Spot on. Spurrier's first year was 1990. UHH...... that was 33 years ago. The league then was completely different than it is now. I'm not trying to diminish what Spurrier accomplished, but he was one in a million, and he did it in a different era. And even with all of his genius, he still had a losing record to the Holes.
To be fair the HBC admitted winning the SEC was most important to him and his program vs the last regular season game. With that being said he did demolish the semis when it counted for a game and score that will never be forgotten by Gators ever.
In his defense, and not withstanding how Bobby operated in those days; the Nole teams of the 90’s were some of the best collections of talent in NCAA history. They were, in many ways the Alabama of the 90’s. They won two natties, played for two others. Probably would have won a third if we didn’t take them out in 97.
And then took them out of the hunt the next year as well The point was that many of the top coaches of the time were interested enough to apply/interview for the UF job. Most top coaches wouldn’t even return Foley’s phone calls.
I am aware of your point, just adding some background. Don't care for my post just mark it off topic.
90s had some powerhouse teams. It wasnt so top heavy with the same couple teams taking all the talent.
I was acknowledging your point. Your point and mine are not mutually exclusive so yours could not be off-topic.
Agree. Us, FSU, UT, Alabama, Nebraska, Miami, Ohio State and Colorado were all very strong programs for all or most of the 90’s
Another parallel between the two is that both seemed to leave NCAA violations in their wake. Pell at Florida and Holtz……well, pretty much everywhere. I never have understood why Holtz is so beloved.
The NCAA has always been selective on who they decided to pursue. Can’t necessarily speak for Holtz but I can tell you for fact that what Charley was doing was standard practice in his day. Bear Bryant, Vince Dooley, Pat Dye, Johnny Majors, Bobby Bowden and most others were doing it. And that’s not even sniffing what Switzer was doing at OU or Schnellenberger pushing steroids at UM. As for Holt’s, he is beloved for the same reason Bobby was. He was likeable, gave a great interview and WON ALOT of games. Hey, as long as your conference and the NCAA are willing to look the other way, people are going to cheat more than the normal amount. The establishment didn’t like Clemson getting good and pushed back. The SEC knew what Pell was building at UF and didn’t want any of it. The 84 and 85 teams were the best in the country but not if you look in the “official records”. If you really want to nail cheaters then each time a program is sanctioned then they get to identify three other programs for mandatory investigation. Then things will really clean themselves up.
Holtz was the HC at Notre Dame when they were caught distributing steroids in the locker room during the late 80’s and early 90’s. The NCAA allowed the Irish to handle the matter internally, so it doesn’t strike me as them headhunting him, though I don’t doubt they are selective to a point.
