10:04 pm | July 2, 2019 | Go to Source | Author: Pat Dooley
It was June of 1992 when Steve Spurrier, fresh off Florida’s first official SEC title, called The Sun columnist Mike Bianchi with a new name for the stadium that would eventually bear his name.
The Swamp.
In the years that followed, there have been some unbelievable games and players. Sun writers Pat Dooley and Robbie Andreu came up with their rankings of the 25 best moments since 1992 when Spurrier gave it that moniker.
No. 13 — Nov. 25, 1995
Doering’s got a record
The set-up: There was so much on the line in this Florida-FSU game. No. 3 UF vs. the No. 6 ’Noles and it was Senior Day, something that brought former walk-on receiver Chris Doering to tears as he rode the bus one last time to The Swamp. And Florida was trying to finish off the regular season unbeaten for the first time. The Gators started fast and jumped to a 21-3 lead.
The moment: Late in the second quarter, Florida was driving again and the crowd was not only into it because of what Steve Spurrier’s offense was doing, but because of what might happen next. From the FSU 20, Danny Wuerffel dropped back, glanced to his right and then flung a perfect pass to the left corner of the end zone. There was Doering, who had run a precise pattern against the FSU zone. He hauled it in for his 16th TD catch of the year and 30th of his career, breaking Auburn’s Terry Beasley’s 24-year old record for career touchdowns. Doering stuck his No. 1 finger on the air and was mobbed by teammates on the sidelines, getting a bear hug from Ike Hilliard.
The result: Florida won the game 35-24 to avenge both the tie game and the bowl loss against FSU the year before. The Gators went on to face Nebraska for the national championship and we’ll just skip over that. Doering’s record was tied by Alabama’s Amari Cooper in 2014. His season record was broken by Reidel Anthony the next season. But he’ll always have that moment.
The quote: “I couldn’t have asked for a better situation with Senior Day and it being FSU and we’re trying to finish undefeated. It was a kind of storybook way for my career to end.
“They were playing cover two and the way our routes were designed, you want to get inside so you are head up with the cover two safety and then you have options. That was the option on that play. I caught a lot of corner routes in my career.” — Chris Doering
Editor’s note: You have one Swamp game moment that comes to mind? Tell us what it is.Maybe it’s already on our Top 25 list. We’ll update readers on top moments from fans as the countdown proceeds.
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