In the end, you wonder if Steve Spurrier remembered an old foe.
In the final moments, you wonder if he wanted to avoid a finish like the one that Bobby Bowden had suffered.
They were antagonists, of course. For a 12-year period, over 14 games, they sent fine football teams against each other. You were for Florida, or you were for FSU. You were with Bowden in this corner, or you were with Spurrier in that one.
No one won more games than Bowden, but his final seasons were a snarl of controversy, with a lot of fans in a hurry to push him out to start the next era with Jimbo Fisher. It was ugly, and for a man who had done as much as Bowden had done, it was a messy way to end his time.
At 70, 10 years younger than Bowden was when he got out, did Spurrier want to avoid that? There were already age questions, already eyes rolling at his team’s 0-4 beginning. Could Spurrier imagine himself in a Bowden-like controversy? They are, after all, intertwined in history.
They were good for each other, Spurrier and Bowden. It was the duel that defined a rivalry. No players – not even Charlie Ward vs. Danny Wuerffel – quite measured up. These were men who defined their programs. Spurrier, who brought the first title to Florida. Bowden, who brought the first two to FSU.
Fourteen times in 12 years, they faced each other, and one team or the other was always ranked in the top 10. Several times, both of them were. Suddenly, football mattered in this state. Suddenly, this was where the NFL drafted and the Heisman came to live and coaching was defined.
Has there ever been another state that had two men like this? The visor thrower. Uncle Dadgummit.
They gave us the Choke in the Doak. They gave us the Fifth Quarter in the French Quarter. They gave us Free Shoes University. They gave us the Late Hit controversy.
If you’re counting, FSU won those 12 years (8-5-1). But Florida won the biggest matchup, the 1996 game for the national title.
It was easy to pick a side in those days. You had Spurrier and his Fun and Gun. You had FSU and the Flash and Dash.
In Florida, it was the best time to be a college fan.
