1983 Florida Gators football team

American college football season

1983 Florida Gators football

Gator Bowl, W 14–6 vs. Iowa

Conference| Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches| No. 6
AP| No. 6
Record| 9–2–1 (4–2 SEC)
Head coach|

* Charley Pell (5th season)

Offensive coordinator| Mike Shanahan (4th season)
Defensive coordinator| Joe Kines (3rd season)
Home stadium| Florida Field

Seasons

<- 1982

1984 ->

1983 Southeastern Conference football standings

* v
* t
* e

| Conf. |  |  | Overall

|
|
|
|

Team | W |  | L |  | T |  |  | W |  | L |  | T
No. 3 Auburn $  | 6  | - | 0  | - | 0 |  |  | 11  | - | 1  | - | 0
No. 4 Georgia | 5  | - | 1  | - | 0 |  |  | 10  | - | 1  | - | 1
No. 6 Florida | 4  | - | 2  | - | 0 |  |  | 9  | - | 2  | - | 1
Tennessee | 4  | - | 2  | - | 0 |  |  | 9  | - | 3  | - | 0
No. 15 Alabama | 4  | - | 2  | - | 0 |  |  | 8  | - | 4  | - | 0
Ole Miss | 4  | - | 2  | - | 0 |  |  | 6  | - | 6  | - | 0
Kentucky | 2  | - | 4  | - | 0 |  |  | 6  | - | 5  | - | 1
Mississippi State | 1  | - | 5  | - | 0 |  |  | 3  | - | 8  | - | 0
LSU | 0  | - | 6  | - | 0 |  |  | 4  | - | 7  | - | 0
Vanderbilt | 0  | - | 6  | - | 0 |  |  | 2  | - | 9  | - | 0

* $ - Conference champion

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1983 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season. The season was Charley Pell's fifth as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team. Pell's Gators posted a 9–2–1 overall record and a Southeastern Conference (SEC) record of 4–2, placing third among ten SEC teams.[1] Behind a stout defense and a rushing attack led by future pros Neal Anderson, John L. Williams, and Lorenzo Hampton the 1983 Gators were the first squad in program history to be ranked among the top ten teams in the final Associated Press (AP) poll. It was also the second time that the Gators were ranked in every weekly AP Poll throughout the season, (1975 being the first).

## Schedule

[edit]

Date| Opponent| Rank| Site| TV| Result| Attendance| Source

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

September 3| Miami (FL)*| |

* Florida Field
* Gainesville, FL (rivalry)

| | W 28–3| 73,907| [2]
September 10| at No. 9 USC*| No. 18|

* Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
* Los Angeles, CA

| | T 19–19| 53,948| [3]
September 17| Indiana State*| No. 15|

* Florida Field
* Gainesville, FL

| | W 17–13| 68,191| [4]
September 24| at Mississippi State| No. 15|

* Scott Field
* Starkville, MS

| | W 35–12| 31,875| [5]
October 1| at No. 16 LSU| No. 12|

* Tiger Stadium
* Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry)

| | W 31–17| 78,616| [6]
October 8| Vanderbilt| No. 9|

* Florida Field
* Gainesville, FL

| | W 29–10| 73,764| [7]
October 22| East Carolina*| No. 6|

* Florida Field
* Gainesville, FL

| | W 24–17| 73,943| [8]
October 29| at No. 4 Auburn| No. 5|

* Jordan-Hare Stadium
* Auburn, AL (rivalry)

| CBS| L 21–28| 75,700| [9]
November 5| vs. No. 4 Georgia| No. 9|

* Gator Bowl Stadium
* Jacksonville, FL (rivalry)

| CBS| L 9–10| 82,166| [10]
November 12| Kentucky| No. 14|

* Florida Field
* Gainesville, FL (rivalry)

| | W 24–7| 73,192| [11]
December 3| Florida State*| No. 12|

* Florida Field
* Gainesville, FL (rivalry)

| CBS| W 53–14| 74,113| [12]
December 30| vs. No. 10 Iowa*| No. 11|

* Gator Bowl Stadium
* Jacksonville, FL (Gator Bowl)

| ABC| W 14–6| 81,293| [13]

* *Non-conference game
* Homecoming
* Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[1]

## Roster

[edit]

1983 Florida Gators football team roster

Players  | Coaches
Offense | Pos. | # | Name | Class

|
|
|

RB | `27` | Neal Anderson | So
WR | `89` | Ricky Nattiel | Fr
QB | `15` | Wayne Peace | Sr
FB | `22` | John L. Williams | So
Defense | Pos. | # | Name | Class

|
|
|

S | `18` | Tony Lilly | Sr
LB | `88` | Wilber Marshall | Sr
Special teams | Pos. | # | Name | Class

|
|
|

K | `` | Bobby Raymond | Jr

Head coach

* Charley Pell

Coordinators/assistant coaches

* Mike Shanahan (OC)
* Joe Kines (DC)
* Mike Heimerdinger (WR)
* Vince Kendrick (RB)
* Charlie Strong (GA)

* * *

Legend

* (C) Team captain
* (S) Suspended
* (I) Ineligible

* Injured
* Redshirt

## Team players in the 1984 NFL Draft

[edit]

Main article: 1984 NFL draft

Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL club

|
|
|
|

Wilber Marshall | Linebacker | 1 | 11 | Chicago Bears
Tony Lilly | Safety | 3 | 78 | Denver Broncos
Randy Clark | Defensive back | 8 | 202 | Kansas City Chiefs
John Hunt | Guard | 9 | 232 | Dallas Cowboys

[14]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b 2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide Archived 2015-12-08 at the Wayback Machine, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, p. 107 (2015). Retrieved August 16, 2015.
2. ^ "For Gators, a Peace-full victory". St. Petersburg Times. September 4, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
3. ^ "USC rallies to tie Florida, then flubs extra-point try". The Fresno Bee. September 11, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
4. ^ "Sycamore upset bid just misses". The Indianapolis Star. September 18, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
5. ^ "Bulldogs lose in fourth quarter". The Sun. September 25, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ "LSU just Gator bait for Florida". Daily World. October 2, 1983. Retrieved November 3, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
7. ^ "Undefeated Gators break out cigars". The Orlando Sentinel. October 9, 1983. Retrieved November 3, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
8. ^ "Florida overcomes 6 turnovers, East Carolina". The Palm Beach Post. October 23, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
9. ^ "Auburn wins 28–21 thriller, but Florida disputes it". The Atlanta Journal & Constitution. October 30, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
10. ^ "'Dogs 'hang in there, 'nip Gators, 10–9". The Pensacola News-Journal. November 6, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
11. ^ "Gators bounce back, rip 'Cats". The Pensacola News-Journal. November 13, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
12. ^ "Unexpected rout, Florida rips rival Florida State, 53–14". Florida Today. December 4, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
13. ^ "Gators put bite on Hawkeyes, 14–6". The Des Moines Register. December 31, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
14. ^ "1984 NFL Draft". pro-football-reference.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007. Retrieved August 10, 2019.

* v
* t
* e

Florida Gators football

Venues|

* The Baseball Park (1906–1910)
* University Athletic Field / Fleming Field (1911–1930)
* Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (1930–present)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Bowl games
* Alabama
* Auburn
* Florida State (Florida Cup)
* Georgia
* Kentucky
* LSU
* Miami (Florida Cup)
* Tennessee

Culture & lore|

* History
* The Pride of the Sunshine
* Gator Chomp
* Mr. Two Bits
* Gatorade
* I Won't Back Down
* 1961 gambling scandal

People|

* Head coaches
* Ring of Honor
* All-Americans
* UF Athletic Hall of Fame
* Starting quarterbacks
* Statistical leaders
* NFL draftees

Seasons|

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National championship seasons in bold
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf.]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[No.]: Number