Who can lay
claim as the best football program in the state of Florida? College football in
the Sunshine State took off in the 80’s when Miami won their first national
championship in ’83. The U went on to win 3 more titles before UF or FSU won
their first. FSU got on board in 1993 with Heisman Trophy winner, Charlie Ward.
Soon after, the Gators joined the club in 1996 when they beat the Seminoles in
the title game. Since the 1980’s, the rivalries between the U, FSU & UF
have grown into the national spotlight and these 3 programs combined to win 11
national championships, about 1/3rd of all the championships in that
time period. That is a great accomplishment and a testament to the quality of
football being played in this state at the college and high school level. But
who can say they have the best football program out of the three?
The
team that invented swagger makes a good case as they have the most national
championships with 5. The U was the most dominant and most hated team in the
80’s when head coaches Schnellenberger, Johnson & Erickson led them to 3
championships. They spoiled many teams’ shots at winning a title including
Florida State, Nebraska, Oklahoma & Notre Dame. That success carried over
into the 90’s until a Pell grant scandal knocked them off for a few years. They
came back strong with Larry Coker and won another title in 2001 with the
“greatest team in college football history.” Their cocky & flashy style
created a brand & a legacy that is recognized throughout the college
football landscape. You can say they produced the most talent in the state also.
2 Heisman Trophy winners have played for the Canes, quarterbacks Vinny
Testaverde & Gino Torretta. They have set multiple NFL draft records &
they could field a complete NFL team, 2nd string and all, with just
their own players. Ray Lewis, Michael Irvin, Warren Sapp, Ed Reed, Sean Taylor,
Edgerrin James, Willis McGahee, Frank Gore, Andre Johnson, Clinton Portis,
Devin Hester, Reggie Wayne, Santana Moss, the Blades brothers, Jonathan Vilma,
Jim Kelly, Jerome Brown, Bernie Kosar and many other stars at every position.
The Florida Gators are the oldest team in
the state but didn’t reach consistent success until the 60’s when they had Steve
Spurrier, 1966 Heisman winner, at quarterback and Ray Graves as head coach.
This is also the time when Gatorade was first invented. The 70’s were so-so
with head coach, Doug Dickey, and the 80’s were more successful but tarnished
with major infractions that resulted in severe penalties from the NCAA. The
Gators rebounded in the 90’s & reached national prominence with multiple
SEC titles and a national championship in 1996 under head coach, Steve
Spurrier. They won 2 more championships with Urban Meyer & arguably the
best college football player ever, Tim Tebow. Some of the Gator greats include
Heisman Trophy winners, Danny Wuerffel & Steve Spurrier, Emmitt Smith, Fred
Taylor, Ike Hilliard, Jevon Kearse, Brandon Spikes, Percy Harvin, Joe Haden,
the Pouncey Twins, Kevin Carter, Rex Grossman, Jack Youngblood & Wilbur
Marshall.
The Florida State Seminoles, the former
all-girls school & the youngest team out of the 3, started playing D1
football in the 1950’s. It’s impressive what they’ve done in a short amount of
time when there are schools that have been playing D1 since the 1800’s. One of
the greatest coaches in college football history, Bobby Bowden, took over in
the 70’s and led the program to great heights. FSU ran the 90’s, fell off in
the late 2000’s at the end of the Bobby Bowden era and have rose back to the
top under Jimbo Fisher. Now you can say they are on the same level as UF with
both having 3 national titles and 3 Heisman winners. No question, the best team
right now are the Seminoles. Jameis Winston led them to a championship last
year & he is on his way to becoming the 1st overall pick in this
year’s draft. They’ve racked up on a lot of talent with top 5 recruiting
classes and are sending them to the league more than any other school besides
Alabama. Their most impressive accomplishment, in my opinion, are the 14
straight years they finished in the top 5 beginning in the late 80’s to the end
of the 90’s. That’s consistency and they could’ve added a few more
championships if it wasn’t for Miami & Florida. Some of the greatest
athletes to come through Tallahassee are “Primetime” Deion Sanders, Heisman
Trophy winners, Charlie Ward, Chris Weinke & Jameis Winston, Warrick Dunn,
Peter Warrick, Terrell Buckley, state of Florida legend Derrick Brooks, Marvin Jones,
Ron Simmons, Peter Boulware, Anquan Boldin, & Fred Biletnikoff..
One thing
for sure, each one of them had successful runs. It’s like a power cycle where
one program is on top for a few years then comes back down to Earth while the
others catch up & take over that top spot. Miami ran the 80’s, all three
programs dominated the 90’s, UM was scary in the early 2000’s & the Gators were
on top a few years later while FSU struggled. Now FSU is one of the best teams
in the nation while the U & UF are struggling. Miami hasn’t done much in
more than 10 years after losing their last title game to Ohio State &
moving to the ACC. The Gators were in a great position just a few years ago but
all that got derailed when Urban Meyer left & Will Muschamp was hired. It’s
been years since Miami & Florida beat Florida State and both are trying to
place themselves in the best position to knock off FSU & return to their
glory days. Factoring in the history & present day of all three programs,
who would you say is the best in the state of Florida?
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