Where's The Hardware? '01 Florida Gators

Disclaimer: This list and subsequent blog posts were formed to create conversation between SEC fans about teams that were very close to having championship seasons. Looking at the teams listed and thinking about the teams that were left off further proves the depth of the SEC and the focus needed to win week in and week out. Teams were chosen and ranked based on significant wins/losses, star power and old school opinion (because we're opinionated SEC fans).

BNE's best teams to not win the SEC (post-1992): #10
2001 Florida Gators

AP Preseason #1

Record: 10-2 (6-2)
Final AP Ranking: #3
Final Coaches Ranking: #3

Losses:
@ Auburn 23-20 (UF ranked #1)
#4 Tennessee 34-32 (UF ranked #2)
- game postponed to Dec. 1 due to 9/11

Wins vs. Ranked Opponents:
@ #18 LSU 44-15 (eventual SEC Champion)
#15 Georgia 24-10
@ #14 South Carolina 54-17
#21 Florida State 37-13
Orange Bowl: #6 Maryland 56-23 (ACC Champion)

Star power: QB Rex Grossman, WR Jabar Gaffney, WR Reche Caldwell, WR Taylor Jacobs, RB Earnest Graham, DE Alex Brown, LB Mike Nattiel, LB Andra Davis, CB Lito Sheppard, S Marquand Manuel

Why in Top 10?
The preseason #1 ranked team and defending SEC Champion was less than a touchdown away from keeping a #1 or #2 ranking all season.

Bubba says: The two premier teams of 2001 were Miami and Florida. It was clear early in the season that those two squads were dynamic and potentially dominant. Florida ended up with two losses, in my mind, because of situations surrounding the two games they lost. The Auburn game was after a hurricane and the Tennessee game was rescheduled because of September 11th. Both teams caught the Gators in the perfect spot, took advantage of the situation and I will forever have an image of Travis Stephens running down the Swamp sideline for over 200 yards. The biggest knock I have on these two losses was that neither Auburn nor Tennessee won the conference. However, a 29-point win over the eventual SEC Champions is something to be impressed with. From a talent standpoint, this could have been one of the all time great SEC teams. The bounces didn't go they way of the Gators in 2001 and the Ole' Ball Coach bounced his way to the NFL.

Poor Alex Brown came back for his senior season and didn't get that National Title. What a pity.


Duval's three field goals in winds left over from a hurricane that beat Florida. Remember when Duval got into a shoving match with the LSU band? What a douche.

Earl says: This team ultimately played three close games and lost two of them. The Georgia game was 17-10 for what seemed like forever as Georgia squandered possession after possession in the second half and Florida finally tacked on the final score. This 2001 Gator team, however, absolutely dominated some quality opponents. Winning by 29 points in Death Valley is nothing to sneeze at. With everything on the line, though, the '01 version of Florida lost at home to the highest ranked team it played all season (#4 UT).

As for the Auburn loss, when doesn't Auburn beat Florida? Really. The Tigers rotating off Florida's schedule is always a Godsend for the Gators. The sin of this particular loss to the Tigers/Plainsmen/War Eagles is that Damon Duval made three field goals in winds due to an earlier hurricane, including the game winning 44 yarder with 10 seconds left, as Rexy taunted the Auburn fans. Of course, Damon Duval was a household name in the SEC, only not for his kicking sometimes.

And what happens to a preseason #1 team when it loses two games? Spurrier's career at Florida ends playing Maryland, that's what. Seriously!?! Maryland!?! At least it would've been poetic if somehow Duke would've risen up in that weak sister conference and the Gators could've played the Blue Devils in Spurrier's final game. Now that would've deserved a top 25 vote from SOS...or from SOS's sports information director...

Next installment: #9 - 1997 Florida Gators (10-2)

Spurrier: Teacher; Kiffin: Student

As many of you follow SEC football religiously, you've probably read about or even heard the audio from SOS dressing down Junior yesterday while waiting for an elevator at the SEC meetings in Destin. While the situation is truly funny and Spurrier taught Junior a lesson in just how to talk trash in the SEC, I'm glad our coach isn't involved in any of this. It just serves as another example of just how lucky we are to have Mark Richt as our head coach. Of course, if every coach in the SEC were like Richt, these meetings would be very boring...and the SEC meetings are usually far from boring.

"Mark, I just told him to go to his room and wait until I called for him."

God bless Georgia, God bless Coach Richt, and God bless the other SEC coaches being very entertaining.

We're close to 100 days left...

A Quarterback’s Worst Nightmare

It’s Carolina Week 2008 which means it is time for our annual match up with the Ole’ Ball Coach himself. Spurrier announced that he plans to play both Chris Smelley and Tommy Beecher against the Dawgs this week. At South Carolina, Spurrier has not found the superstar quarterbacks that he had while he was at Florida. Spurrier’s record for developing quarterbacks was impressive at Florida, but was the stats those guys put up more a result of Spurrier’s system and less a result of their talent and development? Here is a look at Spurrier’s former quarterbacks and their success, or lack there of, after leaving the Evil Genius’s control.

Shane Matthews

Matthews played quarterback for Spurrier during the his early years at Florida. Matthews had a fine collegiate career, setting a number of Florida passing records and finishing as high as 5th in the Heisman voting (1991). Matthews was drafted by the Chicago Bears in 1993, however did not even see the playing field until 1996. After spending a few years with the Jaguars, Matthews returned to Chicago and finally got a chance to start some games (with moderate success) however returned to his backup role the next season. Matthews was given one final chance to be a starter again in 2002 by none other than Steve Spurrier (with the Redskins). He started 7 games, but the magic that existed between them at Florida never cam back at the pro level.

Good job! You didn't throw a pick this time.

Danny Wuerffel

The middle man in the group that now includes three Florida quarterbacks who have won the Heisman (Spurrier and Tebow are the others), Danny Wuerffel put up huge stats in leading the Gators to the National Championship in 1996. He was drafted by the New Orleans Saints as their next great quarterback, however Wuerffel never found much success. Like Matthews, he joined the Redskins when Spurrier took over in 2002 but also failed to rekindle the old Gator magic.


Bates does a great Spurrier and makes Wuerffel seem like a pansy...a good Christian pansy.

Doug Johnson

Johnson played under Spurrier during the close of the 90’s and moved onto the Atlanta Falcons. In 2003, Johnson got a chance to start for the Falcons when Vick “The Dogfighter” got hurt and missed most of the season. Johnson proved to be an ineffective pro passer, finishing the season with a paltry 67 QB rating. He would only play 4 games the rest of his career and retired in 2006.

Jesse Palmer

Palmer lost his starting job senior year to Rex Grossman and never got to be a starter at the NFL level. He spent a few years as a backup with the Giants before he found a new hobby: Reality TV. Palmer appeared on ABC’s the Bachelor and after ending his NFL career, went back to the Mouse and got a job with ESPN.

What a douche.

Rex Grossman

Arguably Spurrier’s most successful NFL product, Grossman has been the on again off again starter for the Bears for the last few seasons. The Bears reached the Super Bowl after the 2006 season, but were crushed by Tennessee’s own Peyton Manning. People have been known to say that the Bears made the Super Bowl despite Grossman’s play, rather than because of it. He lost his starting job again this preseason and is currently riding the pine behind Kyle Orton.

“I couldn’t beat you in college Spurrier, but I sure had the last laugh!”

In conclusion, Spurrier’s quarterbacks put up great stats in college, but none of them really caught on at the next level. With the announcement this week that Alex Smith is out for the season and also appears to be a major NFL bust, current Florida coach Urban Meyer is not off to a good start. Tebow, maybe you should hope that you don’t turn out like the Ole Ball Coach’s protégés, or you might be sitting there next to Jesse Palmer before your thirtieth birthday.