Spurrier versus the Vols, the real story

#27
#27
TennEddie said:
If Spurrier had Peyton Manning and Jamal Lewis in the same backfield, he would
have never lost a game.
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If Hal Mumme and Mike Leach had Florida’s defense, we would probably be talking about how Kentucky had us figured out, too.

We played against some great offensive coaches, but nothing had us in a panic like Bob Stoops’s defense, with Chester and Kearse.
 
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#29
#29
Boca Vol said:
Spurrier seemed to know how to use Chavis' aggressiveness against him. There were so many times UT defenders appeared to be in great position and the UF QB would throw it short or off the back shoulder for a completion.
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Yup he knew how to check mat Chavis at every turn. He also knew how to handle Peyton. Peyton always played his worst games against Florida. He threw some bad INTs against them. We had ST meltdowns too. He lived in our collective heads for decades.

I will say one of my most cherished memories was watching him walk out of the Swamp dejected in 2001. He has said that was his most talented team.
 
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#30
#30
dduncan4163 said:
Yup he knew how to check mat Chavis at every turn. He also knew how to handle Peyton. Peyton always played his worst games against Florida. He threw some bad INTs against them. We had ST meltdowns too. He lived in our collective heads for decades.

I will say one of my most cherished memories was watching him walk out of the Swamp dejected in 2001. He has said that was his most talented team.
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I'll remain utterly convinced to the end of time that the loss to Tennessee broke him. All that Grossman Heisman talk, all the high flying scores, and then his favorite chew toy rumbled into the Swamp and took a bite of him for a change. He was done after that. No national title, no Heisman quarterback, and Spurrier had to sit there and watch his Gators earn blowout bowl game win against a Maryland team in a game that no one cared about - him included. Completely done after that.
 
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#31
#31
Spurrier may seem funny now, but back when we played him, he was a jerk. When he made comments about Peyton, that as a student Peyton couldn’t respond to, Coach Fulmer’s wife, Miss Vicki? did, she got after him. I was proud of her. In the game where we played them at the end of the season, instead of near the beginning as usual, in a huge game, Fulmer beat Spurrier in Spurrier’s last game in the Swamp. Sweet revenge.
 
#32
#32
JohnnyJava said:
And yet it was Fulmer that wrecked Spurrier's 2001 national championship caliber season in the Swamp and had him packing up for the NFL.
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Yep. And then Saban wrecked ours. 🤦‍

That loss and this yr vs. UGA are two of the most gut wrenching losses I’ve seen in person.

Iirc, spurrier left Florida to coach the Redskins after the 2001 season.
 
#34
#34
dduncan4163 said:
Yup he knew how to check mat Chavis at every turn. He also knew how to handle Peyton. Peyton always played his worst games against Florida. He threw some bad INTs against them. We had ST meltdowns too. He lived in our collective heads for decades.

I will say one of my most cherished memories was watching him walk out of the Swamp dejected in 2001. He has said that was his most talented team.
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This isn’t true. Peyton was 0-3 vs Florida but had one great game, one average game and one crappy game vs them
 
#35
#35
Really crazy that up until that point we'd never been an underdog of more than 18 points in any game EVER and yet we were +18 in a game where we were ranked #3. That's how good Florida was perceived to be that year. We were right at that number at USC in 81 and ND in 78. And then once we fired Fulmer we were probably 20 point underdogs 10+ times in the next 10-12 years.
 
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#40
#40
Spurrier was the difference when Fla/Tennessee played in those big games. Even after getting beat UT fans would say,"Wow! Did you see that play that Spurrier made to decide the game?" We don't have that as he played to win and we play not to lose.
 
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#42
#42
McDad said:
Spurrier, the man who couldn't beat Butch Jones and rage-quit on his team mid season. Wonder why we are never treated to a clever quip about that from him?
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Agree 100%

I always thought he was from the old school where your parents would whip your rear end if you quit a team mid season. I can’t say I was ever the perfect parent, volunteered to help coach my kids when I could. However, the one rule we lived by was that each kid stuck it out through the entire season. No quiting. You sign up to play a sport, you finished the season, good or bad.
 
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#44
#44
In the majority of those games in the 90s, it seemed like UT played “tight” and not to lose . . . And Spurrier coached and his players played with confidence.

They were talented for sure. But so was UT. The difference was coaching. He simply outcoached Fulmer / UT more often than not.
 
#46
#46
Baseball25 said:
Spurrier was the difference when Fla/Tennessee played in those big games. Even after getting beat UT fans would say,"Wow! Did you see that play that Spurrier made to decide the game?" We don't have that as he played to win and we play not to lose.
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One of the SEC network docs in the last ten years on Spurrier has Fulmer interviewed saying in it, they (Staff) basically had little idea how to defense "the Fun and Gun" going in most of those early 90s games? In fairness, not many others did either.
 
#47
#47
Peyton couldn’t beat him in college but go on to the NFL he was horrible at playing at coaching meanwhile PM got multiple awards and two super bowls. It wasn’t Peyton’s fault the defense stunk against him in college of course he scored a lot on every team.
 
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#49
#49
Rickyvol77 said:
Yes but spurrier coached against majors while at Duke twice
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Duke and Spurrier history vs. UT is interesting

In `82 as Duke OC, Spurrier beat UT 25-24. The Duke HC at the time basically gave him credit for the upset. That also likely got him the Tampa Bay Bandits HC job which led to Duke and UF HC jobs soon after....
`88 in Neyland, Spurrier had Duke up 31-7 before holding on.
`89 UT won easily but Spurrier took Duke to the ACC Championship that season. A feat harder than most of his Florida seasons many think!
 
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