Post by Mojave Gator on Nov 22, 2022 20:14:29 GMT -5
There's the Choke at Doak, 1994. First, the setup. Earlier that year, multiple Florida State football players went on a shopping spree at Foot Locker, paid for by an agent in violation of NCAA rules, leading to one of the all-time great quips from Florida coach Steve Spurrier.
"You know what FSU stands for, don't you? Free Shoes University," Spurrier said. Needless to say, those connected to Florida State were not amused.
Then, the game. Florida held a 31-3 lead after three quarters. Easy going from there, right? Not so fast. Florida State stormed back to tie the game at 31, leading to one of the greatest nicknames ever given to a game anywhere. Period. After the game, late Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said, "It is a pretty dang good win ... I mean tie."
In 1996, Florida State handed the Gators their first loss of the season, and Spurrier accused Bowden and his players of taking "cheap shots" and trying to injure quarterback Danny Wuerffel. Bowden said his team would "hit until the echo of the whistle." The teams played a rematch in the 1997 Sugar Bowl for the national championship, where the Gators stomped the Noles 52-20.
But there was more to come. In 1997, Florida used a two-quarterback system to shock No. 1 Florida State to ruin the Seminoles' undefeated season and national championship hopes. In 1998, there was a pregame brawl in which Florida quarterback Doug Johnson nearly hit Bowden in the head with a football (Johnson later apologized and said he was not aiming at Bowden). Star safety Tony George was ejected for throwing a helmet after two walk-ons taunted him.
In 2001, Spurrier and running back Earnest Graham accused Darnell Dockett of intentionally injuring Graham. The following year, Mo Mitchell admitted to chop blocking a Florida State player, injuring his knee. Dockett believed it was retaliation for the previous year. Then in 2003, Florida State players celebrated a win in Gainesville by jumping up and down on the Florida logo at midfield, leading to a brawl.
While the animosity between the schools reached its greatest heights in the Bowden-Spurrier years, the bad blood extends to 1947, when Florida State went from being an all-girls school to co-ed and shortly thereafter decided to play collegiate athletics. As the flagship public university in the state, Florida was less than thrilled and refused to play Florida State. The animosity grew so heated Florida governor LeRoy Collins had to broker a deal to get the schools to begin playing each other. Their first game was in 1958, and they have played every year since except 2020 (due to the pandemic).
"There was an overriding feeling of disrespect from the Gator program and fan base as looking down on Florida State's program through the years," said Mark Richt, who was Florida State offensive coordinator for 14 years under Bowden, and is a Miami graduate and former Georgia head coach. "From my personal experience, being at Florida State, Miami and Georgia, it was hard to find any love for the Gators."
"I think there is a big brother-little brother dynamic that exists in the state," former Florida receiver Chris Doering said. "It's kind of like a mini Alabama-Auburn vibe. Even though FSU has grown to an equal in college football, that dynamic has been passed along from the older generations to the next. FSU focuses on UF because they don't really have any other true rivals. We have rivalries with UGA, [Tennessee] and LSU that are at least as important to us as the FSU game is. The difference is that there is an underlying respect that exists for those SEC rivals. We don't respect our little brother a bit. It's just complete disdain."
"From my experience, there's a level of healthy bad blood," former Florida State quarterback E.J. Manuel said. "Being an implant from Virginia, I didn't feel the weight of the rivalry until I played in the game. Simply put, [there were] in-state bragging rights that would be remembered for a lifetime." -- Andrea Adelson
Building the perfect college football rivalry
"You know what FSU stands for, don't you? Free Shoes University," Spurrier said. Needless to say, those connected to Florida State were not amused.
Then, the game. Florida held a 31-3 lead after three quarters. Easy going from there, right? Not so fast. Florida State stormed back to tie the game at 31, leading to one of the greatest nicknames ever given to a game anywhere. Period. After the game, late Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said, "It is a pretty dang good win ... I mean tie."
In 1996, Florida State handed the Gators their first loss of the season, and Spurrier accused Bowden and his players of taking "cheap shots" and trying to injure quarterback Danny Wuerffel. Bowden said his team would "hit until the echo of the whistle." The teams played a rematch in the 1997 Sugar Bowl for the national championship, where the Gators stomped the Noles 52-20.
But there was more to come. In 1997, Florida used a two-quarterback system to shock No. 1 Florida State to ruin the Seminoles' undefeated season and national championship hopes. In 1998, there was a pregame brawl in which Florida quarterback Doug Johnson nearly hit Bowden in the head with a football (Johnson later apologized and said he was not aiming at Bowden). Star safety Tony George was ejected for throwing a helmet after two walk-ons taunted him.
In 2001, Spurrier and running back Earnest Graham accused Darnell Dockett of intentionally injuring Graham. The following year, Mo Mitchell admitted to chop blocking a Florida State player, injuring his knee. Dockett believed it was retaliation for the previous year. Then in 2003, Florida State players celebrated a win in Gainesville by jumping up and down on the Florida logo at midfield, leading to a brawl.
While the animosity between the schools reached its greatest heights in the Bowden-Spurrier years, the bad blood extends to 1947, when Florida State went from being an all-girls school to co-ed and shortly thereafter decided to play collegiate athletics. As the flagship public university in the state, Florida was less than thrilled and refused to play Florida State. The animosity grew so heated Florida governor LeRoy Collins had to broker a deal to get the schools to begin playing each other. Their first game was in 1958, and they have played every year since except 2020 (due to the pandemic).
"There was an overriding feeling of disrespect from the Gator program and fan base as looking down on Florida State's program through the years," said Mark Richt, who was Florida State offensive coordinator for 14 years under Bowden, and is a Miami graduate and former Georgia head coach. "From my personal experience, being at Florida State, Miami and Georgia, it was hard to find any love for the Gators."
"I think there is a big brother-little brother dynamic that exists in the state," former Florida receiver Chris Doering said. "It's kind of like a mini Alabama-Auburn vibe. Even though FSU has grown to an equal in college football, that dynamic has been passed along from the older generations to the next. FSU focuses on UF because they don't really have any other true rivals. We have rivalries with UGA, [Tennessee] and LSU that are at least as important to us as the FSU game is. The difference is that there is an underlying respect that exists for those SEC rivals. We don't respect our little brother a bit. It's just complete disdain."
"From my experience, there's a level of healthy bad blood," former Florida State quarterback E.J. Manuel said. "Being an implant from Virginia, I didn't feel the weight of the rivalry until I played in the game. Simply put, [there were] in-state bragging rights that would be remembered for a lifetime." -- Andrea Adelson
Building the perfect college football rivalry
