Florida vs Florida State: 5 best games in rivalry history
1. The Choke at Doak, 1994
With the stakes as high as ever, the 1994 meeting earns the top spot after Florida State pulled off arguably the greatest comeback in NCAA history.
Both teams entered the rivalry game with 9-1 records for the season. Florida rose to the No. 4 spot in the rankings behind the strength of the Wuerffel-Terry Dean tandem at quarterback, while Dunn and the defending national champion Seminoles weren’t far behind at No. 7.
Under the new bowl coalition system in 1994, the winner of the Florida-Florida State game at least had an argument to play for the national championship. Florida State struck first on a short field goal to go up 3-0 in front of a raucous crowd in Tallahassee.
The Gators responded with three straight touchdown passes from Wuerffel to go up 24-3 at half. A short Wuerffel touchdown run in the third seemingly put the game away with the Gators up 31-3.
Two quick touchdowns in the fourth quarter cut the Florida lead to 31-17. Following a quick Gators punt, quarterback Danny Kanell put together a length drive and punched it in from three yards out to make it a one-score game with five minutes to go.
Florida picked up a couple of first downs before Wuerffel was picked by James Colzie near midfield. Dunn caught a 37-yard pass shortly after, and Rock Preston tied the game with 1:45 remaining on a short touchdown run with 1:45 left to complete an unbelievable comeback.
As there was no overtime in college football in 1994, the two teams settled for a 31-31 tie. The 28-point rally in the fourth quarter tied the record for biggest comeback in NCAA history at the time.
To make matters worse for the Gators, Florida State would go on to win a Sugar Bowl rematch just over a month later.