10:05 pm | July 4, 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. 11 — Oct. 11, 2008
The tip drill works
The set-up: Florida was facing a huge game against No. 4 LSU and the 11th-ranked Gators knew they couldn’t afford another loss. Tim Tebow was so fired up he gave a loud pep talk to the fans as he bounced through the Gator Walk. LSU was coming off consecutive conference wins over Auburn and Mississippi State.
The moment: The crowd was standing on its head at the start of this game with Florida getting the ball first. The first two plays went for minus-two yards, but on third-and-12, Tebow dropped back and forced a deep ball for Percy Harvin, who was behind his defender — safety Danny McCray. McCray jumped up and got his hand on the ball, tipping it directly to Harvin, who sprinted through the defense for a 70-yard score 1:38 into the game.
The result: Florida jumped out to a 17-0 lead and would win the game 51-21. The Gators would win out, taking the SEC title game over Alabama and the national title game against Oklahoma.
The quote: “As I remember, it was something we saw in the coverage of LSU on film. We knew if we could get Percy matched up on their nickel, he could beat him. I mean, Percy could beat just about anybody. It was such a big game and such an incredible atmosphere that we wanted to hit it early. The ball was a little underthrown by Timmy and got tipped, but once it got in Percy’s hands, look out!” — Dan Mullen.
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.
Powered by WPeMatico