August 31, 1996, Ben Hill Griffin Stadium at Florida Field, Gainesville, Fla.
Attendance: 85,075
Using a school-record four defensive touchdowns, fourth-ranked Florida defeats Southwestern Louisiana 55-21 in front of 85,075 fans - the largest opening day crowd in Florida football history.
Lawrence Wright gets the defense started, picking up a fumble and returning it 12 yards for a 14-0 second quarter Florida lead. Fred Weary adds a 64-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown later in the quarter to give the Gators a commanding 35-0 lead. After the half, it is more of the same as free safety Teako Brown bobs and weaves through a maze of would-be-tacklers for a 26-yard interception return. His play is later featured as CNN's Play of the Day. Weary adds his second score of the day - this one a 65-yard interception return in the final quarter for UF's record setting fourth defensive TD.
Overall, the Gator defense forces six turnovers, records five sacks and yields only 261 yards (just 48 rushing) in the debut of defensive coordinator Bobby Stoops, who unveils his new aggressive, attacking scheme.
Despite a less than dominating performance, the Florida offense still tallies 464 yards in total offense, including 325 yards in the air and 139 yards on the ground. Senior quarterback Danny Wuerffel, one of five
Gator quarterbacks on the day, is 15-of-28 for 224 yards and a TD. Gator fans also see the debut of true freshman signal caller Doug Johnson, who completes 3-of-9 passes for 37 yards. Wide receiver Ike Hilliard is the favorite target of the day, catching seven passes for 117 yards and two TDs.
One of Southwestern Louisiana's scores comes on a 54-yard fumble recovery and another is on a 5-yard pass from Jake Delhomme to Mark Buford two plays after the Ragin' Cajuns blocked a punt.
Other Game Notes
-Florida is now 66-24 in its 90 season-openers, including a 48-6 mark in the 54 openers played in Gainesville. UF has now won 25 of its last 26 openers held at home.
-Steve Spurrier upped his Gator season-opener record to 7-0. Since taking over at UF, Spurrier is now 36-2 at Florida Field and 44-0 vs. unranked teams.
-Danny Wuerffel becomes the all-time leader in SEC history for TDs responsible for with 83 (76 passing, 7 rushing). He entered the game tied with former Gator Shane Matthews (74 passing, 7 rushing, 1 receiving) on the SEC list with 82. Wuerffel also extends his own UF and SEC marks for career TD passes to 76.
-Ike Hilliard's 117 yards marks the fifth 100-yard receiving game of his career. His two touchdown catches gives him ratio of one touchdown catch for every 4.10 balls caught (86 catches/21 TD receptions) - the top mark in that category in school history. His 21 career TD catches is the fifth top total in SEC history.
Scoring Summary & Statistics
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
USL 0 0 14 7 21
Florida 7 28 7 13 55
1st Quarter
UF: 12:34 - T. Jackson 8 yard run (Edmiston PAT) - 7 plays, 46 yards, 2:26