The 1994 regular season game between Florida and Florida State is a well-known story. Steve Spurrier’s Gators went up 31-3 after three quarters against the Seminoles in Doak Campbell Stadium. Bobby Bowden’s Noles fought back and scored 28 points in the fourth quarter to tie the ball game. The contest ended in a 31-31 Florida State win tie. The game is known in college football lore as the “Choke at Doak”.
The rematch took place in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans just 37 days later. The game was nicknamed “The Fifth Quarter in the French Quarter”. Noles and Gators fans took over Bourbon Street, eager to see the rare rivalry game redux. These two schools were very familiar with playing in Louisiana in early January during the late 1980’s through the early 2000’s. Florida appeared in the Sugar Bowl in 1992, 1994, 1995, 1997, and 2001. FSU played six times in the Superdome, in 1989, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2000, and 2003. Two of those Sugar Bowls, as you can see, involved both squads.
Defending Champs
While we know how the regular season ended for each of these teams, let’s take a look at how they got there. Florida State was fresh off a national championship season in 1993, led by Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward. The quarterback that replaced him for the 1994 campaign was junior signal-caller Danny Kanell. Bowden’s squad returned a ton of talented players from the ’93 team. Sophomore running back Warrick Dunn was the best player on offense. Kanell’s weapons at wide receiver featured Kez McCorvey, Andre Cooper, E.G. Green, and ‘Omar Ellison.
Future NFL Hall of Fame linebacker Derrick Brooks led an elite front seven that included star defensive linemen Andre Wadsworth, Derrick Alexander, and Peter Boulware. The secondary was made up of cornerbacks Clifton Abraham and Corey Fuller along with safety Devin Bush. The entire Mickey Andrews-led defense was a nightmare for opposing quarterbacks and play-callers. The Noles won the Atlantic Coast Conference with ease, beating conference opponents by an average score of 41-12. FSU beat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in a rematch of the 1993 “Game of the Century”. The only blemish on the year was a 34-20 loss to the rival Miami Hurricanes in Coral Gables.
Gator Bait
The Florida Gators boasted one of, if not the most electric offenses in the entire country in 1994. Florida showed up in New Orleans scoring over 47 points per game. The “Fun-N-Gun” was led by Gators’ sophomore QB Danny Wuerffel. The future Heisman Trophy winner had a solid season, statistically, after replacing starting QB Terry Dean during the second half of the Auburn game in the middle of the year. Freshman RB Fred Taylor was a dangerous weapon in the backfield, and the Gators had an incredible receiving corps. Jack Jackson and Aubrey Hill were the senior starters and leaders. Reidel Anthony and Ike Hilliard were the young, rising superstars.
On the other side of the ball, the defensive front was Florida’s strength. Future first round NFL Draft picks DE Kevin Carter and defensive tackle Ellis Johnson wreaked havoc on their opponents. Prior to the “Choke at Doak”, the Gators had lost just once. Florida fell 36-33 in a mid-October Southeastern Conference showdown with the Auburn Tigers. Terry Bowden’s squad upset the top-ranked Gators in the Swamp. Florida rebounded and finished the year without another defeat. The Gators took down Alabama 24-23 in the SEC Championship Game a week after the rivalry game in Tallahassee with the Seminoles.
NOLA
It is important to know why there was a rematch to begin with. The bowl-makers do not necessarily care about rivalries or ties that need to be settled. The reason that Florida and FSU played in the Sugar Bowl was due to the rules of the Bowl Coalition. The Fiesta, Orange, Cotton, Sugar, Gator, and Sun Bowls teamed up with the SEC, ACC, Big East, Big 8, Southwest Conference, and Notre Dame to attempt to determine a champion. The goal of the Coalition was to put together the best bowl match-ups and, if possible, put No. 1 vs. No. 2 together for the right to hang a banner.
In 1994, No. 1, unbeaten Nebraska faced off against Big East champion, No. 3 Miami in the Orange Bowl. Because of their recent move from independence to the Big Ten, No. 2 undefeated Penn State played in the Rose Bowl against Oregon. Because of the conference tie-ins of these bowls, the SEC champion Gators were invited to the Sugar Bowl. The Cotton and Orange Bowls had SWC and Big 8 ties, respectively.
First Half
On January 2nd, 1995, the Seminoles and Gators kicked off the 61st annual Sugar Bowl. Florida received the ball to start the game. Wuerffel and the Gators moved the ball down field, picking up several first downs. On third-and-long from the FSU 45-yard line, Wuerffel was sacked hard by Noles DE Peter Boulware. The Gators lost seven yards on the play and were forced to punt. Senior punter Shayne Edge pinned the Noles at their own 7-yard line with 10:29 remaining in the first fifth quarter.
Kanell and Co. had a very good opening drive, highlighted by four straight plays for Dunn and a 41-yard pass to E.G. Green. Kanell missed McCorvey in the corner of the end zone on second down and the Florida LB James Bates made an excellent tackle on a draw to Dunn to force the Noles to kick. Dan Mowrey came on and kicked a 21-yarder to give FSU a 3-0 lead with 7:20 left in the opening period.
The next Gators’ series opened up with a big play. On first down from their own 26-yard line, Wuerffel faked a hand-off to RB Elijah Williams before pitching the ball backwards to his WR Anthony on the end-around. After a fantastic block by fullback Dwayne Mobley, Anthony unloaded a deep pass to fellow WR Jackson, who hauled it in at the FSU 22-yard line.
On 3rd-and-3, Wuerffel pulled off the most unlikely QB draw of the game, quickly picking up 13-yards and a first down. Several plays later, from third-and-goal inside the 5-yard line, Wuerffel tried running a QB sweep to the left. Derrick Brooks had other ideas and tracked Wuerffel down, slinging him out of bounds and forcing the Gators to settle for three. Kicker Judd Davis put the ball between the uprights and the game was tied 3-3 with under four minutes remaining in the first quarter.
Kanell was sacked on third down by Carter to end any chances for the Noles to answer on their next drive. After the Sean Liss punt, the Florida offense took over near their own 40-yard line. Wuerffel found Jackson for a first down across midfield. After short passes to Taylor and Anthony, the fifth quarter ended with the two rivals still deadlocked 3-3. Taylor moved the sticks with a run up the middle, but fumbled on the next play after a big hit from Bush.
The Noles took over at their own 27-yard line early in the second quarter. Looking to capitalize on the turnover, Bowden dialed up a trick play of his own. Kanell took the snap in shotgun formation, and threw a backwards pass to Dunn, who streaked towards the sideline. Under heavy pressure from Gator defenders, Dunn fired down field to Ellison, who adjusted and caught the bouncing ball off the head of Florida CB Anthone Lott. Ellison taunted the Florida secondary as he jogged into the end zone for a 73-yard touchdown. The Noles led 10-3.
After great starting field position and a strong run to start the next drive by Williams, the Gators got a little too cute. From the FSU 37-yard line, Florida lined up in a wacky formation, and Wuerffel threw a backwards pass to Anthony that lost more than 10-yards. Florida got most of the yards back with several completions by Anthony, but the Seminoles stiffened up on fourth-and-inches to get the ball back. Wuerffel was reeling after taking some punishment from the FSU defense.
Runs from Dunn and fullback Zack Crockett along with some tough catches from Ellison got the Noles down inside the Gator 20-yard line. Kanell found a toe-dragging McCorvey in the end zone for his second touchdown pass of the day to extend the FSU lead. The Kanell-McCorvey connection capped a 10-play, 72-yard drive. The Seminoles led the Gators 17-7 with under eight minutes to play before halftime.
After two stuffed Taylor runs, Wuerffel hit Hilliard with an 82-yard touchdown strike to bring the Gators back within a score. Kanell and the FSU offense moved the chains twice on the next drive before punting it back to the Gators. The drive was promising after passes to Jackson and Anthony, but a completed pass to Hilliard was stripped by LB Daryl Bush and DB Sean Hamlet recovered his second fumble of the day.
FSU took over at midfield with under three minutes to play. A swing pass to Dunn gained a first down to the Gators 40-yard line. Kanell found McCorvey for a big pickup on the next play to get inside the 15-yard line. Florida’s defense bowed up on the next three plays and Mowrey was brought on to kick a 24-yard field goal. Florida moved the ball downfield quickly, thanks to some improvisation by Wuerffel. Davis’ kick sailed left, though, and FSU led 20-10 at the break.
Second Half
Noles RB Rock Preston took the second half kickoff all the way back to the Gators’ 31-yard line to set FSU up with great field position. The Florida defense stopped the Noles on the drive, and forced Mowrey to kick a long field goal. FSU extended their lead to 23-10 early in the third quarter. A Devin Bush interception returned for a touchdown was wiped off the board due to a Florida false start penalty; don’t see that every day. Florida was forced to punt on their opening drive.
An offensive pass interference that might also have been a Gators interception in the end zone stalls the next FSU drive. The Noles punt and the Gators take over at their own 6-yard line after another great kick by Liss. Wuerffel is sacked on first down and then fails to complete a pass on third-and-long. The Gators punt it back to FSU with eight minutes left in the third quarter.
Passes to McCorvey and fourth-down pick-ups by Crockett and Dunn moved the sticks for the Noles inside the 10-yard line. On a third-and-seven, Dunn is stopped at the line of scrimmage. Mowrey comes out for another field goal attempt, but this one is wide to the right and the score remains 23-10 Noles with a minute and a half left before the fourth quarter.
Spurrier decided to make a change at quarterback, bringing in second-year player Eric Kresser for several plays. The experiment did not go well, and Wuerffel returned to pick up a big third-down to Hilliard right at the start of the final period. After taking a big loss on a sack by Alexander, Wuerffel found Doering for another huge completion to the FSU 24-yard line. Noles LB Todd Rebol sacked Wuerffel on third-down, setting up a fourth and long. Spurrier decided to go for it, and Wuerffel’s pass to the end zone was broken up by Abraham. The Noles took over with a little over 10 minutes left in regulation.
A 29-yard gain from Kanell to McCorvey got the Seminoles offense inside the Gators’ red zone again. After three incomplete passes, Mowrey was brought on for a fifth field goal attempt. Dan’s kick went way left, and the Gators took over with 8:37 remaining.
Anthony, Jackson, Doering, and Hill all came up with clutch receptions to get the ball down to the Noles’ 4-yard line. FSU DB Corey Fuller’s interception in the end zone was nullified by a pass interference call, and the Gators scored three plays later on Wuerffel’s QB “sneak” from one yard out. Florida went 80-yards on 17 plays, using up almost five minutes of clock. After a failed onside kick by the Gators, FSU took over at their own 39-yard line with 3:47 left to play.
Florida State punted after a short, head-scratching possession and UF took over at their own 19-yard line with two and a half minutes left. Rebol’s sack on second down backed the Gators up, and on the next play, Brooks intercepted Wuerffel’s pass intended for Taylor and the Noles took over. Kanell and the offense went into victory formation and ran out the clock. FSU took down the Gators 23-17 in New Orleans.
Two years later, in 1996, the Noles and Gators would once again play each other twice during the season. FSU upset Florida in Tallahassee 24-21 in a No.1 vs. No. 2 match-up. The Gators got the last laugh, however, back in the Big Easy. Wuerffel and the boys from Gainesville thrashed the Seminoles 52-20 in the Sugar Bowl to win their first ever national championship. In the long history of this rivalry, the games from 1993 to 2000 had some of the biggest impacts in college football on a national level.
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