Are the Gators of the 80's?

[stephenPE]

LOL... MY Dad had that sticker up on the cabinet above his work bench in our garage... Don't ask me why, but I can remember it like it was yesterday.

I still have an SEC title tag from 1984 and t-shirt Also a Galens Gators T-shirt

 

[stephenPE]

now ISNT this better to talk about than woe the fck is us all day.......................;)

 

[NCOGator]

now ISNT this better to talk about than woe the fck is us all day.......................;)

You are welcome!

 

[Swamp Donkey]

There are a lot of similarities. For example in 1988 we started off 5-0 then with a series of injuries we end up 6-5. In 1989 we started off 6-1 then lost our starting QB (Kyle Morris) for Gambling, and we all know what happened with Grier. We were known for having a bad ass secondary with Adrian White, Louis Oliver, and Jarvis Williams to name a couple. We had a couple of WRs that were damn good in Chris "Cadillac" Collinsworth, Ricky Nattiel, Dwayne Dixon, and Ray McDonald to name a couple. We had a head coach that did "just enough" but not enough to win it all (or an outright SEC title due to sanctions) in Galen Hall.

Yes there are a lot of things we don’t have that we had in the 80's like Emmitt Smith, Wilber Marshall, Kerwin Bell, Wayne Peace (although we had a Pease), "The Great Wall", and I don’t see the NCAA infractions coming our way. However our records are very similar. In the famous words of Ox...."Discuss"

Those eigthies teams were pretty talented. We were like Georgia is today, the most talented team that didnt win shyt.

I dont remember the 70s but I suspect that is a better analogy, but I dont know. All the directional Florida schools that are now challenging us didnt exist then.

 

[NCOGator]

Those eigthies teams were pretty talented. We were like Georgia is today, the most talented team that didnt win shyt.

I dont remember the 70s but I suspect that is a better analogy, but I dont know. All the directional Florida schools that are now challenging us didnt exist then.

I would argue that we have young talent at the RB and WR positions, and with a couple more O-Line men and QB we could be elite on offense. The Defense will be a work in progress I think next year and the year after if we don't get some LBs....hell every position needs some work since we are going to lose a lot on that side of the ball.

 

[Floridagator]

I still have an SEC title tag from 1984 and t-shirt Also a Galens Gators T-shirt

I got two of the Coke bottles SEC champs Florida gators. Still got the Coke in em.

 

[Gatorraid81]

I still resent the fact that we endured the wrath of God for violations in the 80's yet today schools lawyer up and/or stall to the point where they receive the proverbial hand slap. That probation not only set our program back 8-10 years, it simultaneously took FSU over the top in the state.
Yes, SOS came in and saved the day but he was facing a juggernaut in Tally that was created by the NCAA.

100% true!

 

[TheDouglas78]

I still have an SEC title tag from 1984 and t-shirt Also a Galens Gators T-shirt

I believe my dad as a football signed by every coach and player on the 1984 roster.

 

[TheSaintThing05]

Now that is funny.

Larry may be no SOS, but he sure as hell is a much better offensive mind than the doofus we have now. I'd be willing to trade Mac to UNC for Fedora right now, and I'm sure 90% of Gator Nation would as well...

 

[Swamp Donkey]

I would argue that we have young talent at the RB and WR positions

We argued that with Fullwoods class, too. You are what your film says you are. So far they are guys who dont run routes well and dont beat DBs on 50/50 balls.

 

[NCOGator]

We argued that with Fullwoods class, too. You are what your film says you are. So far they are guys who dont run routes well and dont beat DBs on 50/50 balls.

The only ones that argued that argued it from their High School film not their College Film. We have the speed and size in Callaway, Swain. Plus I think our RBs are solid....we just need to get rid of this RB by committee thing and let the best two carry the load.

 

[G8RATL]

SOS used good talent but the biggest thing he brought to the table was innovation. nothing like those SOS offensive schemes have ever been brought to the table in the SEC before. Before SOS, it was ground and pound and play D and the SEC was built to play that way. That's why it took years for the other teams to catch up near the end of SOS's tenure. Compare that to the stale "offense" we have now. No D has to scheme for anything we bring to the table. Play base D and watch the Gator O wet the bed; lack of QB talent and scheme.

 

[gatordad3]

Back in the 80's I hated Georgia more than any team in college football. In Jax, UGA fans were everywhere, especially in my neighborhood. It sure didn't help we only managed a win in 1984 and 1986.

All of a sudden, when Vince Dooley's career started circling the toilet with 3-4 losses per season in the late 80's, I noticed more and more and more and more FSU fans started to appear, along with the decline of not only UGA's football program, but the UGA fan base.

 

[stephenPE]

I got two of the Coke bottles SEC champs Florida gators. Still got the Coke in em.

I have either 5 or 6..........with the coke.......

I believe my dad as a football signed by every coach and player on the 1984 roster.

That is very cool. They had some REAL talent on that team. I remember when theyplayed scUM there like 20 NFL players on those combined lists................

 

[stephenPE]

All of a sudden, when Vince Dooley's career started circling the toilet with 3-4 losses per season in the late 80's, I noticed more and more and more and more FSU fans started to appear, along with the decline of not only UGA's football program, but the UGA fan base.

When I began teaching at Hampton in 85 I usually had about 3 kids where dwag sh#t.............after SOS came in I rarely ever red and black..............that bandwagon busted an axel.

 

[ThreatMatrix]

Didn't we lose 5 scholies a year for 3 years 86-89. I forget how it worked but I think it accumulated so that we had only 70 scholarships in '89.

The year after the state inacted legislation requiring the ncaa to obey due process and show evidence in the future.

http://gatornation.proboards.com/thread/9106/florida-gators-1980-1989

 

[Gator Fever]

The bigger difference is that SOS walked in to a program that hadn't really ever had national prominence and took it to the top of the mountain. So those that have come after including Foley have now sunk us back to where it was, or close to it before SOS took over. Inexcusable.

We ended up in trouble but we were considered one of the best teams in the country just a few years before Spurrier got here in the mid 80s. When BYU got that National Championship that year in that joke bowl many people thought we were the best team in the country that year. Agree 100% on Foley however.

 

[diehardg8r]

We ended up in trouble but we were considered one of the best teams in the country just a few years before Spurrier got here in the mid 80s. When BYU got that National Championship that year in that joke bowl many people thought we were the best team in the country that year. Agree 100% on Foley however.

I realized we weren't always a dumpster fire before SOS, however, we were always considered a powerhouse with NC and in the hunt for the SEC champ damn near every year. That went south with two ****ty hires.......really 3 but it was chump and potentially the current coach. I am holding out hope that he can salvage a recruiting and get this mess turned around but not all that confident.

 

[Durty South Swamp]

but couldn't win the big one

We haven't won ANY big ones.

 

[NCOGator]

We haven't won ANY big ones.

You see why I compared us to the 80's teams now?