Adams: Florida status gaining on best of Alabama

The Florida Gators lost nine starters from the defense that won them a national championship. But they were still picked to win the SEC East at the SEC Media Days in Hoover, Ala.

What does that tell you?

It tells you the Ron Zook era is forgotten, and the Gators aren’t that far removed from their glory days of the mid-1990s when they won a national championship and four consecutive SEC titles under Steve Spurrier.

It also tells you that despite three undistinguished years under Zook, Florida’s last two decades are the closest thing the SEC has seen to the Alabama’s dynasty in the 1960s and ’70s under Bear Bryant.

In 25 years, from 1958 through 1982 under Bryant, Alabama won six national championships and 12 SEC titles.

No other SEC program can match that run. But Florida comes the closest.

In 16 years, from 1990 through 2006, the Gators have won two national titles and seven conference championships. They would have to win five conference championships and four national titles in the next nine years to duplicate Alabama’s success.

That’s not going to happen. But in some ways, Florida’s success is just as impressive as Alabama’s.

The Tide won with one coach, arguably the best ever. Florida won championships with Spurrier, then plodded through three years under Zook and returned to championship form under Urban Meyer.

Moreover, it’s not only more difficult to win a national title now, it’s considerably more difficult to win a conference championship.

Alabama never had to win an SEC championship playoff to claim a conference title. It also didn’t have to play eight regular-season conference games.

Alabama won five of its SEC titles with 6-0 conference records. Counting the conference playoff game, Florida never won fewer than eight SEC games in its championship seasons.

That’s not meant to diminish what Alabama accomplished, but rather to accentuate how good Florida has been in a different era.

In evaluating Florida’s success, you also have to consider the competition. When Florida was at its best in the 1990s, it had to play Tennessee and Florida State, who also were at the top of their game.

From 1993 through 1998, Florida never ranked lower than sixth nationally. During the same period, Florida State won the national title in 1993 and never finished lower than fourth in The Associated Press poll. Also during that period, UT won one national title, finished second another time (in the USA Today coaches’ poll), and finished in the top 10 four times.

In 2001, Florida probably would have played Miami for the national title if it hadn’t had to play three nationally ranked teams — South Carolina, Florida State and UT — in the last three weeks of the season. It routed both South Carolina and Florida State before losing to UT by two points.

Few teams have had a tougher road to a national title than last year’s Florida team, which played six consecutive games against bowl teams, and played Tennessee, Kentucky, Alabama, LSU and Auburn on five consecutive Saturdays. After all that, it still had to beat in-state rival Florida State in the last game of the regular season and a hot Arkansas team in the SEC championship game.

Remember how tough Bryant’s teams used to be? Florida’s second team under Meyer exhibited the same type of toughness in overcoming a schedule that included 11 bowl teams.

The impression the Gators made in winning a national title has carried over into the 2007 preseason. Never mind their substantial losses on defense. They’re expected to keep winning.

Just like Alabama did in the 1960s and ’70s.

Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.