ESPN offers up some great teams, players and games of the last 10 years in the SEC... http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=3406757 Pretty special that I live in Michigan and yet I was in attendance with my 9 year old son at their 3rd highest rated "best games of the era" when Florida blocked a last second FG to beat SC 17-16 in 2006. I also was in attendance when 2 of the top Ten "best SEC teams" of the era faced off for the SEC East title in 2001 when Tenn pulled the upset on Florida. Either one of those two 2001 teams would have given Miami a helluva fight for the NC in the Rose Bowl but they both tripped on their crank on the way. :cry:
Speaking of that 2001 Gator team and an old argument.... I have often said that dirty play by FSU the week before and the circumstances of 9-11 costs UF a possible national championship that year because not only was the game with Tenn moved to the end of the season but it afforded FSU's Darnell Dockett the chance to injure Earnest Graham the week before Tenn in the infamous knee twist incident. Last season watching Graham tear it up in the NFL only made my theory on that achieve more validity as he was one hell of a loss for Florida for the Tenn game and would have kept Tenn's offense off the field a little more and the ball away from Travis Stephens who ran up and down the field in a 34-32 loss. Oh well......
MCG, You never know how anyone will play on a given day until the game is played. He could very well have been the difference that day. He could have been a bust. Who knows? I'll give you one supreme example: Testaverde wiped up the field with almost every team he played against as a Miami Hurricane in 1985. He got to the Sugar Bowl against a very average Tennessee team and played more like a scout team QB. You can live on "could have been" scenarios if you wish... but the addition of Graham in that game did not guarantee you a win. It would have given you a better opportunity... but not a guaranteed win.
ha ha ha <r>you weren't even the best of the 'could have beens' that were left out of the NC game that year. <br/> <br/> I think what Tom said covers this subject best, but lets not lose all perspective on reality here.<br/> <br/> 2001 was yet another year in which the BCS fooked over the Pac10. Following college football's beyond retarded logic that 'National Championship teams don't lose to Stanford', Oregon was passed over for dropping a game to the Cardinal at home.<br/> <br/> In fact, in the world of BCS hype and hyperbole, Oregon was passed over for consideration by Nebraska and the 'red hot' Colorado Buffaloes who had blown out Nebraska in the next-to-last game of the season and then beat Texas in the Big12 Title game.<br/> <br/> Oregon was stuck in the 'Go prove yourself, son!' Fiesta Bowl in which they stomped the bejeezus out of Colorado in one of the worst beatings I've seen in a bowl game. That Florida team you are referring to lost TWICE that year. (once to Auburn and once to Tennessee)<br/> <br/> Here in a NYT article written at that time:<br/> <br/> <URL url="http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B07EEDA1230F931A35752C0A9649C8B63%5B/urlhttp://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B07EEDA1230F931A35752C0A9649C8B63"><s></s><LINK_TEXT text="http://query.n...EEDA1230F931A35752C0A9649C8B63</LINK_TEXT><e></e></URL><br/> <QUOTE><s> </e></QUOTE></r>
Well Corey I wasn't saying Florida deserved to go because yes...they did lose twice...but I am saying without question that was one of Spurrier's best teams at Florida and unfortunate circumstances kept 2001 Florida from playing for the SEC and national title.....that and the fact they overlooked what ESPN now calls one of the top ten best SEC teams period of the BCS era. The other 2001 UF loss was by a last minute FG in a hurricane at Auburn...a miracle 45 yard kick or somewhere close to that. Miami only had one other loss that year....35-23 to the Gators. And Tom I agree there is no guarantee UF would have won the game but I was there and saw Florida come up a two point conversion short on a night when they had no running game which they didn't that year without Graham. Spurrier tended to ride a good horse exclusively when he had one. Graham had 9 rushing touchdowns that season and the next back had just one and I remember a series late in the game when UF had a first and goal near the 4 or 5 yard line and threw 4 straight times without success. That was the ballgame ultimately.