The Auburn Tigers have opted to go back in time and claim four additional national titles that they previously weren't claiming. The Tigers are now claiming to be the national champions from 1910, 1914, 1958, and 2004. This is on top of the fact that Auburn claims the 1913, 1983, and 1993 titles in their media guide.
Retroactively claiming titles you didn't win reeks of desperation, but it also puts the 1984 squad for the Florida Gators back into focus, and it once again sparks the debate of whether that squad deserved better.
Should Florida claim the 1984 national title?
The 1984 team has always been a sore spot in Gainesville. The season started under chaos, with Charley Pell getting removed three games into the season due to an array of violations (most of which would be perfectly legal in the modern NIL Era).
Galen Hall took over, and the end result was a 9-1-1 season that resulted in Florida beating No. 11 Auburn, No. 8 Georgia, and No. 12 FSU. Florida finished undefeated in the SEC and was declared the SEC champions for 1984.
Due to sanctions from Pell, Florida couldn't go on to the Sugar Bowl, but the Gators finished 3rd in the AP poll, in addition to finishing 1st in the New York Times and Sporting News polls.
But backroom deals eventually stripped Florida of the SEC title, and the Gators never claimed to be national champions in 1984 despite some publications declaring it.
But since everyone else claims titles because their uncle's third cousin once voted them first, is it time for Florida to consider it?
Plenty of absurd title claims exist
If you dig through the history of college football, there are numerous absurd national title claims throughout the sport, especially prior to the 1980s.
In the 80s, Alabama magically added five national titles to its record books, including a 1941 title claim where they were 20th in the AP poll.
Michigan State claims the 1966 title after it ducked a chance to play Notre Dame in a No. 1 vs No. 2 matchup.
We all know about UCF's crazy claim to a title from 2017.
Even Auburn's previous claim to the 1957 national title happened while the school was under probation. SMU has a similar claim to the 1981 and 1982 national titles, as they were running around as the original kings of NIL.
So in reality, if Florida were to say screw it and claim that 1984 national title, it wouldn't be that absurd within the context of college football.
Plus, it would serve as a great bridge from the Spurrier Era that most fans associate with the start of the modern era of Gator football to decades of history that Florida has that is often forgotten about.
At the same time, if Florida was going to do it, it would have had the perfect chance to do so last year when they had the 40th anniversary celebration of that squad.
And knowing how Florida likes to tiptoe around these things, they probably won't do it.