25 college football records that will never be broken

You might expect the quarterback that set an unbreakable record of nine interceptions in one game to have been, simply, bad at football. You wouldn’t expect that quarterback to be named All-SEC and to lead his team to the most successful season in school history in the very year in which he tossed nine picks, then go on to set the NCAA career passing record, be named an All-American, and to be drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft and play more than a decade as a pro. But that is exactly what happened to John Reaves.

In the 1960s, freshmen were still ineligible to play college football. Therefore, John Reaves had his first opportunity to quarterback the Florida Gators as a sophomore in 1969, and led a group of talented sophomore players nicknamed the “Super Sophs.” After leading the Gators to a 6-0 record on the strength of his right arm, Reaves and the Gators travelled to Auburn to face the Tigers. Florida fell behind early, and Reaves attempted 66 passes to try and bring them back.

Remarkably, Reaves was never benched because nine of those 66 attempts were intercepted, and the Tigers went on to win 38-12. It was the only loss of the season for the Gators, who finished 9-1-1.

After his pro career ended, Reaves worked as an assistant coach at Florida on Steve Spurrier’s staff in the early 1990s (Reaves also played for Spurrier in the USFL). Spurrier, always quick with a quip, liked to poke fun at his friend, colleague, and former Gator.

“That’s a record that will never be broken, Johnny,” Spurrier would say, according to Pat Dooley of The Gainesville Sun.

He’s right about that.

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