SOS Discusses The Worst Loss Of His Coaching Career

[LighthouseGator]

2001, Florida 32 - Toothless 34.

https://www.seccountry.com/florida/steve-spurrier-details-difficult-loss-coaching-career

Mine too, coach, mine too. Had incredible seats at the Swamp and visions of a national championship dashed into oblivion. I've had a special hate reserved in my heart for the inbreds ever since.

Since this board is so good at doing misery, what about the rest you?

 

[BMF]

He was too worried about what happened the week before w/ Darnell Dockett and the ensuing pissing contest w/ the AD, Dave Hart.

Terrible loss, especially considering the stakes. 17+ point favorites. If that game was played the Saturday after 9/11 we would have won by 24+. Cost us a national championship.

 

[Captain Sasquatch]

Would have loved to see us take on Miami that year.

 

[Gatorbait25]

This is the game that first came to mind. 99' against Bama is up there as well. We lost in OT on a missed XP.
Of course Bama missed their one as well, but Alexander was offsides giving them another attempt.

 

[soflagator]

Would have loved to see us take on Miami that year.

Agree. Not sure we win because that um team was loaded that year, but I wish we could've seen that matchup. Had we won, we'd actually be tied with them for NCs.

As for the original question, that one is a definite Top 5. I'd also make an argument for '94 Aub, '94 fsu and '99 Alabama(either).

 

[Slevin]

We would have beat Miami imho. Nebraska playing them after getting obliterated and Rex getting straight up screwed over for the heisman. All of it makes me mad

 

[Captain Sasquatch]

We would have beat Miami imho. Nebraska playing them after getting obliterated and Rex getting straight up screwed over for the heisman. All of it makes me mad

And then SOS left and we got Zook. '01 was not a good year.

 

[gatormandan]

And then SOS left and we got Zook. '01 was not a good year.

I remember feeling like crap. I couldnt believe the era was over. I didnt want to believe he was really gone. Man was that a fun ride.

 

[Gatorraid81]

I was 20 years old and sitting half way up in the south end zone. Couldn't believe how our defense kept getting gashed all night by their RB. I probably like most Gator fans got to the point in thinking that we couldn't lose to Tennessee at home ever. We clearly were not 100% focused and Tennessee wanted it a whole lot more. Funny how they lost the next week in the SEC Championship Game. Then we find out a month later that it was the last time Spurrier would coach the Gators in the Swamp.

 

[GatorJ]

2001, Florida 32 - Toothless 34.

https://www.seccountry.com/florida/steve-spurrier-details-difficult-loss-coaching-career

Mine too, coach, mine too. Had incredible seats at the Swamp and visions of a national championship dashed into oblivion. I've had a special hate reserved in my heart for the inbreds ever since.

Since this board is so good at doing misery, what about the rest you?

Most gut wrenching loss we ever had. We should've played for the national championship that year

 

[T REX]

We would have beat Miami imho. Nebraska playing them after getting obliterated and Rex getting straight up screwed over for the heisman. All of it makes me mad

In all, an extraordinary 17 players from the 2001 Miami football team were drafted in the first-round of the NFL Draft (5 in the 2002 NFL Draft: Buchanon, McKinnie, Reed, Rumph, and Shockey; 4 in 2003: Johnson, Joseph, McDougle, and McGahee; 6 in 2004: Carey, Taylor, Vilma, Wilfork, Williams, and Winslow; 1 in 2005: Rolle; and 1 in 2006: Kelly Jennings).
Overall, 38 members of the team would be selected in the NFL Draft. As of 2013, they had earned a combined total of 43 trips to the Pro Bowl.

You always want to play for a title but we would have been underdogs. Not saying we wouldn't win but that team was beyond stacked. They could have scored 70 on Nebraska.

 

[Gatorraid81]

Most gut wrenching loss we ever had. We should've played for the national championship that year

I think to me the choke job we did in Tallahassee in '94 was the most gut wrenching. Such a sure victory slowly evaporating. It was like a long and painful death.

 

[Alumni Guy]

The worst part about that loss to the Vols (other than Travis Henry, I think, running through our Defense on his way to making yet another Baby Momma) was watching that M F'er Casey Clausen direct the Vols band as they played Rocky Top in our house.

I'm getting angry just thinking of that.

 

[Slevin]

In all, an extraordinary 17 players from the 2001 Miami football team were drafted in the first-round of the NFL Draft (5 in the 2002 NFL Draft: Buchanon, McKinnie, Reed, Rumph, and Shockey; 4 in 2003: Johnson, Joseph, McDougle, and McGahee; 6 in 2004: Carey, Taylor, Vilma, Wilfork, Williams, and Winslow; 1 in 2005: Rolle; and 1 in 2006: Kelly Jennings).
Overall, 38 members of the team would be selected in the NFL Draft. As of 2013, they had earned a combined total of 43 trips to the Pro Bowl.

You always want to play for a title but we would have been underdogs. Not saying we wouldn't win but that team was beyond stacked. They could have scored 70 on Nebraska.

They could have and should have. they destroyed quite a few ranked teams that year too. Overall I wish we would have at least had the chance. One game derailed a slew of historical talking points for us.

 

[biggator6]

The choke at doak has to be the worst.. and it wasn't even a loss.

 

[GatorInGeorgia]

93 and 94 Auburn definitely sucked. Choke at Doak. 96 FSU during regular season, 06 Aub, 08 Ole Miss. Downside of the 96, 06 & 08 games were it cost us undefeated seasons. Upside is we still rallied to win the NC. Agree with OP, though, that 01 Tennessee was probably the worst as it cost us the NC. I think we would have beaten Miami by double digits in the title game.

 

[Mgnihilo]

Both that TN game and the Choke rank up there for me. The Swindle at the Swamp has to be my most hated game, though. My wife actually threw me out of the house and made me watch the 2nd half of the game in a sports bar.

 

[78]

I was in the south endzone for that game. The anticipation was huge. Hoke's run defense was awful. We made Travis Stephens look like a Heisman running back. That's why we lost, not because of Graham or Dockett or feuding with Hart and surely not Sept. 11.

Spurrier, as Spurrier was wont to do, wasn't willing to wait it out for our running game to get going. I'm not sure I disagreed either. We weren't blessed with a ton of RB depth that season, which cost us. No, Spurrier believed Grossman could overcome any obstacle Tennessee put before him, and he probably had good reason to think that way. Grossman had had a monster season. He was the best quarterback in America entering that game.

Grossman launched it 51 times. That's too many to expect to win. More often than not, you're going to lose when you pass that often.

As for Miami, I love my Gators, but the Miami of 2001 with that many future NFLers would have eaten our lunch.

 

[Gator Fever]

I think to me the choke job we did in Tallahassee in '94 was the most gut wrenching. Such a sure victory slowly evaporating. It was like a long and painful death.

Yep and its crazy Spurrier never won at FSU because of that meltdown. Bowden pulling a Pat Tie at the end was a joke also.

 

[NavetG8r]

I'm really surprised he didn't list the cock block as his worst loss.