Gator Rewind: Top-10 plays of the last 10 years

Embed from Getty Images

I’m writing a book this offseason, ranking QBs in college football over the last 30 years. If you’d like to get early access or even participate and give feedback, you can do so by supporting me on Patreon. Thanks!

 

Now that 2020 is upon us, I thought it’d be a little bit of fun to look back at my top-10 plays of the past ten years. I ranked these based on significance to me and to the program, so there are some plays that didn’t make the cut.

For instance, Florida has tortured Kentucky quite a bit this decade, but…it’s Kentucky. The fact that Florida beat them in a 3OT game in 2014 says more about Florida than it does about Kentucky.

And while the Muschamp and McElwain eras were frustrating, there were quite a few moments when I thought back where I thought one of them had the program on the right track. It’s just a reminder of why we love College Football and how nothing is guaranteed.

So enjoy the 21 wins the past two seasons. If the last decade has taught us anything, it’s that 10-win seasons aren’t necessarily the norm if you don’t have the right coach.

So sit back, relax and try not to get frustrated at how much defensive talent was wasted by the offensive futility of the past two regimes.

Play #10 – 77-yard TD throw from Will Grier to Brandon Powell vs. Mississippi, 2015

Florida came into this game having barely beaten East Carolina, Kentucky and Tennessee. Ole Miss came into the game the third-ranked team in the country.

Florida was able to take advantage of some field position and turnovers early to get out to a 13-0 lead. But it wasn’t until Grier hit Powell on a short slant and Powell took it to the house that I truly started to believe.

Florida’s offense put up 38 points that day and we all had hope that Jim McElwain really could have Clarabelle at QB. But alas, Grier would be suspended two weeks later and McElwain would only top 38 points one more time in his tenure in Gainesville.

Play #9 – 64-yard TD throw from Kyle Trask to Freddie Swain vs. Auburn, 2019

Florida had squeaked by Miami and Kentucky and blown out Tennessee in its three non-FCS games coming into this one. The Gators had also lost starting QB Feleipe Franks to a horrible ankle injury.

Thus, Florida was a 2.5 point underdog at home with Auburn coming in off of a demolition against Mississippi State. It didn’t take long for the Gators to announce that they were going to force Auburn and Bo Nix to play catch-up.

Backup QB Kyle Trask hit Freddie Swain on a slant and Swain weaved his way to the end zone, showing speed and elusiveness that I’m not sure any of us knew he had.

Trask played so well in the game that when he went down with what looked like a serious knee injury, it caused anxiety in fans who thought Emory Jones should have been the starter when Franks went down. But Trask was able to put on a brace, come back in the game and finish off the Tigers for the biggest win of the season in Dan Mullen’s second year in Gainesville.

Play #8 – Brad Stewart Pick-6 off Joe Burrow to beat LSU

My love affair with Joe Burrow has been well documented.

He’s since proven me correct, but in 2018 he had been underwhelming coming into this one. He had yet to throw an interception coming in, but he had also been pretty pedestrian except for a 3 TD performance against a bad Ole Miss team.

I had thought Mullen was going to struggle in 2018 way more than he did, especially after the early season loss to Kentucky. I had picked the Gators to lose on the road against Tennessee (a game I went to and thoroughly enjoyed), then again on the road against Mississippi State.

I went against Florida – mainly because of Burrow vs. Franks – again versus LSU, and boy did you let me have it!

But there we were in the fourth quarter, Burrow had the ball with two minutes left and a chance to lead LSU to a game-winning field goal.

Instead, Gators safety Brad Stewart read an out route to wide receiver Stephen Sullivan and undercut the route. It would have been a great play if Stewart had just made the pick to seal the game, but to take Burrow’s first interception of the year back for a touchdown – in a Swamp that had been thirsting for a big play in a big game ever since that Ole Miss game – sealed a game that had me marveling at Mullen’s coaching ability.

To say that you all made me pay for picking against Florida would be an understatement. But Mullen has proven better than I thought he was (and I thought he was pretty good) and I enjoyed the win as much as you did.

Play #7 – Feleipe Franks “heave to Cleve” against Tennessee, 2017

There wasn’t a lot to cheer for in the 2017 season.

The opener against Michigan was a complete downer. Then the follow-up cupcake game was canceled as Hurricane Irma ripped through the state. I was able to change my flight plans to get down for the game, but I do remember trying to figure out how I’d get my rental car back to the airport if I couldn’t get gas.

The game was pretty non-descript early. C.J. Henderson announced who he would eventually be with a pick-6 off Quentin Dormady. Feleipe Franks made some nice throws and some puzzling reads.

Florida was about to win the game going away when Malik Davis broke a long run for a touchdown….until replay showed that he fumbled it prior to crossing the goal line.

From that point forward, Florida could not stop Tennessee, particularly tailback John Kelly. In fact, Kelly was wide open for a go ahead touchdown but dropped it and only allowed Tennessee to pull even late.

Then, Franks and Cleveland were able to conjure up some magic.

You can see in the replay that both receivers going deep beat Tennessee’s coverage. This was a Butch Jones special if there ever was one, and at least gave us one thing to cheer about in a season we’d all like to forget.

Play #6 – Matt Elam forced fumble by Odell Beckham vs. LSU, 2012

Florida had just gone ahead 7-6 after a long touchdown drive leaning on its running game.

Then the defense forced LSU and Zach Mettenberger into a third-and-7 and the Swamp was going nuts. But Mettenberger was able to hit Beckham down the sideline for what looked initially like it might be a touchdown.

But Elam caught up to Beckham, and then as he was wrestling him to the ground, forced the ball out. It was blown dead but because Florida had clearly recovered the fumble, Florida was given the ball after replay review.

Florida then proceeded to rush the ball 11 straight times, scoring on the last carry to go up 14-6. There were still more than 13 minutes left in the game, but the Gators had broken the Tigers.

Play #5 – Fake field goal for a touchdown by holder Michael McNeely against Georgia, 2014

There haven’t been a lot of Georgia highlights in this list because there haven’t really been very many close games in the series recently.

This wasn’t a particularly close game – Florida won this one 38-20 – but anytime you can embarrass your rival, it’s a memorable play.

Florida was down 7-0 at the time and had lost 12 yards after an errant snap on first down while driving deep in Georgia territory. Early in the game – with Will Muschamp as head coach – nobody suspected he would call a fake field goal on fourth-and-9.

But call the fake he did. And walk-on Michael McNeely is a part of Gator lore, bolstered even more by his graduation from medical school in 2019.

Mark Richt scratching his head confused after the fake was worth the price of admission.

Play #4 – Fourth-and-14 conversion from Will Grier to Antonio Callaway vs. Tennessee, 2015

The Ole Miss game in 2015 announced that Florida might be real, but this was the game where Grier really took a huge step forward.

He struggled almost the entire game against the Volunteers. When Tennessee went up 27-14 with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the game seemed out of reach (though it’s still inexcusable that Butch Jones didn’t go for two to try and make it 28).

Florida went on a long drive to bring the score to 27-21, but the drive was pretty much allowed by the Vols because the Gators ran six minutes off the clock.

Florida was able to get the ball back with 2:18 left. After losing four yards on a pass to running back Kelvin Taylor, Grier threw two straight incompletions towards Demarcus Robinson.

Then on fourth down he went to little-known (at the time) freshman receiver Antonio Callaway. My favorite part of the play is Brandon Powell throwing the block that springs it from being a first down to being the iconic play that it is with the Swamp going wild.

Play #3 – Tim Tebow final rushing TD as a Gator vs. Cincinnati, 2010

Technically, this isn’t cheating because the play did occur in January 2010 at the Sugar Bowl.

I had my doubts Florida would show up to play after losing to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game. But show up the Gators did, putting a thumping on Cincinnati with an offensive display we haven’t seen in Gainesville since.

Tebow finished his final game as a Gator with 482 yards passing, 51 yards rushing and four total touchdowns. But it was this play that stuck with me.

When Urban Meyer came to Florida, people questioned whether you could win championships with a spread offense and a dual-threat QB. Tebow obliterated that question, rushing for 57 touchdowns and helping the Gators win two National Championships.

Sometimes people forget that Tebow was a really good passer in college too (66.4% completions, 9.3 yards per attempt), but his runs are what puts him in consideration as the best college QB of all time.

Play #2 – Florida defense stops LSU on the goal line after playing a “home” game in Baton Rouge, 2016

Hurricanes played a pretty big part in the Jim McElwain era at Florida. In retrospect, maybe we should have taken that as a sign.

In this case, Hurricane Matthew postponed the 2016 game against LSU, but nobody was happy about it.

LSU was unhappy that Florida wouldn’t agree to move the game to Baton Rouge earlier in the week. Florida was miffed that they would be expected to give up a home game instead of just rescheduling.

Rescheduling turned out to be just as drama-filled, with athletic directors Jeremy Foley and Joe Alleva going back and forth about whether the game would be played in Louisiana or Florida.

LSU fans and players even went so far as to accuse Florida of using the Hurricane as an excuse for ducking the Tigers.

Then Florida came out and absolutely ran the ball down LSU’s throat in the second half. But due to a dropped pitch down on the goal line, the Gators gave LSU one last chance.

The Tigers were able to drive down to the Gators one-yard line and were stuffed on third down and called timeout with three seconds left.

LSU may have forced the Gators to play in Baton Rouge, but Florida will always be able to brag about taking it to the Tigers on their home field in a game that LSU didn’t really seem like it wanted to play.

Play #1 – Antonio Morrison forces E.J. Manuel to fumble late against FSU, 2012

After a loss to Georgia earlier in the season, Florida found itself in a weird situation. The Gators only loss was a heartbreaker to Georgia where Florida turned the ball over six times, including a Jordan Reed fumble as it looked like he was about to score (sidenote: this game still haunts me. It is by far the biggest gut punch I’ve ever had as a Florida fan).

But Georgia had lost to South Carolina earlier in the season, meaning that their matchup in the SEC Championship Game against undefeated Alabama would knock them out of the BCS conversation.

But that Georgia loss would absolutely give Florida a chance to get into the game if a few things could go their way. But first, the Gators had to beat hated FSU.

With just over 11 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Florida was down 20-16.

The Gators defense had carried the team that season, giving up just 4.2 yards per play against FBS opponents (ranked 4th in the country). This game was no different, as Jeff Driskel struggled to get a whole lot going.

Florida State had an opportunity to string together a long drive and put the game away. E.J. Manuel had just completed a third-down pass to Rashad Greene to convert a first down and get close to Florida territory.

Then, this happened.

Florida took over, Mike Gillislee took the next carry to the house, and Florida never looked back.

Later that night, USC wasn’t able to take down Notre Dame so the Irish got the opportunity to get boat raced by Alabama in the Championship Game.

But there’s no doubt that watching Florida beat Florida State with a chance to make it to the championship is my memory of the decade.

Your turn

So that’s my list. It’s been a crazy decade. Hell, it’s been a crazy last few years.

The decade started with us thinking Florida was about to go on a long run with Urban Meyer at the helm to Florida fans trolling Meyer as he ate Papa John’s following an Ohio State loss.

The team almost made it to the championship in 2012 with Jeff Driskel at QB and Will Muschamp at head coach. Then the team got demolished by Louisville in the Sugar Bowl and was never the same.

Then we had hope McElwain was the right guy in 2015 with the wins against Tennessee and Ole Miss, only for that to devolve into Will Grier’s PED suspension, shark-humping during the offseason, credit card theft-related suspensions and fictional death threats.

But it looks like Florida may finally have the right guy in place. Dan Mullen has stabilized the program and – perhaps more importantly – has stabilized the QB position.

Regardless, it’s been a ton of fun to cover. Thanks so much for giving me the opportunity to write about the team here at Read and Reaction. I wish you nothing but the best for 2020 and the next decade to come, unless you’re one of those weirdos who roots for Florida in football and Duke in basketball (joking, kinda).

Let me know what I missed. I’d love to hear about your memories of the last decade.

Featured image used under Creative Commons license courtesy Photo-Gator