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Six notable QBs Florida Football beat during their college career

Over the years, Florida has had decent success against QBs who wound up being the first overall pick in the NFL Draft

By Benjamin Henderson

Tennessee freshman quarterback Peyton Manning talks with a coach on the sideline during a break in the action against Vanderbilt. Tennessee shattered one national record, three school records and earned a probable Gator Bowl bid in its 65-0 win over Vanderbilt at Dudley Field in Nashville on Nov. 26, 1994. 94then11 071
Tennessee freshman quarterback Peyton Manning talks with a coach on the sideline during a break in the action against Vanderbilt. Tennessee shattered one national record, three school records and earned a probable Gator Bowl bid in its 65-0 win over Vanderbilt at Dudley Field in Nashville on Nov. 26, 1994. 94then11 071 / George Walker IV / The Tennessean,
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2009 - Sam Bradford - Oklahoma

Tim Tebow won the Heisman Trophy for the 2007 season. Sam Bradford won the Heisman for the 2008 season. And as we all know from Highlander, there can only be one.

Conveniently to settle the score the Gators took on Oklahoma in the BCS National Title game on January 8, 2009. Bradford was 26-41 passing for 256 yards and two touchdowns. More critical though, he also threw two interceptions. One was along the goal line and one at midfield with the Sooners down three.

Of course it didn't help Bradford that his receivers probably feared for their life after Major Wright set the tone in the first minute of the game

Bradford went on the an injury riddled NFL career after being the number one pick in the 2010 draft and only played at least 14 games in a season four times.

2008 - Matthew Stafford - Georgia

Florida 2008 national title run had the distraction of knocking off two eventual number one draft picks. Before the Gators could knock off Bradford in the title game, they had to derail Matthew Stafford in the World's Largest Cocktail Party.

With rumblings at the start of the season that Stafford could be the number pick, Georgia was the preseason number one. A loss to Alabama dropped them, but the Bulldogs still had everything in front of them when they took on the Gators in 2008.

Florida showed no mercy that day, famously knocking off the Bulldogs 49-10. As payback for the year before, Urban Meyer opted to use all of his timeouts at the end of the game as a way to rub it in to Georgia.

Stafford went on to a long stint with the Detroit Lions before finally winning a Super Bowl with the LA Rams in 2021 over the previously mentioned Bengals.

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