Ranking the biggest choke jobs in Florida college football history
The collapse was so epic, the humiliation so historic, it spawned an instant nickname.
The Bounce House Bungle.
Such was the unflattering moniker longtime Orlando Sentinel columnist Mike Bianchi slapped on UCF’s 36-35 loss Saturday to Baylor, when the Knights blew a 28-point lead in the game’s final 19 minutes. Other possible names: Mortgage Collapse (UCF plays in FBC Mortgage Stadium) and Orange County Crumble.
Such is the fallout when a game of considerable magnitude (UCF’s Big 12 home debut) has a meltdown to match. Question is, was Saturday’s debacle the biggest choke in Florida college football lore?
We sifted through the state annals and came up with what we deem five eminent flameouts. We’ve ranked them, in ascending order.
5. Boise State 36, FSU 31 (Aug. 31, 2019)
The 2019 opener against the Broncos wasn’t Willie Taggart’s largest blown lead at FSU — his Seminoles were up 20 at Miami a year earlier and lost — but it was arguably the most devastating. FSU led 24-6 after 20 minutes and by 18 again with four minutes to play in the first half. But true freshman quarterback Hank Bachmeier and the Broncos scored the final 23 points in a 36-31 comeback as FSU wilted at home in the sweltering heat. Taggart later got himself in hot water over comments about whether his team was properly hydrated after being shut out in the second half. Regardless, the fallout fueled hot-seat speculation for Taggart, who was fired eight games later.
4. Miami 38, Florida 33 (Sept. 6, 2003)
For the Ron Zook naysayers, this surreal flameout — on a sticky Saturday night in the old Orange Bowl — embodied the brief tenure of Steve Spurrier’s beleaguered, overmatched successor. The Gators jumped out to a 33-10 lead and appeared poised for their first victory in Miami in nearly 20 years but couldn’t close the deal. After a wretched first half, former UF quarterback Brock Berlin (who had transferred to Miami in 2002) directed four long scoring drives in the last 19 minutes to rally the ‘Canes. “We learned a lot more from this than if we would have won it,” Zook said.
3. Baylor 36, UCF 35 (Sept. 30, 2023)
It’s hard to imagine a more painful loss than Saturday’s. Instead of celebrating UCF’s first Big 12 home game, the Knights were left trying to explain how they turned a 35-7 lead with four minutes left in the third quarter into a 36-35 loss. The Bears’ 29 unanswered points marked the biggest comeback in the program’s 124 years and the largest collapse in UCF history. All against a 1-3 Baylor team that lost its opener to Texas State. “We didn’t seize the moment,” Knights coach Gus Malzahn said.
2. Maryland 42, Miami 40 (Nov. 10, 1984)
Because Doug Flutie’s Heisman-clinching Hail Mary against Miami occurred only 13 days later, this monumental ‘Canes collapse tends to get overshadowed. But it remains part of Terrapins folklore and ‘Canes infamy. Down 31-0 at halftime, Terrapins coach Bobby Ross yanked starter Stan Gelbaugh in favor of Frank Reich, who was nearly flawless (12 of 15, 260 yards, three touchdowns) in leading what was then the biggest comeback in collegiate history. His 68-yard scoring pass to Greg Hill gave Maryland the lead for good, 35-34. Eight years later, Reich led the Buffalo Bills from a 32-point second-half deficit to a 41-38 overtime playoff triumph against the Houston Oilers.
1. FSU 31, Florida 31 (Nov. 26, 1994)
Consider the stage, stakes and size of the rally, and the “Choke at Doak” remains the biggest meltdown — or comeback, depending on your perspective — in state history. When the third quarter ended in the matchup of 9-1 teams, the No. 4-ranked Gators led No. 7 FSU, 31-3. But the Seminoles responded with four unanswered touchdowns, pulling within 31-30 on Rock Preston’s 4-yard run with 1:45 remaining. ‘Noles coach Bobby Bowden briefly considered a two-point conversion — this was before overtime in college — but opted for the tying PAT. In the fourth quarter alone, ‘Noles quarterback Danny Kanell went 18 of 22 for 232 yards, prompting Bowden’s paradoxical opening statement in the postgame news conference: “That was a great win for us.”
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