During the past 20 years, Florida, Florida State and Miami have combined to set a standard for excellence.
"Never before in the history of college football has there been two decades that rival this," said Sunshine Network announcer Paul Kennedy, who covered dozens of games during the era.
Today, anything less than a 10-win season is a disappointment. But this wasn't always the case. For years, Florida, Florida State and Miami were considered the great underachievers of college football.
Each tasted moderate success in the 1950s, '60s and '70s, but winning seasons too often were followed by ones with unfulfilled potential.
Everything changed in 1983.
That season, Miami's improbable run to the national championship started a remarkable stretch. The Hurricanes, near-extinction in the '70s, won four more titles. Florida State, a former college for women that didn't begin playing until 1947, became a yearly national title contender. And Florida, which took more than 50 years to win its first official conference championship, became the SEC's most dominant program during the 1990s.
The era began Sept. 3, 1983 at Florida Field in Gainesville, when unranked Florida beat unranked Miami 28-3 behind quarterback Wayne Peace, who outdueled Hurricanes freshman Bernie Kosar.
"As I stood on the sideline in the dying moments of the game, it kept coming to my mind that the score didn't make any sense," then-Miami coach Howard Schnellenberger said. "We had more first downs, we had more total yardage and my quarterback completed I think 25 passes. I told them that we played, with the exception of the turnovers, well enough to win, and that if we would refocus, rededicate, I thought we could do well."
Still, there were doubts.
"I didn't think everything was in place," Schnellenberger said. "I had a freshman quarterback and we were coming off a 7-4 season, but I knew that we could win. Thank God we had a run there with teams that weren't great football teams and we started winning."
Ten victories later, Miami played No. 1 and heavily favored Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. The Hurricanes built leads of 17-0 and 31-17, then held on for a thrilling 31-30 win after stopping a Nebraska two-point conversion try in the final minute.
Many called it The Miracle in Miami.
It was the start of a miraculous stretch. Schnellenberger resigned the following year to pursue a position in the now-defunct USFL, but Oklahoma State's Jimmy Johnson replaced him and kept things going. Under Schnellenberger, Miami became a threat. Under Johnson, the Hurricanes became a force.
The 1986 team, led by Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Vinny Testaverde, finished second in the polls after a 14-10 loss to Penn State in the Fiesta Bowl. Miami went 12-0 the next season to win its second national title. Dennis Erickson replaced Johnson in 1989 and Miami claimed title No. 3. Another championship came in 1991.
Probation slowed the Hurricanes in the mid-1990s, but Erickson's successor, Butch Davis, helped turn things around. His final squad went 11-1, and first-year coach Larry Coker led Miami to its fifth title in 2001.
"It started with Howard," Florida State coach Bobby Bowden said. "And it's obvious they've got a pretty dang good program down there when they've got four head coaches with national championships."
Bowden's Seminoles won titles in 1993 and 1999. They could have won more had a few field goals not gone astray. But while FSU doesn't have the rings Miami possesses, it did something no other program has accomplished by finishing 14 consecutive seasons ranked in the top five.
The Seminoles' run began in 1987, when all that stood between them and a perfect season was a 26-25 loss to Miami. The Hurricanes also foiled FSU unbeaten bids in 1988 and 1992.
The 1993 squad that gave Bowden his first national championship was quarterbacked by Heisman Trophy winner Charlie Ward and featured an imposing defense. Six seasons later, another Heisman winner, quarterback Chris Weinke, led FSU to its first unbeaten season.
FSU accomplished so much from 1987 to 2000 that after seasons of 8-4 and 9-5, many have asked, what's wrong? "There was no way we could maintain what we had done the previous 14 years," Bowden said.
In Gainesville, the Year of the Gator always seemed to be next year. Florida teased fans for years, but one talented team after the other fell by the wayside. The 1983 squad, however, finished 9-2-1 with a No. 6 ranking. Florida went 9-1-1 each of the next two seasons, but the 1984 squad's Southeastern Conference title was stripped because of NCCA violations.
Lean years followed because of probation, but when Florida turned to one of its own, 1966 Heisman winner Steve Spurrier, greatness followed.
Spurrier coached Florida to its first official conference title in 1991 and added five more championships. His high-powered offense was a marvel, but his brash comments caused many (see Bowden) to cringe. The 1996 Gators, quarterbacked by Heisman winner Danny Wuerffel, went 12-1 and won the school's first national title.
"I think Spurrier put the Southeastern Conference on his back," Florida coach Ron Zook said. "He changed the game."
And the Big Three forever changed the landscape of college football.
