Making lists and checking them twice on a Wednesday

Steve Spurrier kicks the field goal that beat Auburn in 1966 (UF Communications photo)

Since we are 59 days from the Gators first football game of the Jon Sumrall era and there is no live action involving the Gators, it’s a good time to make a couple of lists. There will be more in the days ahead as we plod on until SEC Media Days begin in Tampa on July 20.

TEN UNFORGETTABLE FOOTBALL GAMES THE GATORS WON

1. Florida 18, Georgia Tech 17: My first Florida football game in 1960. Florida scored on a Lindy Infante run to cut the margin to 17-16 but rather than go for the tie, Ray Graves held up two fingers to go for the win. Graves was in his first year and the former defensive coordinator for Georgia Tech legend Bobby Dodd. After 10 years of Bob Woodruff mediocrity that involved punting on third down, going for two and a win was like a jolt of electricity in the crowd of 40,000-plus. Tech expected another option pitch but instead Larry Libertore shot putted a pass into the end zone, caught by fullback Jon MacBeth for the win. It was bedlam in the stands. I became a Gator for life that day.

2. Florida 30, Auburn 27: This game is remembered as the one that clinched the 1966 Heisman Trophy for Steve Spurrier. Late in the fourth quarter with the score tied at 27-27, Spurrier convinced Graves to let him try a 40-yard field goal. Convinced it was a trick play, Auburn didn’t even rush. Spurrier drilled the field goal with 2:12 remaining to win the game. The kick put Spurrier over the top in the Heisman Trophy voting.

3. Florida 59, Houston 37: On the first possession of the opening game of the 1969 season, the Gators faced third and seven from the UF 30. On a play that had been rehearsed ever since the spring, John Reaves dropped back to pass and found Carlos Alvarez streaking down the west sideline of Florida Field. What made the play work was offensive coordinator Fred Pancoast flopped the tight end to the right side and flanked Carlos out four yards wider on the left side. The Houston safeties shifted a few yards over to compensate for the tight end, leaving Carlos one-on-one with corner Johnny Peacock. Because the safeties had shifted there was no deep help for Peacock. The TDP was the first of five thrown by Reaves. Houston had been predicted No. 1 in the nation by at least one publication. For trivia buffs. The touchdown dance was invented by Houston's Elmo Wright that day.

4. Florida 25, Kentucky 17: The Gators slogan for decades was “Wait ‘til next year.” Next year became reality in 1984 when the Gators beat Kentucky in Lexington to win the SEC championship. This was Charley Pell’s team, coached by Galen Hall. Charley was fired after three games when the NCAA, in its infinite wisdom, hit UF with 109 major violations. The SEC awarded the championship to the Gators but in the spring under pressure from Georgia and Tennessee, elected to strip the title. When the plane returned from Lexington that night University Avenue was swarmed by fans. At the airport, fans had to be moved back so the plane could land. This is an injustice that should be remedied by the SEC, which never stripped Alabama’s 1992 national title or 1999 SEC title for NCAA transgressions.

5. Florida 50, Oklahoma State 7: The first game of the Steve Spurrier era began with Shane Matthews completing three straight passes for 65 yards setting up Dexter McNabb’s touchdown run. Matthews who had three attempts in his entire collegiate career up to that season opener threw for 322 yards in the first of 122 wins Spurrier would post as the HBC of the Gators.  Florida went 9-2 in 1990, best record in the SEC but the Gators were denied the SEC championship by a vote of the SEC presidents led by Georgia. Imagine that.

5. Florida 14, Florida State 9: This 1991 clash us probably the greatest defensive struggle in the history of Florida Field saw the Gators escape with a win when Will White batted away Casey Weldon’s pass in the end zone with less than two minutes remaining. What proved to be the game-winning touchdown came in the third quarter when Matthews and Harrison Houston connected on a 72-yard touchdown pass. Houston outleaped an FSU defender for the ball at the FSU 27. The defender fell to the ground while Houston landed on his feet and ran to the endzone untouched.

6. Florida 35, Kentucky 26: The first SEC championship that wasn’t taken away from the Gators came in 1991 in Lexington. A week after the win over FSU, Florida bolted out to a 28-6 lead then cruised home with the win that clinched the title and sent the Gators to the Sugar Bowl.

7. Florida 52, Florida State 20: When Ohio State beat previously unbeaten Arizona State in the Rose Bowl, the Sugar Bowl rematch of Florida-FSU became the 1996 national championship game. When FSU beat the Gators in the regular season, the difference was the Seminoles relentless pass rush. In the Sugar Bowl game, the rush was neutralized because Spurrier went to the shotgun. With time to throw, Danny Wuerffel picked the FSU defense apart as the Gators won their first national championship.

8. Florida 41, Ohio State 14: The 1996 Ohio State Buckeyes were supposed to be invincible and it looked like it when Ted Ginn ran back the opening kickoff for a touchdown. That was the Buckeyes’ last hurrah. Florida’s defense was so good and the pass rush so strong that by the second half, Ohio State was confined to 2-man routes with everyone else in max protect mode. Derrick Harvey and Jarvis Moss combined for five sacks and the Gators held Ohio State to 82 total yards for the game. Chris Leak completed 26-37 passes against an Ohio State defense so scared of the Gators speed that the safeties played 30 yards off the ball.

9. Florida 31, Alabama 20: Alabama came into the 2006 SEC championship game unbeaten and No. 1 to face the once-beaten Gators in Atlanta. With the Gators trailing 20-17 going into the fourth quarter, Tim Tebow took the game over, leading the Gators on a 62-yard TD drive to take the lead and then finishing off a 65-yard drive with a 5-yard TDP to Riley Cooper with 2:50 left to clinch the win. Florida played the game without Percy Harvin, out with a high ankle sprain.

10. Florida 24, Oklahoma 14: Oklahoma’s point-a-minute offense and Heisman Trophy QB Sam Bradford got an introduction of what was in store on the game’s third play when Major Wright delivered a hit on a deep throw down the sideline that sent Manny Johnson into next week. Florida’s defense held Oklahoma to 14 points and 360 yards, both season lows. The Gators picked Bradford off twice, the second by Ahmad Black in the fourth quarter when the Gators held a slim 17-14 lead. Tebow took over after that, completing all six of his passes for 76 yards, the game-clinching TD coming on a 4-yard pass to David Nelson. Tebow threw for 231 yards and two touchdowns and ran for 109. Percy Harvin, playing on a gimpy ankle, ran for 122 yards and a TD, plus caught five passes for 49 yards as the Gators won their second national title in three years.

MY 10 FAVORITE SPORTS MOVIES

1. Hoosiers: No matter how many times you watch it, you get to that moment when Jimmy Chitwood (played by Maris Valainis) takes and makes the last shot to give Hickory the 1954 Indiana state championship win over Muncie Central. Gene Hackman is outstanding in his role as Norman Dale, a former college basketball coach given a chance for redemption at the tiny school in southern Indiana. Based on the real-life story of Milan High School.

2. The Natural: Based on a 1952 novel Robert Redford stars in the role of Roy Hobbs, a former phenom who disappeared for 16 years after being shot while on his way to try out for the Chicago Cubs. When he resurfaces for the New York Knights he leads the team to an improbable championship. Glenn Close and Robert Duval are outstanding in supportive roles.

3. Field of Dreams: Based on the novel Shoeless Joe about Shoeless Joe Jackson and the 1919 Black Sox scandal, Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) hears voices – “If you build it, they will come” – that lead him to build turn an Iowa cornfield into a baseball field. James Earl Jones is outstanding as Terrance Mann, a reclusive and controversial author, who becomes a believer. The field from the movie actually exists and is a tourist attraction.

4. The Longest Yard (Original): Burt Reynolds as former NFL star Paul “Wrecking” Crewe who is sentenced to 18 months in prison after he drives off in his girlfriend’s sports car, leads the police on a chase and then dumps the car in the river. In prison, warden Rudolph Hazen (Eddie Albert) forces Crewe to enlist prisoners to form a team that plays a game against the guards, all of whom belong to the semi-pro team with national championship ambitions managed by Hazen. Funny scene at the game when the dance team of transvestite prisoners sings “you got to be a football hero to get along with the beautiful girls.” The chase scene was filmed in Forsythe Park in Savannah, across the street from my third floor apartment where I watched from the balcony.

5. Trouble with the Curve: Clint Eastwood starred and directed this movie about aging baseball scout Gus Lobel dealing with glaucoma, the troubled relationship he has with his daughter Mickey (Amy Adams) and an overzealous general manager who wants to get rid of him. Sent to scout high school phenom Bo Gentry (Joe Massingill), experience and he sound of the bat tell Lobel Gentry will be a bust. Daughter Mickey discovers Rigoberto Sanchez (Jay Galloway) and his wicked curve ball. In Atlanta Sanchez throws unhittable curve balls past Gentry. The GM is fired and Gus Lobel's career is saved.

6. Bull Durham: Kevin Costner as catcher Crash Davis, sent to Durham to mentor Ebby Calvin “Nuke” Laloosh (Tim Robbins). Susan Sarandon in the role of Annie Savoy is outstanding, first as the older girlfriend of Nuke LaLoosh, a naïve young pitcher with a blazing fast ball. A great scene when Crash tells an opposing hitter the pitch that's coming from Nuke Laloosh.

7. Remember the Titans: Based on the true story of the 1971 TC Williams High School state championship football team, the movie is about how racially divided Alexandria, Virginia comes together behind the football team coached by Herman Boone. TC Williams came about when all-black George Washington and all-white Hammond consolidated to form a single school. Boone got his team to erase the racial barrier to become champions.

8. Jerry Maguire: Tom Cruise as NFL agent Jerry Maguire, the movie inspired by the real life agent Leigh Steinberg. Maguire has a revelation of integrity that costs him his job as the top agent for a huge firm. His only client upon leaving is wide receiver Rod Tidwell (Cuba Gooding Jr.). Ditched by his girlfriend (played by Kelly Preston), Maguire finds love and redemption through his secretary Dorothy (Renee Zellweger) and her son Ray (Jonathan Lipnicki). Two great lines: “Show me the money!” and “You had me at hello.”

9. Cinderella Man: Based on the true story of heavyweight champion Ray Braddock, who becomes a longshoreman during the depression to support his family after breaking his hand and retiring from the ring. Braddock is given a chance to return to the ring as a fill-in for another fighter. The opponent is the No. 2 heavyweight contender in the world Corn Griffin. Braddock knocks him out and after several other fights, takes on heavyweight champ Max Baer. A 10-to-1 underdog, Braddock scored one of the greatest upsets in boxing history.

10. Tin Cup: Kevin Costner as golfer Roy McAvoy, a legendary ball striker who will take risky shots when all he needs is par. Running a driving range in West Texas, McAvoy qualifies for the US Open and has a chance to win it until he reaches the last hole where he refuses to lay up. Shot after shot goes in the water blowing his chance to win the tournament but he finally holes a miraculous shot for a 12. Great line by sports psychologist turned Roy’s girlfriend Molly Griswold (Renee Russo): “It was the greatest 12 of all time. No one’s going to remember the Open 10 years from now but they’ll remember your 12.” I can relate. I hit 10 in a row into the water at Valle Del Sol in Santa Ana, Costa Rica. I had to send my caddy to the pro shop to get another sleeve of balls.