida playing the way he wanted to play, not the way the SEC was accustomed to playing.
“He did it with more than a little sass, too. His 1993 Gators beat No. 5 Tennessee 41-34 thumped Alabama in the SEC championship game, then blew out unbeaten West Virginia in the Sugar Bowl to finish in the AP top five for the first of six times under the ol’ ball coach. There was a whole different way of winning in the SEC.”
Florida’s 2024 season opener
The two in-state rivals will meet on Aug. 31 in Gainesville, Florida. Kickoff time is slated for 3:30 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on ABC Sports.
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