Dooley’s Dozen: 12 biggest ‘what ifs?’ from Florida football’s history
You probably have heard this from your significant other or maybe a parent or a teacher.
Then again, maybe you didn’t try to talk your way out of trouble every time you immersed yourself in it.
But somebody in your life has probably said to you, “Don’t play the ‘What if…?’ game with me.”
What if I did anyway?
Some of us love to play the “What if…?” game, especially on sports talk radio.
Mostly, what it does is make you feel how good you have had it.
So, let’s do it for this edition of the Dooley’s Dozen. We’ll give you 12 “What ifs…?” and when you are finished you will rejoice in knowing the light at the end of the tunnel – also known as college football season – is getting brighter by the minute.
What if… Will Grier doesn’t get popped?
I only use that expression because Jim McElwain told me, “Last guy on the team you think will get popped for PEDs is the quarterback.” When Grier was suspended in 2015, the Gators were 6-0 and ranked eighth in the country.
There were no more concerns about quarterback play. Florida went 4-4 the rest of the way and struggled at the position for four years until Kyle Trask took over.
Jarvis Moss doesn’t win the argument?
Take yourself back to 2006 and the South Carolina game. A made field goal by Steve Spurrier’s team will end any hopes of a special season. Moss has been pulled out of the game because his tank is running on fumes. He convinces Charlie Strong to let him go back into the game on kick block.
And you know the rest because you just closed your eyes and could hear that crowd again.
There was instant replay in 2000?
Yes, this is about the Jabar Gaffney catch in the end zone. Every time I see it, I kind of grin because if there was replay back in the olden days the winning touchdown would not have held up.
Of course, Florida did have a play left and could have sent the game to OT with a field goal, but if the Gators come up empty and everything else goes the same way, Steve Spurrier’s team doesn’t win the SEC that year because Tennessee would have gone to Atlanta.
Tim Tebow gets the first down?
The famous “promise” game might not have happened had Tebow converted a fourth-and-1 against Ole Miss instead of getting stuffed at the line. Gators fans almost remember that game fondly because of the legend it produced.
I still think Tebow’s pledge was more to fire himself up than anyone else, but it certainly worked.
Marco Wilson doesn’t throw the shoe?
The stop on third down was huge against LSU. And then it wasn’t, because Wilson threw Kole Taylor’s size 14 Nikes down the field. Instead of fourth down with the game on the line at their 29, LSU got a first down and only needed to gain 17 yards to set up the winning field goal.
I think this one mistake changed Dan Mullen’s career trajectory and ruined what could have been a special season.
Galen Hall doesn’t get fired?
So, Galen got all caught up in the NCAA’s investigation of Norm Sloan (you never want the NCAA snooping around) and was fired after a win at LSU in the middle of the season. He was let go despite bringing in one of the best recruiting classes ever in 1987 and guiding Florida to some amazing wins (40-18-1 overall record).
But if the trumped-up charges don’t push him out, the job is not open and Steve Spurrier may end up elsewhere.
Ray Graves doesn’t get pushed out?
The powerful boosters at Florida had enough of “Wait ‘Til Next Year” and worked a deal prior to the 1969 season with Graves to retire as coach and become athletic director. Then, Florida went 9-1-1 and Graves wanted to keep coaching.
Instead, Florida pushed him upstairs and hired Doug Dickey. Florida had things going, but the new coach put the brakes on it for three years (16-16-1).
The Gators show up in Nashville last season?
You always worry about those 11 a.m. games at Vanderbilt. Florida looked like a team that didn’t want to be there and it started a three-game losing streak to end the season.
If the Gators handle their business, the whole perception of Billy Napier – especially nationally – is different, Florida goes to a better bowl and doesn’t have a losing season for the second year in a row.
Jeff Chandler doesn’t miss the extra point?
Florida-Alabama in 1999 was one of the best games I have ever seen at the Swamp even though it ended Florida’s 30-game winning streak at home. It certainly made me look at Shaun Alexander differently (200 total yards). Florida lost in overtime because Chandler, the Gators’ all-time leading scorer, missed an extra point.
I’m not saying the Swamp changed that day, but Florida’s next two home games were a 13-6 win over a bad Vanderbilt team and a loss to FSU.
Jim McElwain wins those two games?
The Florida administration was getting frustrated with the Florida coach because of his attitude toward the fans and fellow coaches. Still, he went into back-to-back home games against LSU and Texas A&M with a 16-3 record in SEC games.
He lost to LSU by one and A&M by two. Florida probably wouldn’t have fired a coach who was 18-3 in the SEC and the “death threats” comment probably wouldn’t have happened.
Will Muschamp gets Lamar Jackson?
This may be an urban legend but I know that Muschamp told people that Jackson was going to come to Florida. But once he was fired after the South Carolina loss, that changed. Man, that would have been interesting.
Spurrier never leaves?
He has said that he regrets leaving Florida after the 2001 season. The siren song of the NFL was too loud, but if he had stayed, that team the next year might have been one of his best. Now, we know Spurrier wouldn’t want to put up with NIL and the portal, but another 10 years of SOS would have been great for the sportswriters.
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