1994 Florida Gators football team

1994 Florida Gators football
SEC champion
SEC Eastern Division champion
Sugar Bowl, L 17–23 vs. Florida State
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
DivisionEastern Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 7
APNo. 7
Record10–2–1 (7–1 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive schemeFun and gun
Defensive coordinatorBob Pruett (1st season)
Base defense3–4
CaptainTerry Dean
Aubrey Hill
Ellis Johnson
Larry Kennedy
Henry McMillian
Home stadiumBen Hill Griffin Stadium
Seasons
← 1993
1995 →
1994 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
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
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

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 6–1 record in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), placing first among the six SEC Eastern Division teams and winning the SEC championship.[1][2]

Before the season

The Gators were eyeing a national championship.[3]

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.[4] 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.[4]

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 3New Mexico State*No. 1
W 70–2184,721[5]
September 103:30 p.m.KentuckyNo. 2
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
ABCW 73–785,238[6]
September 176:30 p.m.at No. 15 TennesseeNo. 1
ESPNW 31–096,656[7]
October 1at Ole MissNo. 1
JPSW 38–1438,360[8]
October 812:30 p.m.LSUNo. 1
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
JPSW 42–1885,385[9]
October 151:00 p.m.No. 6 AuburnNo. 1
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
ABCL 33–3685,562[10]
October 297:00 p.m.GeorgiaNo. 5
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
ESPNW 52–1485,604[11]
November 5Southern Miss*daggerNo. 4
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL
W 55–1785,448[12]
November 1212:30 p.m.South CarolinaNo. 4
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL
JPSW 48–1785,028[13]
November 19at VanderbiltNo. 3
PPVW 24–733,508[14]
November 2612:00 p.m.at No. 7 Florida State*No. 4
ABCT 31–3180,210[15]
December 33:30 p.m.vs. No. 3 AlabamaNo. 6
ABCW 24–2374,751[16]
January 2, 19958:30 p.m.vs. No. 7 Florida State*No. 5
ABCL 17–2376,244[17]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

[1]

Roster

1994 Florida Gators football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
TE 91 Tremayne Allen Jr
WR 15 Reidel Anthony Fr
QB 12 Terry Dean Sr
WR 28 Chris Doering Jr
WR 5 Jacquez Green Fr
WR 19 Ike Hilliard Fr
WR 1 Jack Jackson Jr
QB 10 Eric Kresser So
WR 3 Travis McGriff Fr
G 71 Jeff Mitchell So
OT 74 Jason Odom Jr
RB 21 Fred Taylor Fr
QB 7 Danny Wuerffel So
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DT 67 Mark Campbell Jr
DE 57 Kevin Carter Sr
DT 61 Ellis Johnson Sr
SS 4 Lawrence Wright So
SS 20 Sammy McCorkle  Jr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Rankings

Main article: 1994 NCAA Division I-A football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415Final
AP1 (15)1 (14)2 (15)1 (27)1 (33)1 (31)1 (39)1 (44)554434657
Coaches1 (17)2 (23)2 (18)2 (20)2 (22)1 (34)1 (43)665554647

References

  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. ^ "1994 Florida Gators Schedule and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 5, 2024.
  3. ^ "National title Gators' goal". Rome News-Tribune. August 17, 1994. p. 4-B.
  4. ^ a b King, Bill (1994), Florida out to catch best prep receivers, web: News-Press, retrieved March 13, 2023
  5. ^ "Florida QB shows NMSU who's Dean". Albuquerque Journal. September 4, 1994. Retrieved February 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Dean, No. 2 Florida overpowers Kentucky, 73–7". The Jackson Sun. September 11, 1994. Retrieved February 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Gators add Vols to impressive wins list". The News and Observer. September 18, 1994. Retrieved February 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Gators batter Rebels, 38–14". Hattiesburg American. October 2, 1994. Retrieved February 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "LSU gains respect". Daily World. October 9, 1994. Retrieved February 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Auburn 'upsets' Florida". Daily Press. October 16, 1994. Retrieved February 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Gators gobble Georgia". Fort Myers News-Press. October 30, 1994. Retrieved February 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Lots of QBs, lots of points: Gators swamps S. Miss, 55–17". The Miami Herald. November 6, 1994. Retrieved February 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Gators out of Gamecocks' league". The Atlanta Journal & Constitution. November 13, 1994. Retrieved February 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Sputtering Gators handle Vanderbilt". The Charlotte Observer. November 20, 1994. Retrieved February 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Seminoles' rally a Gators letdown". The Fresno Bee. November 27, 1994. Retrieved February 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "SEC-ond chance". The Tampa Tribune. December 4, 1994. Retrieved February 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "'Noles east by Gators". The Commercial Appeal. January 3, 1995. Retrieved February 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.