The '92 Florida game was such a memorable one

[ZZ13]

But just to be Debbie Downer...how did we manage to lose to a 3-7-1 Arkansas team at home and a 5-6 USCe team that year? Tough to be a Vol fan sometimes. As we also gave eventual NC Bama it’s toughest test of the season.

That was just life with Johnny Majors. So many memorable wins over big programs. So many memorable inexplicable klunkers against mediocre nobodies. Of course Fulmer coached the memorable wins that year. Majors coached the klunkers. But that's been discussed here 1,000 times. Arkansas was 1-4 when we played them I believe. And USCe started 0-5.

 

[Frozevol]

Crazy we have only beat Florida 5 times since that game 28 years ago

And I thought I was the downer

 

[TrippVol]

Every time I see Mose Phillips check his wrist in the end zone, I burst out laughing! Love it!

 

[JBondVol]

Every time I see Mose Phillips check his wrist in the end zone, I burst out laughing! Love it!

Wonder if that gesture was in reference to the 1990 game? What was the old joke, if it's 2:15 in Gainesville, what time is it in Knoxville?

45 to 3

 

[JohnWardForever]

A buddy and I coined a phrase after Mose Phillips scored on that long catch and run. "Mose Knows Football". My Buddy is gone now; RIP John Holt--Knoxville Fulton HS.

 

[vols_fan_68]

My very first game at Neyland, I'll never forget it.

 

[GAVol]

But just to be Debbie Downer...how did we manage to lose to a 3-7-1 Arkansas team at home and a 5-6 USCe team that year? Tough to be a Vol fan sometimes. As we also gave eventual NC Bama it’s toughest test of the season.

That was a result of a series of events that led to the end of Johnny Majors’ tenure. Things got ugly internally at the end of 1991 and into the offseason. Then Johnny had a heart attack and rushed back and it really messed with team chemistry right in the middle of the 92 season.

 

[utvols74]

Quick question to a lot of folks here. I have seen many people post on here in the past several years about the 1990 and 1992 games.

Did you all really hate Florida at that point or did that come later? I ask because at the time, we hadn't played a lot, Florida had not proven to be a thorn in Tennessee's side, etc. Or, is it something you look back on with greater fondness as a result of playing each other for 30 years now.

Just curious.

For me it is two things....

1) In some years UF has managed to win in some of the most unusual ways...."non-catch/catch" in Neyland, "hail-Mary" at UF, UT's fumbles at very, very inopportune times, it seems that UF plays one of their best games of the season when they play UT.

2) Spurrier's constant ribbing of Fulmer. Often very funny, but somewhat irritating as well.

 

[feathersax]

What row? I was in section C that day.

Row 62. Had those seats 20 years.

 

[VolsSince78]

JJ McCleskey. I remember him hobbling Errick Rhett on a tackle, and later in the game giving 4 or 5 rapid fire gator chomps 20 feet from the Gator sidelines during a timeout. Our student section went berserk. That’s a penalty now. In ‘92, it was a 5’7” guy with a lot of balls letting all the Gators know it was not their day.

 

[firedog28]

Glad we had a good drainage system that day,or everyone on the field level would have drowned.

 

[GreveHaller]

at one point I looked at my then gf and said "it cant rain any harder than it is right now". It did.

it was raining so hard it hurt

 

[TJVol95]

From the view DD you can see top couple of floors of the Library. On that day it rained so hard you could not see the library. I loved that!!

 

[PSYVOL]

Quick question to a lot of folks here. I have seen many people post on here in the past several years about the 1990 and 1992 games.

Did you all really hate Florida at that point or did that come later? I ask because at the time, we hadn't played a lot, Florida had not proven to be a thorn in Tennessee's side, etc. Or, is it something you look back on with greater fondness as a result of playing each other for 30 years now.

Just curious.

Hate was definitely brewing, if not already entrenched. Spurrier had a special kind of vitriol for UT that spilled over into the masses. All fanbases are biased and no group should be evaluated on their least common denominator. However, maybe taking Steve's lead, there seemed to be a hostility & occassional lack of decency with some Florida fans that felt different than other SEC rivals. No doubt that started to go both ways. Your dominance in the modern era of the rivalry fueled the resentment. The swamp is also the only away venue where we've ever bolted early due to reckless aggression in the stands. That probably solidified it for me.

 

[Tnphil]

at one point I looked at my then gf and said "it cant rain any harder than it is right now". It did.

it was raining so hard it hurt

My face hasn't been that clean since.....Felt like someone used a power washer between my ears.

 

[BigOrangeAl 1979]

And yet there are still fans that go into every season thinking we have a shot at beating UF. UF is an automatic loss for us. I cannot explain it. There is no rational or logical reason as to why we have lost to them so much.

We should’ve beat them in 1999, 2000, 2006, 2014,2015 and 2017 I don’t understand the jinx and mental control they have had on this since 1993. The way we have lost some of those games and some seasons that we have had the better and more talented team and still lost. I can’t figure it out even when we were owning Georgia and Bama we still couldn’t figure Florida out. They have had win streaks of 5,11 and currently 3. We have never beat them more than 2 years straight since 1990.

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

We should’ve beat them in 1999, 2000, 2006, 2014,2015 and 2017 I don’t understand the jinx and mental control they have had on this since 1993. The way we have lost some of those games and some seasons that we have had the better and more talented team and still lost. I can’t figure it out even when we were owning Georgia and Bama we still couldn’t figure Florida out. They have had win streaks of 5,11 and currently 3. We have never beat them more than 2 years straight since 1990.

Agree 100%. I honestly don’t get it. It’s almost like they have our number. Even when we have beaten them it’s never been a dominating win except what in 1992? I mean the past 2 years have seen them trounce us 81-24. That’s pathetic. It’s mind boggling. I think we should have beaten them in 2002 as well.

 

[LordBolton]

Quick question to a lot of folks here. I have seen many people post on here in the past several years about the 1990 and 1992 games.

Did you all really hate Florida at that point or did that come later? I ask because at the time, we hadn't played a lot, Florida had not proven to be a thorn in Tennessee's side, etc. Or, is it something you look back on with greater fondness as a result of playing each other for 30 years now.

Just curious.

Looked like at that time Florida was no problem at all, another UGA who may have an occasional run but fade back into subservience where they belonged.

 

[Model12]

JJ McCleskey. I remember him hobbling Errick Rhett on a tackle, and later in the game giving 4 or 5 rapid fire gator chomps 20 feet from the Gator sidelines during a timeout. Our student section went berserk. That’s a penalty now. In ‘92, it was a 5’7” guy with a lot of balls letting all the Gators know it was not their day.

One of my all time favorite moments was JJ grabbing his crotch at the UF fans in the NE end zone. I was in the first row of fans behind them and they were total j@ckasses. Their "attitude" was modified in the 3rd. At the end we were emotionally spent. It was a true event.

 

[SprocketRocket]

I’ve hated them ever since Doug Dickey left and went there.

Agreed, although it has gotten more intense for me over the years. My dad really despised Charlie Pell for some reason, but I can't remember why. To this day my wife can't stand to look at or listen to Spurrier.

 

[SprocketRocket]

We should’ve beat them in 1999, 2000, 2006, 2014,2015 and 2017 I don’t understand the jinx and mental control they have had on this since 1993. The way we have lost some of those games and some seasons that we have had the better and more talented team and still lost. I can’t figure it out even when we were owning Georgia and Bama we still couldn’t figure Florida out. They have had win streaks of 5,11 and currently 3. We have never beat them more than 2 years straight since 1990.

The 2000 game made we want to puke. I think my hate for them hit a high point in that game.

 

[JohnWardForever]

Agreed, although it has gotten more intense for me over the years. My dad really despised Charlie Pell for some reason, but I can't remember why. To this day my wife can't stand to look at or listen to Spurrier.

Probably because Pell was known for Cheating; and Brash about it.

 

[Illinoisvolfan2]

Agreed, although it has gotten more intense for me over the years. My dad really despised Charlie Pell for some reason, but I can't remember why. To this day my wife can't stand to look at or listen to Spurrier.

Yes. Spurrier definitely made it worse. I’ve always thought he has a psychotic hate for Tennessee because Dickey didn’t really recruit him hard, or at all.

 

[Lawrence Wright]

Looked like at that time Florida was no problem at all, another UGA who may have an occasional run but fade back into subservience where they belonged.

When the SEC split into divisions, the general thought around the league was Bama and Tennessee would play in the SECCG just about every year.

You had writers like Charles Hollis in Birmingham putting out hit pieces on Spurrier claiming UF was a flash in the pan, a pass happy offense wouldn’t fly in the SEC and Spurrier would be home in front of his TV set on New Years Day.

No one considered UF to be a consistent threat back then.

 

[Jax_Vol]

Yes. Spurrier definitely made it worse. I’ve always thought he has a psychotic hate for Tennessee because Dickey didn’t really recruit him hard, or at all.

Yes. To-date, Spurrier has never been able to accept that Tennessee didn't want him as a player. So, 55 years later, he still hasn't got over it and whines whenever given a platform. It is a classic case of a jilted lover.

Prior to the conference realignment due to USC and Arkansas joining in 1990ish, Tennessee rarely played Florida. For 50+ years, the gators were terrible at football and therefore have no tradition.

The series slowly started to become a rivalry when the teams begin to play yearly. Unfortunately, much like with Alabama, Tennessee hasn't been consistently competitive for the last 15 years. The Vols are truly a sleeping giant.

Except for the old-timers, Alabama has turned their attention to LSU, Auburn, Clemson, etc as rivals. The only thing keeping the Florida series on life-support is the gators strange fascination with the Tennessee quality of life. Since band-wagon fans can't grasp tradition and spirit, they continually flock to VolNation as a mecca of knowledge. Unfortunately for the gators, they will never understand the Volunteer spirit.