American college football season
The 1980 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season . The season was the Florida Gators football team's second season under new head coach Charles B. "Charley" Pell , and marked a remarkable one-year turnaround for the Gators from their 0–10–1 record in 1979 .[2] The winless 1979 season was the worst season in Gators history, and it was Pell's first campaign as the new head coach of the Gators, after the Gators' previous head coach, Doug Dickey , was fired in the aftermath of a 4–7 season in 1978 .[2] Pell's 1980 Florida Gators posted an 8–4 overall record and a Southeastern Conference (SEC) record of 4–2, tying for fourth place in the ten-team SEC.[3] The Gators capped their season with a 35–20 bowl victory over the Maryland Terrapins in the Tangerine Bowl , marking the first time in the history of major college football that a winless team received a bowl bid the following season.[2] Linebacker David Little set the career record for tackles by a Gator and was consensus All-American.[4] Receiver Cris Collinsworth was first-team All-American. The season features the famous "Run Lindsay Run" in the close loss to national champion Georgia .[5]
Schedule [ ]
Date Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance September 13 vs. California * W 41–1341,388
September 20 at Georgia Tech * W 45–1235,165
September 27 Mississippi State W 21–1556,225
October 4 LSU No. 19 Florida Field Gainesville, FL (rivalry ) L 7–2459,299
October 18 at Ole Miss W 15–336,012
October 25 Louisville * Florida Field Gainesville, FL W 13–062,687
November 1 Auburn Florida Field Gainesville, FL (rivalry ) W 21–1063,274
November 8 vs. No. 2 Georgia No. 20 ABC L 21–2668,528
November 15 at Kentucky No. 20 W 17–1551,766
November 29 Miami (FL) * No. 18 Florida Field Gainesville, FL (rivalry ) ABC L 7–3156,437
December 6 at No. 3 Florida State * No. 19 ABC L 13–1753,772
December 20 vs. Maryland * MTN W 35–2052,541
*Non-conference game HomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
Primary source: 2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide .[3]
Personnel [ ]
1980 Florida Gators football team roster
Players
Coaches
Offense
Defense
DL
53
Rod Brooks (C)
Sr
DL
90
Val Brown
So
DE
87
Mike Clark
Sr
DL
61
Ron Coleman
Sr
DB
Ivory Curry
DL
66
Robin Fisher
Jr
DL
85
David Galloway
Jr
DB
43
Sonny Gilliam
So
DE
57
Tim Golden
Sr
S
20
Tim Groves
Sr
LB
Fernando Jackson
CB
24
Kyle Knight
So
DB
Tony Lilly
LB
51
David Little
Sr
DL
Dock Luckie
DB
Vito McKeever
DL
50
Yancey Sutton
Sr
CB
47
Bruce Vaughan
So
LB
95
Tom Weigmann
So
Special teams
K
3
Brian Clark
Jr
P
4
Mark Dickert
Jr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
Injured
Redshirt
Season summary [ ]
vs. Georgia [ ]
#20 Florida Gators (6–1) vs. #2 Georgia Bulldogs (8–0)
1
2
3 4 Total
Georgia
7
7
6 6 26
Florida
3
7
0 11 21
at Gator Bowl • Jacksonville, Florida
show Scoring summary
Quarter
Time
Drive
Team
Scoring information
Score
Plays
Yards
TOP
UGA
FLA
1
13:09
Georgia
Walker 72-yard touchdown run, Robinson kick good
7
0
1
7:07
Florida
40-yard field goal by Clark
7
3
2
13:29
77
Georgia
Stewart 13-yard touchdown reception from Belue , Robinson kick good
14
3
2
7:10
Florida
Collinsworth 9-yard touchdown reception from Peace , Clark kick good
14
10
3
9:38
Georgia
24-yard field goal by Robinson
17
10
3
3:58
Georgia
20-yard field goal by Robinson
20
10
4
14:14
81
Florida
Jones 11-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass good
20
18
4
6:52
11
Florida
40-yard field goal by Clark
20
21
4
1:03
Georgia
Scott 93-yard touchdown reception from Belue, 2-point pass incomplete
26
21
"TOP" = time of possession . For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football .
26
21
[7]
at Florida State [ ]
#19 Florida Gators at #3 Florida State Seminoles
1
2
3 4 Total
Florida
7
6
0 0 13
Florida State
3
0
7 7 17
at Doak Campbell Stadium , Tallahassee, Florida
Date : December 6Game attendance : 53,772TV : ABCRecap/Box
show Game information
First quarter
FSU – Bill Capece 44-yard field goal, 8:28. Florida State 3–0. Drive:
FLA – Tyrone Young 53-yard pass from Wayne Peace (Brian Clark kick), 2:31. Florida 7–3. Drive: 88 yards.
Second quarter
FLA – Brian Clark 38-yard field goal, 9:55. Florida 10–3. Drive:
FLA – Brian Clark 36-yard field goal, 1:48. Florida 13–3. Drive:
Third quarter
FSU – Hardis Johnson 19-yard pass from Rick Stockstill (Bill Capece kick), 10:12. Florida 13–10. Drive:
Fourth quarter
FSU – Hardis Johnson 20-yard pass from Rick Stockstill (Bill Capece kick), 14:24. Florida State 17–13. Drive:
Top passers
FLA –
FSU – Ricky Williams – 21 rushes, 75 yards
Top rushers
Top receivers
FLA –
FSU – Hardis Johnson – 7 receptions, 107 yards
References [ ]
^ Sports Publicity Department. "1980 Press Guide University of Florida" (PDF) . floridagators.com . University Athletic Association, Inc. Retrieved 15 March 2018 .
^ Jump up to: a b c Norm Carlson, University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators , Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia, pp. 95–96 (2007).
^ Jump up to: a b 2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide Archived 2015-12-08 at the Wayback Machine , University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 111–112 (2015). Retrieved August 14, 2015.
^ "Consensus All-America Teams (1980-1989)" . College Football at Sports-Reference.com .
^ Associated Press, "Belue-to-Scott Desperation Pass Saves 'Dogs from Jaws of Gators ", The Albany Sunday Herald , p. 1D (November 9, 1980). Retrieved August 21, 2011.
^ Ocala Star-Banner. 1980 Nov 09. Retrieved 2019-Jan-02.
^ 24/7 Sports . Retrieved 2019-Jan-02.
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