There had never been a day like this in Tallahassee. FSU 16, Florida 7. The Seminoles’ first victory against a program that regarded them with such disdain. Fred Biletnikoff scored FSU’s only touchdown on a 55-yard pass from Steve Tensi. But the winning margin was provided by Murdock, a place-kicker who had field goals of 24, 34 and 40 yards. In 1961, Murdock was with the University of Tampa’s program, but never played and was injured in the off-season. FSU coach Bill Peterson saw Murdock working out and gave him a shot. Murdock repaid the favor. Did he ever!
The Seminoles, coming off a 3-3 tie in 1961, were bearing down on their first victory against the Gators. Clearly, the Gators were wary as Coach Ray Graves announced the team would be secluded in “secret drills” through the week. Sure enough, FSU led 7-6 in the third quarter and was seeking a knockout blow. Instead, the real knockout came from Clark, who scored on a 63-yard punt return, giving Florida the lead it wouldn’t lose.
Moore had quit football, becoming a truck driver (delivering kosher food in his native Miami), then a junior-college basketball player. An old coaching friend alerted Gators coach Doug Dickey about Moore, who wanted to revive his football career. Moore wasn’t involved in spring drills and wasn’t eligible at UF until September. His name wasn’t even listed in the football brochure. But in the season’s second game, with the Gators clinging to a seven-point lead against FSU in the fourth quarter, Moore sprung loose for two touchdowns in three minutes, including a 46-yard run. Moore, never again an unknown, was the MVP in a 42-13 win against the Seminoles, becoming an All-SEC back and an All-Pro with the Miami Dolphins.
With quarterback Adrian McPherson kicked off the team and FSU’s offense in disarray, the Seminoles turned to freshman running back Leon Washington, of all people, for stability. He came through with a 134-yard rushing night and the go-ahead touchdown in FSU’s 31-14 victory. His 26 carries were more than he had through the first 12 games of his career. He had 60 yards in the fourth quarter as FSU played keep-away.
How does a Swamp sound after being drained? Eerily quiet.
Just a few seconds earlier, the noise from Florida Field would’ve drowned out a jet engine. The Florida State Seminoles, with designs on a national championship, were in trouble. Their 20-point fourth-quarter lead was down to six. They were hanging on by their fingernails.
The Florida Gators, with a 23-game home winning streak, were furiously waving their arms, exhorting the state-record crowd of 85,507.
Third-and-10 from the FSU 21-yard line. Just under six minutes to play.
‘’If we can’t get a first down here,’’ FSU radio announcer Vic Prinzi told his audience, ‘’the Gators are going to win this game.’’
The No. 2-ranked and unbeaten Seminoles, clinging to a four-point lead, were burned on a 63-yard pass play on first down that set up Florida’s winning touchdown, Fred Taylor’s 1-yard run, with 1:50 remaining. The backbreaker was a curl-and-go, a picturesque toss from Doug Johnson to wide-open Jacquez Green, who found himself in man coverage against FSU’s Samari Rolle and raced to the Seminoles 17-yard line. Florida coach Steve Spurrier later said he never heard a louder explosion of noise at The Swamp. ‘’I don’t know how he got so wide open,’’ FSU coach Bobby Bowden said. ‘’I don’t know who, where or why he got so wide open.’’ Rolle, in tears afterward, said he felt like he let everyone down. ‘’We had dreams and aspirations,’’ Rolle said. ‘’Now it’s all ruined.’’
Here’s where the legend of Steve Spurrier, the comeback quarterback, really took hold. Trailing 17-16 with 2:10 to play, Spurrier took the Gators 71 yards on five plays, culminating with his 25-yard touchdown pass to Charley Casey. Spurrier sprinted out, noticed an opening in the FSU defense, then changed the pattern by waving Casey downfield toward the end zone. ‘’Spurrier is every bit as good as I thought,’’ FSU coach Bill Peterson said. ‘’Don’t ever say he can’t play under pressure.’’ Florida widened the winning margin on Allen Trammell’s interception return.
In a game that featured a half-dozen controversial calls and a postgame brawl, there was also a dramatic winning touchdown. On fourth-and-14, FSU quarterback Chris Rix had just rescued the Seminoles, hitting Dominic Robinson on a 24-yard pass. The Gators, who could have run out the clock on a three-point victory, had no time to recover from that disappointment. Rix immediately went up top, finding P.K. Sam on a 52-yard touchdown in the back of the end zone with 55 seconds to play. Sam drifted past free safety Guss Scott, who appeared to lose sight of the pass. ‘’I just put it out there and P.K. made a play on the ball,’’ Rix said. The prayer had been answered.
Seminoles quarterback Marcus Outzen, a Rudy-like figure, was starting because Chris Weinke was injured. FSU clearly needed some breaks to beat the Gators. In the third quarter, it got a big one. Trailing 12-6 in a dreary game, Outzen’s pass was nearly intercepted by safety Marquand Manuel. But the ball bounced off Manuel’s hands - directly into the waiting arms of FSU receiver Peter Warrick, who turned and raced for a 32-yard touchdown. The revitalized Seminoles led 13-12, and the Gators were deflated. ‘’It was just a play that happened in the game,’’ Manuel said. A very big play.
The Seminoles were primed for their first win in Gainesville, but FSU quarterback Kim Hammond was knocked from the game in the second quarter on a vicious tackle by Tom Abdelnour. At halftime, teammates said Hammond acted like a punch-drunk fighter. In the fourth quarter, the Gators were going in for the lead touchdown, but receiver Richard Trapp lost a fumble at the FSU 7-yard line. Back came Hammond into the game, driving FSU to the eventual winning TD, hitting Ron Sellers on a 38-yard score. Sellers leaped for the pass in the end zone over defender Bill Gaisford, who fell to his knee and wept as officials signaled the touchdown.
The Seminoles had just lost their No. 1 ranking following the ‘’Wide Right’’ loss to Miami. Now they were on the verge of losing consecutive state rivalry games. But trailing 14-9 with 2:15 to play, Casey Weldon drove FSU to the Gators 14, where it was third-and-10. For a moment, Weldon had Kez McCorvey open in the end zone. UF’s Will White dove over to deflect the pass, which wobbled high in the air. FSU’s Matt Frier lunged to scoop a possible catch, but he was taken out at the knees by Del Speer. The ball fell incomplete, and UF held on downs. ‘’We’ve gone from being the greatest team in FSU history to being the biggest disappointment in FSU history,’’ ‘Noles defensive back Errol McCorvey said.
The Seminoles, in Coach Bobby Bowden’s second season, were trying to break a nine-game losing streak to Florida. With a 17-9 lead in the third quarter, FSU was being threatened when faced with third-and-30 deep in their territory. Bowden called for a draw. Running back Larry Key, with a clear lane up the middle, then room to reach the sidelines, gained a stunning 38 yards. The Seminoles drove for the touchdown that effectively put away the Gators. Key, unwanted by the Gators when recruited from Citrus High School, finished with 143 yards and the first 1,000-yard rushing season in school history.
The Seminoles, already bound for the Orange Bowl with a shot at No. 1, had recovered from a 10-point halftime deficit to take a fourth-quarter lead. But the Gators still had a shot at the upset. With 3:41 to play, Gators freshman Wayne Peace looked deep for 6-foot-5 receiver Cris Collinsworth. At about the FSU 8-yard line, 6-foot safety Monk Bonasorte knew he couldn’t outjump Collinsworth for the ball. But he tipped the pass away, batting it like a volleyball, and directing it into the arms of FSU defender Keith Jones. On the ABC-TV broadcast, former Notre Dame coach Ara Parseghian enthusiastically saluted Bonasorte’s heads-up maneuver.
The Seminoles, trying to end a five-game losing streak to Florida, led by three and faced fourth-and-16 at the Gators 29 midway through the fourth quarter. On a rainy, muddy night in Tallahassee, FSU coach Bobby Bowden briefly considered playing the field-position game. Instead, he went for the field-goal attempt, a 46-yarder by Derek Schmidt. It was blocked by Louis Oliver, reversing momentum and giving the Gators the necessary spark for a winning drive. It was capped by Kerwin Bell’s 18-yard pass to Ricky Nattiel on third-and-6. ‘’Maybe the conditions should have caused me to reconsider [kicking the field goal],’’ Bowden said.
‘’You know what FSU stands for, don’t you? Free Shoes University.’’ - Florida coach Steve Spurrier to the Polk County Gator Club, 1994
These things happen in football rivalries, especially Florida-FSU. Coaches talk to boosters, cracking a few funny lines, trying to liven up the partisan crowd. There are Gator jokes. There are Seminole jokes.
This one ran deeper, drawing criticism from UF administrators and FSU fans alike.
Steve Spurrier, who was entering his fifth season coaching the Gators, never took back his words.
In fact, he elaborated on the point.
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