Watching the Florida – Oregon State Las Vegas bowl we had to hear time and time again how The Gators had a 400+ streak of not being shut out. This streak must have been so important, that Florida elected to take a late field goal to get on the scoreboard. The Field Goal came with less than 40 seconds in the game. I would say that most coaches would have gone for it to keep competing, but most coaches don’t have a streak like that behind them.
So it had me thinking about the Gators and the rest of the major teams in Florida. When was the last time each one has been shutout? Some have been more recent than others, but intriguing to say the least. So check out the last time each one has been shutout below.
Miami Hurricanes December 2019 versus Louisiana Tech
The Manny Diaz era at Miami only lasted three seasons, and all three had some rocky moments. In 2019 he was in his first year as the Hurricane’s Head Coach. He was able to bring the Hurricanes to a 6-6 record, bowl eligibility, and desires to cap off the season with an Independence Bowl Victory. Instead what happened was an inept Miami offense unable to find any production.
If you remember Miami played three different quarterbacks that game, none of them throwing for 100 yards. The rushing attack was held to only 74 yards. Out of all three teams, we will talk about this is the most recent shutout.
Florida State November 2006 versus Wake Forest
It was a rainy November night in 2006 when the Wake Forest Demon Deacons took Tallahassee by storm. At the time Florida State was on a 14 game winning streak against “Weak” Forest, and had never lost to them in ACC Play. No FSU fan ever envisioned losing to Wake Forest this millennium, especially being shut out by them.
In context this was a magical year for Wake Forest winning the ACC for the first time since 1970. Winning the conference was considered unthinkable but shutting FSU probably felt relieving. Especially since the Deacons were a punching bag so long. Now a days it is the norm for Wake Forest to punch Florida State, it’s ironic how things change.
This 2006 game was on the tail end of Bobby Bowden’s career, and also brought Jimbo Fisher to FSU as head coach in waiting the next season.
Florida October 1988 versus Auburn
Florida not only has the longest “not being shutout” streak in the state but the country as well. The 1988 season started promising for the Gators, as they started 5-0 ranked #14. Then legendary RB Emmitt Smith went down with an injury midseason and was sidelined for over a month.
Without Emmitt Smith, the Gators were unable to score any offensive touchdowns until he came back four weeks later. This included their last shutout against the Auburn Tigers in 1988. The Gator offense in 1988 threw for 17 interceptions and only three touchdowns. Talk about being one-dimensional.
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