Mythical Playoffs (Round 2) 96 Florida vs 95 Florida
By SECFans on July 5 2009 7:38 PM
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Game Eleven: 1996 Florida Gators (12-1) vs 1995 Florida Gators (12-1)
Tournament to Date:
96 Florida:
Defeated 1999 Alabama 33-20
(Players of the Game: Ike Hilliard, Reidel Anthony)
95 Florida:
Defeated 2007 LSU 24-20
(Players of the Game: Danny Wuerffel, James Bates)
Argument for 96 Florida:
To be honest, this potential match up has been looming large since the seeding came out. A question among Gator fans has always existed: 95 UF vs 96 UF. The 96 squad sports a senior Danny Wuerffel, but a little less seasoned talent at WR. The 96 squad also sports what on paper seems to be a more stout defense. Expect this one to be a shootout. Heck, the 96 Gators may just play for being the last team with the ball...that may be what it takes to win it.
Argument for 95 Florida:
Sure, the Florida squad got to go up against the Florida offense in practice every day. But how would it fare against itself in real competition? The 95 squad would like to think that the Fiesta bowl fiasco was an anomaly, and that it could withstand a punch from a powerful offense. It knows it has a pretty dominant scoring machine in its right. Danny may be a year younger, but he's got Doering's leadership in the huddle and on the field. He's also got younger versions of Hilliard, Green, and Anthony at his disposal.
How it Plays Out:
95's got it going early. The younger Wuerffel is using every tool imagineable to get it done. An early TD to Doering put's 95 on the board first. As the 96 defense walks to the sideline, a young Bob Stoops meets them, still on the field. Fred Weary is getting an earful as it was his blown assignment that led to the TD. The 96 Wuerffel seems to have similar success as he picks on Anthone Lott for two big passes. Fred Taylor is the go-to back for the opening drive as his 13 yard burst down the left side tied the game 7-7 midway through the 1st quarter.
Fred Weary, locked in after the ear chewing he just received, makes a play on the ball as it was a play he'd seen before. 95 Danny had been killing the 96 squad with quick hitters to Anthony who was playing in the slot. This time, however, Wuerffel telegraphed his progression, and Fred stepped in front of a short pass to the flats. Weary made it all the way to the 6 yard line of the 95 Gators before being pushed out by Wuerffel. It didn't take long for 96 Danny to find Ike Hilliard on a short out route just across the goal line. On the following drive, 95 UF did manage a field goal just before the half, setup by a 31 yard screen pass to Taylor.
The 3rd quarter was a flurry of offense. 96 Florida put up a whopping 17 points from a pair of Jacquez Green TDs and a 49 yard Bart Edmiston field goal. 95 Florida managed 13 points with a single TD from Elijah Williams off of a 63 yard jaunt down the right sideline.When the 3rd quarter came to a close, 96 Florida led 31-23.
To start the 4th, 95 Florida kept with the air attack. Ike Hilliard and Chris Doering combined for 66 yards on the first drive of the final quarter. Making their way down to the 96 UF's 7 yard line, the turnover bug bit again. Jevon Kearse, who may be the real difference between the two defenses, came barreling off of the right side slamming Fred Taylor as he received the ball from Wuerffel. Johnny Rutledge fell on it and the 96 Gators were back in business. The resulting drive for the 96 Gators led to only 3 points, but more importantly, it chewed 6 minutes of clock. The 95 Florida squad managed another TD to pull within 4, but the onside kick sailed out of bounds.
96 Florida bests the 95 squad to survive and advance.
Final Score: 96 Florida 34 - 95 Florida 30
Link to Bracket (possible spoiler)
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