12/20/2023 0 Comments Florida gators unpacking 2010 shirts![]() ![]() Ellenson was a highly decorated combat officer in World War II, the winner of two Silver Stars during the Battle of the Bulge. On Friday night at the team hotel, Florida's defensive coordinator Gene Ellenson told some war stories. Alabama was undefeated and considered a favorite to bring home Bear Bryant's second national championship in three years. They tied a mediocre Mississippi State team 9-9 at home and then barely eked out a 35-28 win over Richmond. They were 1-1-1, having lost their season opener to Georgia Tech, 9-0, in a game where they had negative total offense. ![]() "They let us know that there was no way we were going to beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa so we'd probably better not even unpack our bags." "When we arrived at the hotel the hotel staff told us we might as probably should forget about playing and just go straight home," said Clarke, who went on to play for the Buffalo Bills in the NFL before retiring from the pro game to become a financial executive in Ft. The quarterback was Joe Namath and a graduate assistant football coach on Bryant's staff was a former All-SEC lineman named Charley Pell, who would become Florida's football coach 16 years later. On that day, the Gators faced mighty Alabama, ranked third in the nation and coached by Bear Bryant. Back on October 12, 1963, he was part of a Florida team that broke through the crust of mediocrity to come together for a victory that was a signature win for the Florida football program, not just for that one season but in all of Gator football history up to that point. Hagood Clarke could relate to what Meyer was talking about. ![]() "We're not a great team yet, but we almost got there in those last two games," said Meyer, who also briefly described some of the trials and tribulations the Gators went through before they scored their breakthrough wins that transformed a mediocre season into one that gave Gator Nation hope that good times and great moments are well on their way to a successful return.Īs Meyer talked about how his team came together for that win over Florida State and about living in the moment, the man whose name tag read simply "Hagood" sat quietly in the back absorbing the atmosphere. The momentum from this win would carry over into the practices for the Outback Bowl and the game itself, a 31-24 win over Iowa. His team had taken that last great stride, leaving behind uncertainty and immaturity to become a confident, cohesive unit. Absolutely nothing was going to spoil this evening. At that moment, he knew exactly what Bob Davie had been talking about. He looked above the rim of the jam-packed stadium and saw a sky streaked with orange, the last remnants of what had been a spectacular sunset. He looked out on the field and saw his confident, well-prepared football team hell bent on the total annihilation of their rivals from up the road in Tallahassee, making the Seminoles pay for every yard they gained. There was electricity in the air and he could feel the hair on the back of his neck and arms standing up. The noise was deafening but it was almost like a sweet lullaby to his ears. They were lathered and raising the decibels in The Swamp to record levels. He looked across the field to the Florida student body. ![]() Florida was totally in control so for two or three minutes, Meyer took off the headsets. The Seminoles were so done they could have had a dozen forks stuck in them. Hagood Clarke (Photo: )There was no chance Florida State was going to come back in this game. ![]()
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