GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Nine months earlier, University of Florida players, coaches, support staff and fans filed out of the Superdome in New Orleans having earned the celebration that ensued on Bourbon Street. Third-ranked and unbeaten West Virginia came to New Orleans saying it belonged in the national-champion conversation, but the Mountaineers met their match in the eighth-ranked Gators, whose 41-7 blowout victory put the finishing touches on an 11-2 record that marked the winningest season in program history.
Steve Spurrier already had the only two SEC titles in UF history when the ’94 season began.
It was August of 1994 and UF went to preseason camp with 14 starters back and a ton of momentum having won two of the previous three Southeastern Conference titles, including a win over reigning national-champion Alabama in the league’s second championship game in ’93.
Only once in the program’s 87 years had Florida been ranked No. 1. That was in October of 1985, while on NCAA probation, and the fame (and number) was fleeting. The Gators were beaten soundly by Georgia and tumbled from the top of the polls after just seven days.
The ’94 team that opened the season at No. 1 was arguably the greatest collection of Gators ever and appeared built for staying power. It was Alabama legend Paul “Bear” Bryant who had once said Florida was a “sleeping giant” just waiting for the right coach to come along. Bryant died in 1983, well before that certain coach arrived, but the Crimson Tide folks he left behind were starting to understand.
And they would understand even more in ’94.
This weekend, Steve Spurrier will welcome back his 1994 Gators as the team celebrates the 25th anniversary of that SEC championship season, a roller-coaster ride that led to UF’s first run of back-to-back titles — and the first half of what became a conference-record four straight championships. Spurrier and his players will be honored during Saturday’s showdown between the No. 8 Gators (3-0, 1-0) and Tennessee (1-2, 0-0) on the field that now bears his name.
Make no mistake, these were glorious times for Florida football, which was the envy of the SEC. To commemorate that era — and that ’94 team — FloridaGators.com will relive that season in the run-up to the UF-UT game via a four-part series.
An offseason/preseason quarterback duel between senior Terry Dean and redshirt sophomore Danny Wuerffel was won by the former. Dean and Wuerffel had been in and out of the lineup during the ’93 season, both with magnificent moments, but it was Dean who played the last two and half games after Wuerffel suffered a season-ending knee injury in a home loss to top-ranked Florida State. Dean had a pair of third-year starting tackles (Reggie Green and Jason Odom), a record-setting wide receiver in Jack Jackson, plus a trio of true freshman playmakers in tailback Fred Taylor and wideouts Reidel Anthony and Ike Hilliard. The defense returned eight starters, including end Kevin Carter, tackle Ellis Johnson and cornerback Larry Kennedy, but with a new coordinator in Bob Pruett, by way of Tulane. Pruett took over a unit that finished last in the league in pass defense two straight seasons under Ron Zook, who was demoted to coaching outside linebackers, safeties and special teams.
From Day 1, the “Swamp” was alive, with the fireworks instantaneous — and that pretty much was a constant throughout the season; on and off the field.
It may not have had the best ending, but there were some sterling moments along the way, including the raising of some hardware in the first SEC Championship Game ever played in Atlanta.
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