Charting the Gators (and Taylors): Kelvin vs Fred in Jacksonville
Wednesday, November 5, 2014 | Football, Cross Country, Chris Harry
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- There was Florida tailback Kelvin Taylor rushing for 197 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries in a 38-20 rout of the rival Georgia Bulldogs last weekend. On a night when his running mate, Matt Jones, piled on another 192 yards on 25 carries and two scores, the Gators' unstoppable rushing attack told the story of the game.
But another thought popped into my head (as well as other heads in the press box and throughout the UF populace).
How did Taylor's night compare to anything his father, former Gators All-American Fred Taylor, accomplished in a UF uniform against the Bulldogs? Or for that matter, in the very stadium where he starred as a first-round draft pick and Pro-Bowler for the Jacksonville Jaguars?
Answer: Very favorably, obviously.
"It means a whole lot just to be here,” the kid known as “KT” said after the game.
“I remember, I used to be a little boy walking around this stadium. Right here, just playing with my toys and doing all types of stuff around this stadium. Now I'm playing. It's just unreal. I'm very blessed, very humble. It means a whole lot."
Good for him.
So I did some research this week.
Fred Taylor played four fabulous seasons for the Gators (1994-97), winning three Southeastern Conference titles, scoring a touchdown in UF's national-championship game defeat of Florida State, and in 1997 amassed the fourth-greatest rushing season in Florida history with 1,292 yards.
In four games against the Bulldogs, Fred tallied 49 carries, 218 yards, two TDs and never went over 100 yards in a game. In fact, two of those games weren't even played in Jacksonville, as the stadium then known as the Gator Bowl was undergoing renovation for the start of the expansion Jags during Fred's freshman and sophomore seasons. See below.
Year Site Statistics Outcome
1994 Gainesville 17 carries, 78 yards, 1 TD W 52-14
1995 Athens 7 carries, 16 yards W 52-17
1996 Jacksonville 7 carries, 39 yards, 1 TD W 47-7
1997 Jacksonville 18 carries, 85 yards, 1 TD L 37-17
Totals
In Jacksonville 25 carries, 124 yards 1 TD
Overall 49 carries, 218 yards, 2 TDs
Interestingly enough, it was two weeks after that loss in '97 to the Dawgs -- the only defeat in the series during Coach Steve Spurrier's 12 seasons at UF -- that the Gators completely revamped their offensive approach. Florida struggled to move the ball in a 20-7 tooth-ache victory at home against Vanderbilt. Spurrier, of course, loved to throw the ball, but he did not have a quarterback (be it Doug Johnson, Noah Brindise or Jesse Palmer) he had enough confidence in to lean on.
So he leaned on Fred Taylor.
Check out Taylor's numbers in the final three games of that season:
* 24 carries, 170 yards, 3 TDs in a 48-21 win at South Carolina.
* 22 carries, 164 yards, 4 TDs against the nation's top-ranked defense in a 32-29 upset of No. 1 Florida State.
* 43 carries, career-high 234 yards in a 20-6 defeat of No. 11 Penn State in Citrus Bowl. 
So 568 yards in the last three games of his career.
There was a reason Taylor (pictured right) was drafted ninth overall by the Jags, with whom he played 11 of his 13 seasons (1998-2008) and went on to become one of 29 players in NFL history to surpass 10,000 career yards. Right now, he sits 15th all time with 11,695 yards.
Which brings me back to Kelvin.
So how did KT's eruption at Jacksonville stack up against Dad's greatest days at the same venue? Let the record show, Fred Taylor's finest day as a pro came Nov. 19, 2000 when he went for 234 yards and scored four TDs in a 34-24 win at Pittsburgh.
But his finest NFL days in Jacksonville came up shy of the 197 his son cranked Saturday (see below).
Something tells me that's just fine with Dad.
Yards Opponent Outcome Date
194 New Orleans W 20-19 Dec. 21, 2003
183 Detroit W 37-22 Dec. 6, 1998
181 Cleveland W 48-0 Dec. 3, 2000
163 Houston W 27-0 Dec. 7, 2003
152 Indianapolis W 28-23 Nov. 9, 2003
