Gator History: Better to be Lucky than Good?

I sit with wonderment when Gator fans tell me, "if Miami or Florida State were in the SEC they never would have won anything." This myth is compounded by a national media that builds up the SEC, and that SEC teams get credit for beating one another while Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC teams get roasted in the press if they lose to a perceived weak sister within their own league.

Let's take this a step further: Florida does currently play in the toughest league in the country. But when Florida in fact won its first national title and when it won the majority of its league titles, the SEC had become essentially a two or three team conference. The 1990s were a bad time for traditional SEC powers LSU and Georgia. The Tigers had six consecutive losing seasons, including a dubious 2-9 year in 1992. Georgia also combined the occasional losing season, with many mediocre ones, with records in the neighborhood of 6-5 and 7-4. Auburn started the decade poorly, then rebounded but found itself on probation. Alabama started the decade well but then also found itself on probation and suffered some humiliating home defeats to teams from non power conferences along the way.

The Conference was a dominant force in the 1980 but by 1995 and 1996 when Florida played for the national title, the league was arguably the weakest in the "Bowl Alliance" a forerunner of the BCS. In 1996, Florida State went undefeated in the regular season including a season ending victory over Florida, where the score appeared close, but the game in fact was not, as FSU dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Yet thanks to Florida's win over a weak Alabama team in the SEC Title game and some other events including the the then annual Ohio State defeat to Michigan, Florida State found itself playing a team it had just beat in the championship game. In fact in the recent history of college football the 1996 Seminoles are the only team to ever have to face the same team in two consecutive games. Of course Florida won the Sugar Bowl and we hear today how that team which had been manhandled by the same Seminoles at the end of the regular season was "legendary."

Contrast this with a Miami team in 1988 which played five conference champions plus eventual national champion Notre Dame and then #1 Florida State. Miami lost to Notre Dame in South Bend on what remains 20 years later a very controversial and suspicious call. Yet Miami didn't get a rematch with Notre Dame and despite playing one of the toughest schedules ever, the Canes finished the year 11-1 and #2 in the polls. That year Miami defeated SEC Champion LSU 44-3 in Baton Rouge just in case anyone wants to claim Miami wouldn't have survived the SEC.

Now Florida's second national championship while certainly more deserved is also a bit suspect. I will not question the quality of the SEC in 2006. It was hands down the nation's best league. However, I still make a very strong case that Louisville who had scheduled some tough non league games and had survived an under rated conference schedule at 11-1 overall may have deserved the next crack at the title game when USC fell to UCLA.

Florida last traveled outside the state to play a non conference game in 1991 when the Gators were smashed by Syracuse. Let's compare that to Miami who is traveling to College Station, TX to face the Aggies in its next game. How about Florida State who much like Miami schedules competitive home and home series with teams from around the country? All of this despite the continued statements from Jeremy Foley that he wants Florida to play a more national schedule. Well I guess if you bring Montana State to your house, that is more national, isn't it?