This will be the last Stadium Road Audibles edition before the holidays, so Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all you Gators out there.
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Florida is playing in the Peach Bowl, but given the team’s history with the game, it might as well be the Pain Bowl.
The first time the Gators went to the postseason game in Atlanta was in 1981. UF went into the game at 7-4 and was looking to match the previous year’s record with a win. It had been something of a hard-luck season, as the team had lost to Miami by one, Auburn by two, and Georgia by four. They weren’t that far off from a stellar record, though a 21-point loss to Mississippi State meant they weren’t that close to tying 6-0 Alabama for the SEC title.
The bowl matchup was with West Virginia, which had gone 8-3 as an independent. Their good losses came to No. 3 Penn State and No. 4 Pitt, but they also blew their regular season finale by three to a 4-6-1 Syracuse team. All of their wins except for one over a 7-4, pre-Frank Beamer Virginia Tech team were at the expense of squads that ended up finishing below .500 on the year. Florida went into the game as a big favorite as a result.
The weather did not cooperate with the Gators’ plans. This was long before the Georgia Dome, so the game took place outdoors in the old Fulton County Stadium.
A study by the University of North Carolina’s Southeast Regional Climate Center determined that 1981’s was the wettest Peach Bowl on record. That wouldn’t normally bother a Florida team, except that the high temperature was 37º. Florida barely managed over 100 yards of total offense and lost the game 26-6. The only points the Gators scored came late in the fourth quarter well after the result was decided.
My parents were married in 1981, so this was the first bowl game they attended as a married couple. I have heard the story of how miserable it was many times. Not only was it bone-chillingly cold and rainy, but the sound of the Mountaineer mascot shooting his rifle severely bothered my mother throughout. Fortunately, they’ve been able to attend a lot better Florida bowl games since then.
I happened to have attended UF’s second Peach Bowl appearance. That one came after the 2004 season, and I was a member of the Gator Band at the time. My now-wife was in the band then too, but she missed the trip due to a family funeral. Had it been any other kind of family obligation, I’d say she got the better end of the deal.
I actually don’t remember much from the trip, which is appropriate given how utterly forgettable the game was from the Gators’ perspective.
The matchup was with Miami, which at the time still seemed formidable. The Hurricanes had finished in the top five the three previous seasons and would end up 11th in ’04. Florida could have had revenge on their minds after having lost to UM in the 2002 and 2003 regular seasons.
Alas, the team appeared to have checked out on the season. Carrying Ron Zook off the field in Tallahassee was a cathartic way for players who loved their fired coach to end the season, and huge changes were in the offing with the newly-hired Urban Meyer set to take over the following season. In the meantime, they had this one game to play under interim head coach Charlie Strong.
Strong’s defense held up all right, holding Miami to 13 offensive points. The Gators’ special teams let them down, though, giving up touchdowns on a blocked field goal return and a punt return. The Florida offense could never find its top gear, and the Hurricanes won 27-10.
The only definite memory I have from this game is ringing in the new year while stuck in Atlanta traffic outside the stadium on our chartered buses. I’ve had better new years since then.
This year, the Gators are hoping that the third time is the charm with the Peach Bowl. I’m not convinced it will be.
Their Ohio State face plant aside, Michigan has been a true top-five caliber team all season. Their only losses came close to playoff-bound Notre Dame and also to the presently No. 6 Buckeyes. They have nothing on their resume as bad as, for instance, UF’s domination by Missouri. The S&P+ system likes Michigan by 6.2 points, the bookies have the Wolverines by 7 or 7.5 depending on where you look, and my bowl picking formula projects Michigan to win by 11.
Still, the extra practice and new redshirt rule means that Dan Mullen will have the opportunity to build in things for electric offensive freshmen like Emory Jones and Jacob Copeland. Michigan’s vaunted defense will also be down at least defensive lineman Rashan Gary, who dominated Florida up front in 2017, and may be down more. Likely first round pick LB Devin Bush hasn’t committed to playing in the game, and the unit has other top prospects beyond Gary and Bush.
This year might just be the year to break UF’s futility streak both against Michigan and in the Peach Bowl. Hopefully this won’t just be another edition of the Pain Bowl for the Gators.