1994 Florida Gators football team
American college football season
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The 1994 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1994 NCAA Division I-A football season. The season was Steve Spurrier's fifth as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team. Spurrier's 1994 Florida Gators posted an overall record of 10–2–1 and a 7–1 record in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), placing first among the six SEC Eastern Division teams and winning the SEC championship.[1][2]
| 1994 Florida Gators football | |
|---|---|
SEC champion SEC Eastern Division champion | |
| Conference | Southeastern Conference |
| Eastern Division | |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 7 |
| AP | No. 7 |
| Record | 10–2–1 (7–1 SEC) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive scheme | Fun and gun |
| Defensive coordinator | Bob Pruett (1st season) |
| Base defense | 3–4 |
| Captains |
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| Home stadium | Ben Hill Griffin Stadium |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 7 Florida x$ | 7 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 10 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 22 Tennessee | 5 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Carolina | 4 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Georgia | 3 | – | 4 | – | 1 | 6 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vanderbilt | 2 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kentucky | 0 | – | 8 | – | 0 | 1 | – | 10 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Western Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 5 Alabama x | 8 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 12 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 9 Auburn | 6 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 9 | – | 1 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 24 Mississippi State | 5 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| LSU | 3 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arkansas | 2 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ole Miss | 2 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Championship: Florida 24, Alabama 23 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 3 | New Mexico State* | No. 1 | W 70–21 | 84,721 | [3] | |||
| September 10 | 3:30 p.m. | Kentucky | No. 2 |
| ABC | W 73–7 | 85,238 | [4] |
| September 17 | 6:30 p.m. | at No. 15 Tennessee | No. 1 | ESPN | W 31–0 | 96,656 | [5] | |
| October 1 | at Ole Miss | No. 1 | JPS | W 38–14 | 38,360 | [6] | ||
| October 8 | 12:30 p.m. | LSU | No. 1 |
| JPS | W 42–18 | 85,385 | [7] |
| October 15 | 1:00 p.m. | No. 6 Auburn | No. 1 |
| ABC | L 33–36 | 85,562 | [8] |
| October 29 | 7:00 p.m. | Georgia | No. 5 |
| ESPN | W 52–14 | 85,604 | [9] |
| November 5 | Southern Miss* | No. 4 |
| W 55–17 | 85,448 | [10] | ||
| November 12 | 12:30 p.m. | South Carolina | No. 4 |
| JPS | W 48–17 | 85,028 | [11] |
| November 19 | at Vanderbilt | No. 3 | PPV | W 24–7 | 33,508 | [12] | ||
| November 26 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 7 Florida State* | No. 4 | ABC | T 31–31 | 80,210 | [13] | |
| December 3 | 3:30 p.m. | vs. No. 3 Alabama | No. 6 | ABC | W 24–23 | 74,751 | [14] | |
| January 2, 1995 | 8:30 p.m. | vs. No. 7 Florida State* | No. 5 | ABC | L 17–23 | 76,244 | [15] | |
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Rankings
Before the season
The Gators were eyeing a national championship.[16]
Florida received verbal commitments the following recruits in 1994: Amp Campbell, Ed Chester, Jaquez Green, Isaac Hilliard, Michael Jackson, Nafis Kareem, Travis McGriff, Jamie Richardson, Dossy Robbins and Deak Story.[17] Amp Campbell was considered to be the best signing of the year as he was a top cornerback prospect and part of USA Today's All-America team.[17]
Game summaries
New Mexico State
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aggies | 7 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| • Gators | 28 | 28 | 0 | 14 | 70 |
- Date: September 3
- Location: Ben Hill Griffith Stadium
- Game attendance: 84,721
| Q1 | FLA | Hillard 6 yard pass from Dean (Davis kick) | FLA 7–0 | |
| Q1 | NMS | L. Davis 73 yard pass from Ledbetter (Culin kick) | Tie 7–7 | |
| Q1 | FLA | Jackson 13 yard pass from Dean (Davis kick) | FLA 14–7 | |
| Q1 | FLA | Jackson 8 yard pass from Dean (Davis kick) | FLA 21–7 | |
| Q1 | FLA | Hill 15 yard pass from Dean (Davis kick) | FLA 28–7 | |
| Q2 | NMS | L. Davis 27 yard pass from Ledbetter (Culin kick) | FLA 28–14 | |
| Q2 | FLA | Palmer 10 yard pass from Dean (Davis kick) | FLA 35—14 | |
| Q2 | FLA | Jackson 8 yard pass from Dean (Davis kick) | FLA 42–14 | |
| Q2 | NMS | L. Davis 7 yard pass from Ledbetter (Culin kick) | FLA 42–21 | |
| Q2 | FLA | Jackson 3 yard pass from Dean (Davis kick) | FLA 49–21 | |
| Q2 | FLA | Hillard 7 yard pass from Kresser (Davis kick) | FLA 56–21 | |
| Q4 | FLA | Taylor 9 yard run (Davis kick) | FLA 63–21 | |
| Q4 | FLA | Malone 13 yard run (Davis kick) | FLA 70–21 | |
- Terry Dean tied an NCAA record by throwing for seven touchdowns in the first half.[19]
Kentucky
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wildcats | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| • Gators | 14 | 17 | 21 | 21 | 73 |
- Date: September 10
- Location: Ben Hill Griffith Stadium
- Game attendance: 85,238
| Q1 | FLA | Hill 16-yard pass from Dean (Davis kick) | FLA 7–0 | |
| Q1 | FLA | Williams 15-yard run (Davis kick) | FLA 14–0 | |
| Q2 | FLA | Hill 4-yard pass from Dean (Davis kick) | FLA 21–0 | |
| Q2 | KEN | Curtis 36-yard pass from O'Ferral (Sivinski kick) | FLA 21–7 | |
| Q2 | FLA | Davis 31-yard field goal | FLA 24–7 | |
| Q2 | FLA | Doering 5-yard pass from Dean (Davis kick) | FLA 31–7 | |
| Q3 | FLA | Williams 2-yard run (Davis kick) | FLA 38–7 | |
| Q3 | FLA | Anthony 65-yard pass from Dean (Davis kick) | FLA 45–7 | |
| Q3 | FLA | McCray 33-yard fumble return (Davis kick) | FLA 52–7 | |
| Q4 | FLA | Hillard 25-yard pass from Wuerffel (Davis kick) | FLA 59–7 | |
| Q4 | FLA | Bowen 15-yard pass from Kresser (Davis kick) | FLA 66–7 | |
| Q4 | FLA | Baker 15-yard run (Davis kick) | FLA 73–7 | |
- E. Williams 13 Rush, 115 Yds
Tennessee
Ole Miss
LSU
Auburn
Coach Terry Bowden's sixth-ranked 1994 Auburn Tigers entered the Swamp as 17-point underdogs to coach Steve Spurrier's top-ranked Gators, but, just like the year before, the Tigers offense kept pace with the Gators as its defense forced key turnovers by the Gators.[21] The Gators' starting quarterback, Terry Dean, threw four interceptions in the first half, and was replaced by Danny Wuerffel, who threw three touchdown passes but was intercepted by Tigers defensive back Brian Robinson with 1:20 left.[21] Tigers quarterback Patrick Nix engineered a quick drive, and threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to Frank Sanders, winning the game for Auburn, 36–33.[21]
Georgia
Southern Mississippi
South Carolina
Vanderbilt
Florida State
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gators | 7 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 31 |
| Seminoles | 3 | 0 | 0 | 28 | 31 |
- Date: November 26
- Location: Doak Campbell Stadium
- Game attendance: 80,210
- Television network: ABC
In the greatest fourth-quarter comeback of the series, the Gators led the Seminoles 31–3 after three quarters. However, the Seminoles scored 28 points in the final fifteen minutes to tie the game at 31–31.
SEC Championship
Florida State (Sugar Bowl)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Seminoles | 3 | 17 | 3 | 0 | 23 |
| Gators | 3 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
- Date: January 2
- Location: Louisiana Superdome
- Game weather: Indoors (dome)
- TV announcers (ABC): Brent Musburger and Dick Vermeil
The Seminoles then won a rematch in the Sugar Bowl, 23–17, referred to as "The Fifth Quarter in the French Quarter."
Roster
| 1994 Florida Gators football team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
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Defense
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Special teams
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