Best SEC Team of the Past 25 Years — Finals Voting

After two weeks of voting, we have arrived at the finals of our bracket to find the best SEC team of the past 25 years. Surprisingly, the winner will come from a matchup between the 1996 Florida Gators and the 2003 Ole Miss Rebels. Safe to say that nobody saw this one coming, but that's the beauty of the internet!

We've seen the Rebels give Florida fits in the past, but will it happen again? That 1996 Florida squad had a ton of firepower.

Remember, you can vote as many times as you'd like until noon on Friday. Let's take a look at the matchup.

(4) 1996 Florida vs (11) 2003 Ole Miss

1996 Florida - Considered one of the early offensive guru’s the 1996 Florida Gators are the pride and joy of Steve Spurrier’s resume. Danny Wuerffel-one of the most decorated quarterbacks in college football history (Heisman, Maxwell, Camp, O’Brien, and Unitas) spearheaded the attack along with future first round receivers Ike Hillard and Reidel Anthony as the Gators scored over 40 points in 10 of 13 games in 1996.

Undefeated within the conference, the Gators only slipup came in the final regular season game of the season against instate rival Florida State. After falling behind 17-0 in the 1st quarter, the Gators responded to close the game 21-7, but still fell short in the end by a final of 24-21. Regardless of the defeat, the Gators would still proceed to the Southeastern Conference championship game where they defeated Alabama, before finally beating the top ranked Seminoles of Florida State 52-50 in the Sugar Bowl to earn the national championship.

2003 Ole Miss - This might have been the best Rebel squad since the John Vaught era in Oxford. Behind senior quarterback Eli Manning, the Rebels rolled to a 10-3 season that included wins over three ranked opponents – #24 Florida, #20 Arkansas, and #21 Oklahoma State in the Cotton Bowl. Ole Miss shutout in-state rival Mississippi State 31-0 in the Egg Bowl and ended the year ranked #13 in the AP Poll and #14 in the Coaches Poll.

Manning’s final year at Ole Miss ended 3,600 yards passing with 29 TD and 10 INT. The SEC named him the offensive player of the year, while he also won the Maxwell Award for national player of the year.