'96 Gators Cruise to First Round Victory

Offense was everywhere in a game that featured 770 combined passing yards, 91 combined pass attempts, 8 touchdown passes combined. Yes, the footballs were flying in this first round thriller between two powerhouses from the state of Florida.

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Florida’s Heisman hero Danny Weurffel overcame throwing 4 interceptions by completing 29 of 41 passes for 514 yards and 5 touchdowns, 4 alone to Ike Hilliard.

Hilliard reeled in 12 catches for 225 yards and had 6 catches that netted over 20 yards. The heroics of the Gators’ potent tandem led Florida to a 51-34 shellacking over the 1999 FSU Seminoles in their first round matchup in the Scout.com/WhatIfSports.com Tournament of Champions.

On the losing end, FSU’s Chris Weinke was 28 of 50 for 311 yards and 3 touchdowns and speedster Peter Warrick caught 13 passes for 164 yards and 2 touchdowns. Seminole RB Travis Minor ran 33 times for 112 yards in the losing effort.

Ultimately it came down to 1996 Florida’s ability to convert their opportunities that helped them ease to victory. Along with Hilliard’s four scores, RB Fred Taylor carried 33 times for 135 yards and punched the ball into the Gator endzone twice. Definitely an exciting and offensive-minded first round matchup boasting a pair of Heisman winning QBs and enough offensive fireworks to go around for all.

Up next for the '96 Gators will the '92 Alabama squad that beat the '98 Tennessee team 17-7.

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