Officially, the Florida Gators' home stadium is called Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, but to most college football fans it is known as "The Swamp" as nicknamed by former Florida Gators head coach Steve Spurrier, who now has his name attached to the name of the field now.
Spurrier said in 1992 of his home stadium "A swamp is is where Gators live. We feel comfortable there, but we hope our opponents feel tentative. A swamp is hot and sticky and can be dangerous. We feel like it's an appropriate nickname for our stadium. The swamp is a place where only Gators get out alive."
That proved to be the case in 1995 when the Gators hosted the Tennessee Volunteers in a early season SEC showdown.
The Gators came into the game ranked #4 coming off back-to-back SEC championships and three SEC titles in four years as Spurrier had turned the Gators into a powerhouse with his "Fun & Gun" offense which was relented on the passing game.
Pulling the trigger on the "Fun & Gun" was junior quarterback Danny Wuerffel and a corps of talented wide receivers which included Reidel Anthony, Chris Doering, and Ike Hilliard.
The Fun & Gun had put 87 points in their first two games of the season as Florida jumped out to a 2-0 record as they prepared to hose their SEC East rivals, the Tennessee Volunteers.
The Vols came into the game ranked #8 and a 2-0 record under head coach Philip Fulmer as expectations were sky high for the 1995 season as the Vols had sophomore quarterback Peyton Manning leading the offense.
Following his freshman season in which he split time with future Colorado Rockies first baseman Todd Helton, Manning was fully entrenched as the starting quarterback for the '95 season, the Vols started the season 2-0, which included a 30-27 win over the Georgia Bulldogs the week before in which Manning threw for 349 yards and two touchdown passes.
With Manning clearing improved from his freshman season and Wuerffel firing on all cylinders, a shootout was expected in "The Swamp".
After the Gators went three-and-out to start the game, the Volunteers got the ball at their 19-yard-line when on the first play from scrimmage, Manning hit Joey Kent down the left sideline for a 72-yard completion that was immediately followed by a nine-yard touchdown from Manning to Marcus Nash to give Tennessee a 7-0 lead just 86 seconds into the game.
The Gators would strike back quickly as Anthony returned the ensuing kickoff 34 yards to the Florida 41-yard-line setting up a six-play, 59-yard drive that culminated with a 14-yard touchdown pass from Wuerffel to Hilliard to tie the game at 7 with 10:57 left in the first quarter.
Tennessee would be methodically on its next drive as they took more than six minutes off the clock with a 13-play, 84-yard drive which ended when fullback Chester Ford punched it in from the one-yard-line.
Gators cornerback Fred Weary would block the extra point to keep it 13-7 with 4:34 to go in the opening period.
The Gators got the ball back at their 24-yard-line and looked to be in prime shape to score again, especially after Wuerffel scrambled around long enough to fire a 25-yard pass to Nafis Karem that put Florida at the Tennessee 32-yard-line.
But on the very next play, Wuerffel threw into triple coverage in the end zone and was intercepted by Tennessee defensive back DeRon Jenkins, ending the drive and giving the ball back to the Volunteers at their 20-yard-line.
From there, the Vols would put together another long drive, this one lasting 14 plays and traveling 67 yards to set up Jeff Hall's 31-yard field goal to increase the Tennessee lead to 16-7 with 10:34 left in the second quarter.
The Vols would be get great field position after they forced a three-and-out then got a 10-yard punt return by Nilo Silvan which got 15 yards added to it after a late hit by Gators linebacker Ben Hanks to put Tennessee at the Florida 34-yard-line.
After two plays gained 14 yards, Manning dropped back to pass and got the ball off just as he was being hit by Gators strong safety Lawrence Wright, only to have Nash catch the 20-yard touchdown to push the Tennessee lead to 23-7 with 7:49 to go in the second quarter.
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| In the first half alone, Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning would complete 13 of 16 passes for 216 yards and throw two touchdowns. |
Tennessee had seized the momentum in the game and the Gators needed a spark to get back in it.
Enter running back Fred Taylor, who would run the ball four times for 24 yards and catch two passes for 24 yards which would end with Taylor punching it in from the one-yard-line for the touchdown to cut it to a 23-14 Volunteer lead with 4:27 left in the first half.
The Vols would get the ball back at their 24-yard-line but two negative plays led to a 3rd & 13 when Manning found Kent across the middle only for Wright to hit Kent so hard it knocked the ball loose which was recovered by Florida cornerback Shea Showers at the Tennessee 47-yard-line.
It seemed that the momentum had turned in the Gators' favor only turn back to Tennessee on the very next play when Volunteers defensive lineman Billy Beron jarred the ball loose after hitting Wuerffel as he tried to scramble.
The ball was picked up by Tennessee strong safety Raymond Austin who returned the fumble 46 yards for a Tennessee touchdown that pushed the Volunteers lead back to 16 points at 30-14 with 3:13 to go before halftime.
The Gators would respond with a 11-play, 69-yard drive which saw Wuerffel complete seven of eight passes for 62 yards, with the last completion being a 11-yard touchdown to Hilliard with nine seconds to go in the first half to cut the Vols' lead to 30-21 as the two teams went into the locker room for the halftime break.
Tennessee would get the ball to start the second half and drive down to the Florida five-yard-line before calling on Hall to kick a 22-yard field goal, only to have Hall miss the kick to give the ball back to the Gators at their 20-yard-line.
From there, it took the Gators 13 plays to travel the 80 yards which would culminate with another touchdown pass from Wuerffel to Hilliard, this one for six yards to make it a two-point game at 30-28 with 5:49 left in the third quarter.
Tennessee would drive to the Gators' 34-yard-line on its next possession when they were faced with a 3rd & 1 situation.
That is when running back Jay Graham ran for six yards to pick up the 1st down only to loose the football which was picked up by Weary who returned it 42 yards to the Tennessee 30-yard-line.
A nine-yard run by Taylor, followed by a six-yard pass to Doering, set up Wuerffel's fourth touchdown to Hilliard, this one for 15 yards to give the Gators their first lead of the game at 34-30 with 2:13 left in the third quarter.
The Gators would go for two following the touchdown but would fail to convert.
Graham would fumble again on the Vols' next possession following a hit by Florida defensive tackle Mark Campbell, which is recovered by linebacker James Bates at the Tennessee 30-yard-line.
With the Volunteer defense focused on Hilliard, Wuerffel went to Reidel Anthony for 22 yards, then hit him for the eight-yard touchdown to push the Florida lead to double digits at 41-30 with 24 seconds left in the third quarter.
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| Florida wide receiver Ike Hilliard would catch nine passes for 112 yards and score five touchdowns, one of them on a 19-yard reverse. |
The wheels were starting to come off for Tennessee as they went three-and-out on their next possession which was followed by a 16-yard punt to give the Gators the ball at their 43-yard-line as the game moved into the fourth quarter.
Seven plays later, the Gators were back in the end zone as Hilliard took a reverse and ran for the 19-yard touchdown to increase Florida's lead to 48-30 with 12:18 left in the fourth quarter.
After another Tennessee punt, the Gators had the ball at their 24-yard-line where after two plays picked up nine yards, Wuerffel handed the ball off to running back Terry Jackson who would run 66 yards to the one-yard line, setting up Wuerffel's one-yard touchdown run to make it 55-30 in favor of the Gators with 7:04 left in the game.
The nightmare wasn't over for Tennessee as running back Shawn Bryson coughed up the football on the Vols' next possession as Florida defensive end Willie Cohens recovering the fumble at the Tennessee 23-yard-line, which would lead to Wuerffel finding Chris Doering in the end zone for a 20-yard touchdown to push the Gators over the 60-plus point mark as their lead increased to 62-30 with 5:30 left in the game.
Amazingly, the Gators had scored seven touchdowns in a span of 24 minutes and 39 seconds to turn a 16-point deficit into a 32-point lead.
With the game out of reach, Fulmer pulled Manning out of the game as backup quarterback Jermaine Copeland took over the Tennessee offense and lead the Volunteers on a nine-play, 71-yard drive that ended with Copeland running it in for a 12-yard touchdown.
It would be the final score of the game as the Gators would come away with a 62-37 win in a game where both teams combined for 99 points and 1,044 yards of total offense as Manning finished the day with 326 yards on 23-of-36 passing and two touchdowns only to be outdone by Wuerffel who threw six touchdown passes and 381 yards on 29-of-39 passing.
The Volunteers would not lose another game for the rest of the season as they would go on a nine-game winning streak which included a 41-14 win over Alabama to give Tennessee its first victory over the Tide since 1985.
The Vols would finish with a 11-1 record and #2 ranking in the Coaches Poll and #3 ranking in the AP poll as they defeated Ohio State 20-14 in the Citrus Bowl to end the season.
Meanwhile, the Gators would go on to win the SEC East and then the SEC championship as they romped over the Arkansas Razorbacks 34-3 in the SEC Championship Game to earn the Gators a trip to the Fiesta Bowl where they would play #1 Nebraska for the national championship.
Ironically, the Gators would give up 62 points as they lost to the Cornhuskers 62-24 as their dreams of a national championship would come crashing down, only for the Gators to come back the next year and win the national title.
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| During the Gators' 48-0 run, Florida quarterback Danny Wuerffel completed 20 of 25 passes for 243 yards and threw five touchdowns. |
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