Gators

Spurrier threw his way to the Heisman Trophy in 1966, then came back to Gainesville in 1990 and turned The Swamp, as he called Florida Field, into the name every visiting team dreaded. His 1996 team brought the university its first national championship, won under lights his own players had grown used to hearing roar.

The program traces back to 1906, when it took the field against Rollins College under the name Gators. It plays at Steve Spurrier–Florida Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, in Gainesville, in orange and blue.

Urban Meyer picked up where Spurrier left off, winning championships in 2006 and 2008 with Tim Tebow at quarterback. Emmitt Smith came through Gainesville before either of those title runs, on his way to an NFL Hall of Fame career that started with a Heisman-calibre college résumé of its own.

Florida State remains the team Gators fans measure seasons against, in a rivalry known as the Sunshine Showdown, fought since long before either program had a championship to point to. The series sits at 39 wins to 28 for Florida, with two ties keeping the count from ever settling cleanly.

Three consensus national titles and eight Southeastern Conference championships make up the program's honours board, the first of each arriving under a coach who once wore the same orange and blue as a player.