When Gators were underdogs to Ohio State, John McCain predicted Florida would win

Americans are mourning the passing of Sen. John McCain on this Saturday night. A military hero, long-time Senator of Arizona and former Presidential candidate, McCain defined for many what it means to serve one’s country.

Among the many Twitter tributes to McCain, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey shared one that involved college football.

In January 2007, the BCS Championship Game was played in Glendale, Ariz. As the state’s Senator, McCain – a noted sports fan – took part in the coin toss. Sankey shared that the two briefly spoke prior to the game. When Sankey identified that he worked for the SEC, McCain told him his team (Florida) would win and why: the speed of the Gators’ defensive line.

Florida fans (and SEC fans in general) may remember that Ohio State was the favorite in that game and not many in the national media gave the Gators a chance. McCain was apparently aware of SEC speed before many in the college football community.

And it turns out McCain had scouted the Gators quite well. The defensive MVP of the game was UF DE Derrick Harvey, who recorded three sacks.

In my one visit with @SenJohnMcCain we were walking in to Jan 07 BCS Champ Game together. I introduced myself…told him I worked with the @SEC. He said, “Your team will win tonight. Defensive line speed will be the key.” I said, “I hope you’re right.” He was…1st of 7 in a row

— Greg Sankey (@GregSankey) August 24, 2018

Andrew Olson

Andrew writes about sports to fund his love of live music and collection of concert posters. He strongly endorses the Hall of Fame campaigns of Fred Taylor and Andruw Jones.