Carter’s Corner: ’96 Gators Remain Last First-Time National Champ

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Ohio State completed a classic comeback story on Monday night by beating Notre Dame to win the national championship, the Buckeyes’ first national title since former Gators head coach Urban Meyer led them to a championship in 2014.

Following a loss to Michigan in the regular-season finale, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day received intense criticism from fans. Day held firm and got his team back on track with four consecutive wins in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff.

Talk about turning hot takes into ice.

Meanwhile, Meyer was in Gainesville on Friday for a charity event at Spurrier’s Gridiron Grille, with proceeds going to Desire Street Ministries (Danny Wuerffel‘s charity), the Tim Tebow Foundation and the HBC Foundation (Steve Spurrier‘s charity). Meyer and Gators icon Spurrier served customers and shared stories about their days leading the Gators to national championships. Before his championship at Ohio State, Meyer led the Gators to national titles in 2006 and 2008.

Of course, the Head Ball Coach led the Gators to their first national championship in 1996, a feat that cemented his place as the most decorated member of Gator Nation. Spurrier, after winning the Heisman Trophy in 1966, returned to Florida in 1990 as head coach and turned the Gators from a sleeping giant into a national power.

Ohio State won its seventh national championship on Monday and in the first year of the 12-team playoff proved the cream still rises to the top. When the playoffs started, five teams had an opportunity to unseat Florida as the most-recent first-time national champion: Oregon, Arizona State, Boise State, SMU and Indiana.

Instead, those teams went 0-5 in the playoffs 28 years after the Gators broke through under Spurrier to claim the game’s top prize.

Meanwhile, the Gators continue their quest to break into the CFB Playoff. Florida has yet to appear in the postseason party that started the year Meyer led the Buckeyes to the title. Florida enters 2025 with a four-game win streak and momentum in its favor following an 8-4 season under head coach Billy Napier.

Florida is expected to open next season in the preseason AP Top 25 after its strong finish to a tumultuous season. Meyer was impressed with the turnaround in 2024.

“I was really, really worried when they lost early because momentum is so fragile,” Meyer told reporters. “But it tells you, first of all, the character. I don’t know them. But there must be some really good guys up…