Football Flashback: Canes Knock Out Gators in Bayou Battle
By David Villavicencio
HurricaneSports.com
The 2019 college football season is fast approaching and the excitement surrounding the upcoming season is building with every passing day.
The Miami Hurricanes are set to open the season in just 50 days, facing off against the rival Florida Gators in the Camping World Kickoff — a nationally-televised matchup on Aug. 24 inside Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fla.
But what makes this season-opening tilt between two of college football’s most storied programs is the history between the two in-state adversaries. The 2019 game will mark the 56th meeting between the two sides in a rivalry that Miami leads, 29-26.
The Canes have dominated the rivalry ever since Miami’s program rose to dominance in the 1980s, going 8-3 since the 1983 national championship season.
Miami and Florida’s rivalry began in 1938 with a 19-7 Hurricanes victory. Starting with the 1944 season, the two sides met every year until the Gators decided to no longer schedule the Hurricanes following a dominant 31-4 UM win in 1987.
The rivalry sat dormant for 13 years until fate and some controversy in the Bowl Championship Series brought the two teams back together.
Miami finished the 2000 regular season winners of nine consecutive games to run its record to 10-1. The Hurricanes ranked second in the AP Poll for the final five weeks of the regular season and had wins over both No. 1 Florida State and No. 2 Virginia Tech during the regular season.
But the BCS computers determined that Florida State would face No. 1 Oklahoma in the 2001 Orange Bowl, ranking the Seminoles ahead of the Hurricanes by 32-hundredths of a point.
Despite identical records and a head-to-head win over the Noles, Miami was denied a chance to play outright for the national championship in their hometown.
Instead, they were destined for a date with the rival Gators in the 2001 Sugar Bowl and they entered that game feeling slighted and also hungry to prove they were the best team in the country and that meant bad news for the University of Florida.
“Hey, there’s 116 other teams or however many Division I schools there are out there that would love to be in our position,” said Miami sophomore tight end Jeremy Shockey at the time. “This is a great opportunity for us,” Shockey said. “You can’t let good opportunities like this slip past you.”
The Gators headed to New Orleans as the SEC champion with a 10-2 record and ranked seventh in the BCS poll. Florida’s team featured talent and depth on both sides of the ball, including quarterback Rex Grossman, receivers Jabar Gaffney and Reche Caldwell, running back Earnest Graham, cornerback/return specialist Lito Sheppard, defensive end Alex Brown, defensive tackle Gerard Warren and safety Marquand Manuel.
But Miami’s team featured one of the finest collections of college football talent ever assembled. Led by seniors including receiver/kick returner Santana Moss, receiver Reggie Wayne, running back James Jackson, middle linebacker Dan Morgan and safety Al Blades, the 2000 Hurricanes refused to be denied.
Add in gifted quarterback Ken Dorsey, a sophomore who threw for 25 touchdowns and just five interceptions during the regular season, as well as Shockey, junior running back Najeh Davenport and sophomore standout back Clinton Portis and the depth on offense was significant.
Tack on a defense that included future NFL first rounder Damione Lewis anchoring the defensive line and a secondary that featured three future first rounders in Edward Reed, Mike Rumph and Phillip Buchanon and you could see that Miami would prove to be a formidable opponent for just about any college football team in the country.
Both sides were amped up when the opening kickoff left the tee inside the Louisiana Superdome on Jan. 2, 2001.
Miami’s defense forced a three-and-out on Florida’s opening drive and Moss, who had four of the Hurricanes’ five punt returns for a touchdown in the 2000 season, evaded multiple Gators in a 27-yard return that gave the Hurricanes’ offense the ball in Gator territory to start its first possession.
The Canes charged to the Gators’ 30 before kicker Todd Sievers missed a 47-yard field goal that gave the Gators some momentum. Florida turned that momentum into points, as Grossman engineered a seven-play, 70-yard scoring drive that ended in a 23-yard touchdown pass to Kirk Wells to put the Gators ahead, 7-0.
But Miami answered back with a 44-yard field goal on its next possession, the first of three Sievers would convert on the evening, the cut the Gators’ lead to four. The Canes ended the first quarter ahead, 10-7, after Dorsey connected with Shockey for an eight-yard score.
Each team connected on a field goal in the second quarter, with Jeff Chandler’s 51-yard kick bringing Florida within three points.
With 13 seconds left in the first half, Florida head coach Steve Spurrier passed up a 43-yard field goal attempt from the Miami 26 to take a shot at the red zone. The decision to go for the lead backfired. Grossman’s pass, intended for receiver Taylor Jacobs, was badly under thrown, and Miami cornerback Leonard Myers picked it off send both squads to the locker rooms with Miami on top, 13-10.
The Canes opened the second half with the ball and were eager to add to their lead, but Florida had other plans.
On the first play from scrimmage, Brown sacked Dorsey for an eight-yard loss and put Miami in a deep hole. Two plays later, Keiwan Ratliff picked off Dorsey on third-and-15 and Florida took over possession in Hurricane territory.
It took just one offensive snap for Florida to jump back ahead, as Graham burst for a 36-yard touchdown run that put the Gators on top, 17-13. But the Hurricanes withstood the blow and delivered a big counterpunch, scoring touchdowns on their next two drives to go ahead for good.
Freshman fullback D.J. Williams hauled in a 19-yard pass from Dorsey for the first score, wrapping up a dominant 12-play scoring drive that covered 80 yards.
After forcing a three-and-out, Miami scored again through the air on its next possession when Davenport made a circus catch on a two-yard pass from Dorsey that gave the Canes’ QB his third touchdown of the game and put the Hurricanes ahead by ten.
The Gators, sensing the game slipping away, made a big play late in the third quarter to give Florida hope. Miami was driving again and had entered Gator territory before Dorsey took a shot deep on first-and-10 from the UF 49. Moss had Lito Sheppard beat down the right sideline, but the Florida pass rush forced the pocket to collapse just as Dorsey released the ball. The Gators’ DB picked off the underthrown pass and prevented the Miami lead from growing to 17.
Grossman and the Gators converted the turnover into points, driving 79 yards before Chandler hit as 26-yard field goal to bring Florida within a score, 27-20.
But that score would never come, as the Hurricanes’ defense blanked the Gators for the final 12:50. Facing a third-and-10 with 7:40 to go and a 10-point deficit, Grossman forced a pass to the left side intended for Caldwell. Buchanon baited the throw and instinctively jumped the route for an interception that was a big blow to the Gator sideline.
The Hurricanes delivered the knockout punch with 4:21 remaining in the game, as Davenport rushed for a three-yard touchdown and the Canes went into full celebration mode. Miami’s mascot, Sebastian the Ibis, was called for a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after running into the end zone to celebrate with Davenport and his teammates.
Sievers lined up for a 35-yard PAT, but a penalty for too many men on the field moved the Canes back another 15-yards and Miami’s kicker was forced to attempt a 50-yard kick. Sievers, who had converted a 50-yard extra point earlier in the season, drilled the kick through the middle of the uprights to put Miami ahead by 17 points.
A dejected Florida sideline watched Jesse Palmer come in to the game and try to provide a late spark, but the new quarterback did not fare much better than the one he replaced.
With 2:08 to go, Palmer was picked off by Morgan at the goal line and Miami’s unanimous All-American linebacker, team captain, Big East Defensive Player of the Year and the recipient of that year’s Butkus Award, Nagurski Trophy and Bednarik Award returned the interception 26 yards to seal Miami’s 37-20 victory and cap a hall of fame career.
“We got what we deserved,” Spurrier said following the game. “You’ve got to give Miami credit, because they were better than us. It was sort of embarrassing the way we played.”
Dorsey, who finished with 22 completions in 40 attempts for 270 yards and three touchdowns, was named Sugar Bowl MVP.
“He’s a winner,” Miami coach Butch Davis said. “He’s always making the right decisions. And tonight our guys helped by making some big-time catches.”
The victory over the Gators meant Miami went undefeated against its in-state rivals in the 2000 season. The Hurricanes closed out the year 11-1 and carried a 10-game winning streak into the unforgettable 2001 season that ended in the Canes’ fifth national championship.
