The Florida Gators put together a game-winning drive to beat the #1 ranked FSU Seminoles 32-29 in "The Greatest Game played at the Swamp." From Nov, 1997.
I will always remember this game. It was the last game I attended with my dad before he was diagnosed with cancer in 1998. Thank you Coach Spurrier for all of the wonderful memories in the 90s. "You can't spell citrus without UT". We have been gator fans since 1978. I remember when it was announced that Steve Spurrier would be the coach of the Gators in 1990. My dad said, "you watch, he's going to change things here".
I still can't believe I was 12 years old and was able to get a ticket to this game 3 and half hours before the game for $45! Best $45 I ever spent! Glad I saved my allowance money.
Still one of my all time favorite Gator moments...I was 15 when this game was played and now I watch this clip like 10 times ever year during FSU week. It never gets old! GO GATORS on Saturday. Can't wait to see everyone amped up for FSU and senior day!
Greatest game ever!! I will never get tired of watching this game.... on a side note, I did feel for Samari Rolle when he was crying on the bench... he knew Quez burnt him on that long throw
This was the first UF-FSU game I witnessed, and what a game it was! The Gators had been trailing the whole game, but kept fighting and fighting. I was 17 at the time. My dad and I went together and the rest of the family didn't come that year. I can't watch that Johnson to Green pass without tears coming to my eyes. This was without question the best game I have ever witnessed and remains to this day the only time I've ever seen the UF students try to rush the field.
13 myself and I too watch this clip several times a year. I have an FSU fan cousin who took his phone off the hook during the sugar bowl the previous season. He took it off the hook before I could call him for the Taylor TD.
That comes and goes with time. In 97 both UF and FSU were powerhouse teams Since 2000 both teams haven't really been at the same level. some years FSU was a top tier team. 2013 national champion,2014 CFP semifinals appearance and UF was somewhere in the middle. Other years Florida was a top team. 06 and 08 national champions, 2018 and 2019 NY6 bowl appearances.
No rivalries only feel intense when both team are competing at high levels at the same time, lately FSU and Florida have been reaching peaks at different times so it seems less intense when really its not.
I was there too. I was 11. quezi and fred taylor were like my IDOLS. i also remember sitting near some guy who had a thick THICK accent, the thickest i've ever heard. He kept yelling "COM' OWHN DAWG!" I seriously thought he was some displaced uga fan. until i realized he was saying "COME ON DOUG!" i also remember the home game in 99 where fsu fans were chanting "PE-TER WAR-RICK!" and we just chanted back "DILL-ARDS DILL-ARDS!" Great, great times. can't beat the gameday atmosphere of the swamp.
Urban Meyer is a great coach but for whatever reason when i think of florida, i still think of darth visor roaming the sidelines. What a great game! This is why college football is the BEST sport in the world.
This was the most satisfied I ever felt after a Gator win. No shot at an SEC championship or national championship, just making good on the chance to steal one from St. Bubba and ruin his year. Sublime. And of course every win we got against him was critical to that final LOSING record he had against Florida, 17-18-1.
You know what is great about this video? When they showed the FSU section, I saw both my pizza delivery guy and the guy who cuts my lawn. They looked so young as FSU students.
We had a group of FSU friends in town for the game. The plan was for them to hang out after the game. By the time we got home from the game, they had already made it home from the stadium, packed up and left. They also would not answer their phones when we tried to reach them just to make sure everything was alright. Great night for sure.
I was there at that Game and was the greatest thing ever happen in that Game and FSU was No.1 and unbeaten and Fred Taylor deserved to Earn a Heisman,whiched did nevered happen and he stayed with the Jaguars till his Retirement,Thanks for the exciting game Steve Spurrier,its great to be a Florida Gator.
On NCAA 2004 and NCAA 2005 I remember they have a special thing called Pontaic College Classics and they have this one on there and they call it "The Greatest Game ever played in The Swamp"
is it just me or was college football more passionate back then than it is today, cause I watch a short clip from this game and I got into it even though I am a Pitt fan
Last time I checked , Weldon won the 1991 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm award and Weinke won not only a national championship but the 2000 Heisman trophy as well.
Spurriers best coaching moment! FSU was better than us this year but he coached up his QBs between plays and found a way to win. this was payback for the choke at doak and their win in the bowl game that year.we beat them twice in a row when they were # 1......HOW SWEET IT WAS! my second favorite game against them besides the chompionship!
me too I was at that game & my voice was gone by halftime, I tell you that game was a close call but once again the GATORS prevailed GO GATORS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This was the first year I started going to the games. I was 5 years old then and still go to games now as a student and that game besides maybe the blocked kick vs S. Carolina in 06 was the loudest I've ever heard that stadium.
I got to see one ball game the entire time I was in Iraq. I graduated from FL and so of course got to watch my Gators lose on a last second TD Hail Mary. I think Florida ended-up on the FSU 33 when the clock ran out. That was November 2003. Even though FL has dominated lately....for years it was the Seminoles with the upper hand.
as much as I despise the noles, I would absolutely love to see fsu get back to the national championship scene every year like the 90s because the uf-fsu games were always SO INTENSE and SO GREAT to watch and I honestly kinda miss that. i mean don't get me wrong it's been fun beating ass the last 5 years but games like theseis what made the UF-FSU rivalry in the 90s THE BEST IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL! someone always had a shot at the national title when it was UF-FSU time.
hey man im a diehard gator fan but i respect georiga. remember yall still lead the all time series. this is just a little period yall will catch us soon
WAH WAH WAH a little cheese to go with that wine I was at that game & Florida played their hearts out that was the loudest I have ever heard that stadium
Spurrier has been trying hard to get good players at south Carolina. Watching stuff like this; I know this state has humbled him. I know you gator fans don't want to lose but I hope you cheer for spurrier. His legacy is on the line.
"we won ours before you did ..... and have played in 3 more title games." And Miami won 4 before either of our schools won one. What's your point? And good of you to acknowledge that FSU has choked more title games than the Gators. IT'S GREAT TO BE A GATOR!
Yea...but REMEMBER...FSU was 7-6 last year as you well know....the gates where the BIG national champs.Despite the recent decline, in the past 10 years we've still played for 3 BCS championships, won 1, won 7 conference titles, had 5 seasons with 10+ wins, and finished ranked 9 out of 10 seasons. Despite the downward spiral of the past 6 years, we've still accomplished more than all but a handful of teams in the last decade, and still have a top level program despite a disappointing stretch
you are 100 percent right. FSU has achieved much in the last 15 years with one of the greatest coaches to ever put on the headset. but when FSU was dominant in the 90s. UF was right there with them. thats why every year when they played they were both in the top 5. it was a great rivalry and i cant wait till FSU returns to the elite so that the rivalry will be great again. I respect FSUs time as champs so please respect ours. stop tryin to diss our season.
I'm just busting your chops. You've been a pretty good sport....you deserve to enjoy your national championship while you can. I'm actually a closet gator fan (as long as they are not playing FSU). I wish you gates a good season and I hope your boy "Tebow" can lead your team well. Take care!
You mean the game where Alabama admitted to stealing our playbook and players kept saying they heard Bama's players calling out our signals? Yeah, I remember that one.
@UFBear15 Oh yeah 14 years ago and I still get that same sweet feeling the night I saw the guys put that drive together. Special ballgame and special win. Didn't compete for a championship that year but it sure was nice to make sure FSU didn't either lol. What an awesome football game this was, it's still one of the best i've ever watched and i've seen some good ones.
@PENS68 It was. I was there. Only home game I've ever been to where the student section tried to rush the field. They were pretty quickly subdued by K-9's, unfortunately. The first glory days of Gator football.
I was at this game. I remember Janakowski doing the Gator chomp after the 'Noles last field goal before this drive. LOL Why do opposing players do the chomp??? You would never catch me doing the "chop".
does anyone know who's doing the play by play? sean something... but I LOVE the way he calls games... he lets the excitement of the moment into his call which I LOVE!!!
The gators have not played an away non-Florida, non-conference opponent since getting thumped by Syracuse, 38-21 on 9/21/91!!!! 16 YEARS!!!! Are you freaking kidding me!!!! How many times can you visit Tennessee, LSU, Alabama, before you want to go somewhere different? THAT is unfreaking believable!
Thanks. I try to be. Gotta laugh through the hurt they say. I try to laugh it up in these hurting years for us, and maybe someday, both teams will be top 10 teams again and this rivalry will determine the national championship like it did in the 90's.
I will always remember this game. It was the last game I attended with my dad before he was diagnosed with cancer in 1998. Thank you Coach Spurrier for all of the wonderful memories in the 90s. "You can't spell citrus without UT". We have been gator fans since 1978. I remember when it was announced that Steve Spurrier would be the coach of the Gators in 1990. My dad said, "you watch, he's going to change things here".
Great story! Thank you for sharing.
Sounds like my old man, he was ecstatic when Spurrier came aboard. My dad graduated in 1960 and is a lifelong gator fan and booster member
I was at this game, my first year at UF. It remains to this day the best football gamne I've ever attended.
I love the announcer, he made it even more exciting
My mom was at this game and said she screamed so loud when we picked it off at the end she thought something burst in her abdomen
This video never gets old! Go Gators!
When the FSU FL rivalry meant something
I still can't believe I was 12 years old and was able to get a ticket to this game 3 and half hours before the game for $45! Best $45 I ever spent! Glad I saved my allowance money.
I was there. Still get goosebumps watching this clip. This game is the gift that keeps on giving.
you also still have to miss Sean Mcdonough calling the 90's CBS games
5-8-1 against Bowden
Still one of my all time favorite Gator moments...I was 15 when this game was played and now I watch this clip like 10 times ever year during FSU week. It never gets old! GO GATORS on Saturday. Can't wait to see everyone amped up for FSU and senior day!
Greatest game ever!! I will never get tired of watching this game.... on a side note, I did feel for Samari Rolle when he was crying on the bench... he knew Quez burnt him on that long throw
Fred Taylor was a BEAST this game! I remember that run for 70+ yards in the 3rd quarter. I was standing in the NEZ and it go sooo loud!!!
Even knowing the outcome I'm saying to myself "Too fast. They scored too fast!"
Lol, I can remember thinking the same thing.
This was the first UF-FSU game I witnessed, and what a game it was! The Gators had been trailing the whole game, but kept fighting and fighting. I was 17 at the time. My dad and I went together and the rest of the family didn't come that year. I can't watch that Johnson to Green pass without tears coming to my eyes. This was without question the best game I have ever witnessed and remains to this day the only time I've ever seen the UF students try to rush the field.
13 myself and I too watch this clip several times a year. I have an FSU fan cousin who took his phone off the hook during the sugar bowl the previous season. He took it off the hook before I could call him for the Taylor TD.
Hell of a game! Balsy call by the OBC going deep on first down! And Sean McDonough did an amazing job on the play-by-play!
That's Spurrier for ya. 1st and 10, deep ball, 4th and inches, deep ball.
I like how the commentators have to yell because the swamp is so loud! GO GATORS!
Probably the best football game I've ever seen. These two teams were ridiculously talented in every position.
college football is awesome, but does anyone get the feeling that rivalries were more intense back then they are today
11B89 for some yes but the iron bowl rivalry is still amazing
That comes and goes with time. In 97 both UF and FSU were powerhouse teams Since 2000 both teams haven't really been at the same level. some years FSU was a top tier team. 2013 national champion,2014 CFP semifinals appearance and UF was somewhere in the middle. Other years Florida was a top team. 06 and 08 national champions, 2018 and 2019 NY6 bowl appearances.
No rivalries only feel intense when both team are competing at high levels at the same time, lately FSU and Florida have been reaching peaks at different times so it seems less intense when really its not.
100% yes
Sean McDonough sounds a lot like Jerry Seinfeld when he gets excited.
I was there too. I was 11. quezi and fred taylor were like my IDOLS. i also remember sitting near some guy who had a thick THICK accent, the thickest i've ever heard. He kept yelling "COM' OWHN DAWG!" I seriously thought he was some displaced uga fan. until i realized he was saying "COME ON DOUG!"
i also remember the home game in 99 where fsu fans were chanting "PE-TER WAR-RICK!" and we just chanted back "DILL-ARDS DILL-ARDS!" Great, great times.
can't beat the gameday atmosphere of the swamp.
Fred Taylor is one of the most underrated RB’s of all time in College/NFL. He could do it all.
He was as they say, prototypical for the position.
with manning gone, janokowski is the only active pre-2000 player left from my childhood :(
Bro, that's so true. Kickers last for "YEARS."
Still, at any given moment you can be assured there's a party goin' on somewhere in Gainesville.
0:57 Dr. Quinn, Medicine Women hahahahaha
Seems 25 McDonalds employees didn't like the greatest game ever played in Florida.
I wish this offense would come back to UF.
It did in 2020. Unfortunately there was no defense to speak of.
Wish came true in 2020, the most prolific passing attack in UF History, paired with the worst defense in UF history.
Hearing the Jaws music still gets my psyched!!!
at this game with my cousin. it was soooooooo loud and the best game i ever attended
Urban Meyer is a great coach but for whatever reason when i think of florida, i still think of darth visor roaming the sidelines. What a great game! This is why college football is the BEST sport in the world.
This was the most satisfied I ever felt after a Gator win. No shot at an SEC championship or national championship, just making good on the chance to steal one from St. Bubba and ruin his year. Sublime. And of course every win we got against him was critical to that final LOSING record he had against Florida, 17-18-1.
Spurrier was pure genius switching QB's every play. Happy birthday coach.
My uncle was telling he how he went to this game and it was unlike anything he had ever experienced in his life. Love these old school clips
I've been to all the home games since 1975 except for 7 over the years. The loudest that stadium has ever been was that night in 1997.
Awesome game!! "Green's behind the defense"! Great call.
My favorite ending of any game that I have seen.
You know what is great about this video? When they showed the FSU section, I saw both my pizza delivery guy and the guy who cuts my lawn. They looked so young as FSU students.
We had a group of FSU friends in town for the game. The plan was for them to hang out after the game. By the time we got home from the game, they had already made it home from the stadium, packed up and left. They also would not answer their phones when we tried to reach them just to make sure everything was alright. Great night for sure.
Gotta love Jacquez Green!!
I was there at that Game and was the greatest thing ever happen in that Game and FSU was No.1 and unbeaten and Fred Taylor deserved to Earn a Heisman,whiched did nevered happen and he stayed with the Jaguars till his Retirement,Thanks for the exciting game Steve Spurrier,its great to be a Florida Gator.
Holy fuck, that music just after the kickoff...epic. Dont care if thats even FSU, just epic
On NCAA 2004 and NCAA 2005 I remember they have a special thing called Pontaic College Classics and they have this one on there and they call it "The Greatest Game ever played in The Swamp"
is it just me or was college football more passionate back then than it is today, cause I watch a short clip from this game and I got into it even though I am a Pitt fan
I loved this game. it was a great one. GO GATORS !
Last time I checked , Weldon won the 1991 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm award and Weinke won not only a national championship but the 2000 Heisman trophy as well.
Spurriers best coaching moment! FSU was better than us this year but he coached up his QBs between plays and found a way to win. this was payback for the choke at doak and their win in the bowl game that year.we beat them twice in a row when they were # 1......HOW SWEET IT WAS! my second favorite game against them besides the chompionship!
In the 80's/ early 90's, it was "He (Bowden) had to play Miami", In the Mid-Late 90's and early 2000's it was "He had to play Florida"...
me too I was at that game & my voice was gone by halftime, I tell you that game was a close call but once again the GATORS prevailed
GO GATORS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This was the first year I started going to the games. I was 5 years old then and still go to games now as a student and that game besides maybe the blocked kick vs S. Carolina in 06 was the loudest I've ever heard that stadium.
GO GATORS! GO NOLES! I was born a Gator, but now Being a Fan of Florida, I like them both now, Why not??? Best Game EVER for STEVE???YES
I got to see one ball game the entire time I was in Iraq. I graduated from FL and so of course got to watch my Gators lose on a last second TD Hail Mary. I think Florida ended-up on the FSU 33 when the clock ran out. That was November 2003. Even though FL has dominated lately....for years it was the Seminoles with the upper hand.
man I never get tired of watching this!
Classic!
love watching this the day before the fsu game! great drive, best regular season game ever!
as much as I despise the noles, I would absolutely love to see fsu get back to the national championship scene every year like the 90s because the uf-fsu games were always SO INTENSE and SO GREAT to watch and I honestly kinda miss that. i mean don't get me wrong it's been fun beating ass the last 5 years but games like theseis what made the UF-FSU rivalry in the 90s THE BEST IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL! someone always had a shot at the national title when it was UF-FSU time.
I miss these players. I was a 14 year old watching this game. Miss the old days
hey man im a diehard gator fan but i respect georiga. remember yall still lead the all time series. this is just a little period yall will catch us soon
awesome video, what a great game that was to be at! I can still hear the crowd go wild in my head. Go Gators!
my best moment in the swamp was that pick to seal the win!
Felt that same energy against Utah tonight
WAH WAH WAH
a little cheese to go with that wine
I was at that game & Florida played their hearts out that was the loudest I have ever heard that stadium
Awesome game.
This is the Swamp I remember.
This game still hurts. It's worse than losing the Championship game to UF a year earlier.
Spurrier has been trying hard to get good players at south Carolina. Watching stuff like this; I know this state has humbled him. I know you gator fans don't want to lose but I hope you cheer for spurrier. His legacy is on the line.
"we won ours before you did ..... and have played in 3 more title games."
And Miami won 4 before either of our schools won one. What's your point? And good of you to acknowledge that FSU has choked more title games than the Gators. IT'S GREAT TO BE A GATOR!
At the 3:44 mark, you can see Titus O'Neil from the WWE give Fred Taylor a hug after the winning touchdown.
Wife and I was there 50 yard line 30 rows up. Great night in Gator Football History !! GO GATORS
If you notice, the second play of this drive is the same play meyer has had harvin run a few times. It's a beautiful thing.
Yea...but REMEMBER...FSU was 7-6 last year as you well know....the gates where the BIG national champs.Despite the recent decline, in the past 10 years we've still played for 3 BCS championships, won 1, won 7 conference titles, had 5 seasons with 10+ wins, and finished ranked 9 out of 10 seasons. Despite the downward spiral of the past 6 years, we've still accomplished more than all but a handful of teams in the last decade, and still have a top level program despite a disappointing stretch
oh yes i know. it has been fun. this is why the UF Vs. FSU is such a great rivalry
you are 100 percent right. FSU has achieved much in the last 15 years with one of the greatest coaches to ever put on the headset. but when FSU was dominant in the 90s. UF was right there with them. thats why every year when they played they were both in the top 5. it was a great rivalry and i cant wait till FSU returns to the elite so that the rivalry will be great again. I respect FSUs time as champs so please respect ours. stop tryin to diss our season.
Great memories. Thanks for sharing! Go Gators!
I swear this game was more satisfying to win than the national championship
This was cathartic for sure, but, better than beating them 52-20 for a natty? Nothing tops that.
It’s so funny to Steve try to calm everybody down after Taylor’s touchdown 🤣🤣 entire GAINESVILLE was goin INSANE😂😂
i got butterflies in my stomach watching this
Oh my, be still my beating heart! Go Gators!
Theres no way you could be a Gator and Seminole in the same breath. NO WAY!!!
Man, that crowd.....ITS GREAT TO BE A FLORIDA GATORS!!!!
I'm just busting your chops. You've been a pretty good sport....you deserve to enjoy your national championship while you can. I'm actually a closet gator fan (as long as they are not playing FSU). I wish you gates a good season and I hope your boy "Tebow" can lead your team well. Take care!
Man I from Gainesville, Born and Raised, GO Noles Go Gators, I couldn't help it, Gotta like the Noles and Gators
I was in the west stands and it was the loudest that I've ever heard it in the Swamp.
Higher academic standards have made UF less of a party school than it used to be.
The lost look on Andrews and Amato's faces at 3:48 makes any Gator happy!
You mean the game where Alabama admitted to stealing our playbook and players kept saying they heard Bama's players calling out our signals? Yeah, I remember that one.
haha WALKER TEXAS RANGER!! I forgot about that show
@UFBear15 Oh yeah 14 years ago and I still get that same sweet feeling the night I saw the guys put that drive together. Special ballgame and special win. Didn't compete for a championship that year but it sure was nice to make sure FSU didn't either lol. What an awesome football game this was, it's still one of the best i've ever watched and i've seen some good ones.
@PENS68 It was. I was there. Only home game I've ever been to where the student section tried to rush the field. They were pretty quickly subdued by K-9's, unfortunately. The first glory days of Gator football.
i will give the gator's prop's. y'all got us. does anyone remember the commercial where the noles were on the plane crying. i was about to cry.
I like the Gators now versus the Steve Spurrier coached Gators of the 90's.
It's still that way and always will be...a new generation carries the torch
That FSU team was not used to anyone running on them. They allowed 40 ypg on the ground. Taylor had 4x that with 4TD's.
I was at this game. I remember Janakowski doing the Gator chomp after the 'Noles last field goal before this drive. LOL
Why do opposing players do the chomp??? You would never catch me doing the "chop".
It's great to see Coach S. in Gator colors again.
does anyone know who's doing the play by play? sean something... but I LOVE the way he calls games... he lets the excitement of the moment into his call which I LOVE!!!
Florida state is my favorite college football team and Florida gators is my favorite college football team 2 straight facts
Hey! Will you be wearing your jorts to the game this year?
Best game ever in the Swamp til this day!!
I love all my fellow florida teams, but I'm a nole for life, regardless of how bad they do in a season.
The gators have not played an away non-Florida, non-conference opponent since getting thumped by Syracuse, 38-21 on 9/21/91!!!! 16 YEARS!!!! Are you freaking kidding me!!!! How many times can you visit Tennessee, LSU, Alabama, before you want to go somewhere different? THAT is unfreaking believable!
Thanks. I try to be. Gotta laugh through the hurt they say. I try to laugh it up in these hurting years for us, and maybe someday, both teams will be top 10 teams again and this rivalry will determine the national championship like it did in the 90's.
whaaaaatever...one of the greatest drives in Gator history.
Happy to be back to the days of F$U ownage!
FSU losing this game led to the split national championship that year between nebraska and michigan