Its a nice problem to have - sitting around arguing over who was better - Urban Meyer or SOS.
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Subject: [gatornews] [Examiner.com] Better decade of Gators football is
debatable
From: "[email protected]" <[email protected]>
Date: Fri, July 03, 2009 9:47 pm
To: [email protected]![]()
Better decade of Gators football is debatable
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It's been an incredible run for the Florida Gators since Steve Spurrier returned to his alma mater as head coach in 1990. No team in college football has posted more victories over the last 19 years. Florida is 189-51-1 during this period with three national titles and eight conference championships. With the 'noughts' decade (2000-09) set to conclude this season, the Gators will try to stay on top of the mountain heading into the next decade.While the 'noughts' decade could produce three national titles, if Urban Meyer and Tim Tebow can lead the Gators to a repeat BCS crown in 2009, the Gators of the nineties could still end up with a better resume.From 1990-99, Florida posted a record of 102-22-1. In SEC action, the Gators were an amazing 73-11. Under Spurrier during this period, the Gators won five Southeastern Conference championships and the 1996 national title. Almost a third (seven) of the 22 losses during the decade came at the hands of bitter rival Florida State.Over the last nine years (2000-08), the Gators are 87-29 with a 56-19 record in conference play. Florida has won three SEC titles, in addition to their pair of BCS championships, during this period. The Gators have gained a stranglehold over their rivals to the north in Tallahassee. Florida has won their last five meetings against the Seminoles.Florida's run is even more impressive when considering the competition to the north (Florida State) and south (Miami-FL) in their very own Sunshine State. For 14 consecutive years (1987-2000), the Seminoles finished in the Top 5 in the final AP poll. Florida State lost a total of just 19 games over this 14-year period. In the last eight years, the program has dropped nearly twice as many games with 36 defeats.From 1983-2001, the Miami Hurricanes captured five national championships. Like Florida State, the Miami program has taken a significant drop in recent years. The Hurricanes are an even 19-19 since 2006. So, a couple of college football dynasties have been taken down, in part, by the emergence of the Florida program.The debate between the two decades of Gators' football revolves around Spurrier and Meyer. The unfortunate "Ron Zook era" sandwiched in the middle from 2002-04. Did Spurrier lay the groundwork for Meyer to take the program to the highest of highs? This is one way to approach the success of the program. The climb up the mountain with Spurrier in the nineties was a great ride for Florida fans. In the past, the Gators were a step or two behind conference rivals, like Alabama and Georgia. Spurrier turned the tables in the landscape of the SEC.Spurrier's success meant that there would be no mountain to climb for Zook. The Gators were the hunted when Zook stepped into the fire in 2002. Meyer was the better fit to handle being the target when he took over in 2005.Now that Meyer has had a complete four-year cycle of recruiting, his ability to maintain can really begin to be compared to Spurrier's 12-year reign as head coach.Each decade has some great significance in the landscape of Florida football. The record in the nineties is better but there are more national championships in this decade. There are other issues to discuss, like Danny Wuerffel's Heisman in the nineties compared to Tebow's in this decade.Regardless of how good or bad the Gators are in 2009, each of these two decades of Florida Gators football will have a special place in the record books for many years to come.AuthorDavid Jones is an Examiner from Orlando. You can see David's articles at: "http://www.examiner.com/x-12915-Orlando-Sports-Examiner
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Three Heisman Trophy winners: Steve Spurrier (1966), Danny Wuerffel (1996),
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