1982 Florida Gators football team

The 1982 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1982 NCAA Division I-A football season. The season was the fourth for Charley Pell as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team. Pell's 1982 Florida Gators posted an 8–4 overall record and a Southeastern Conference (SEC) record of 3–3, tying for sixth place in the ten-team SEC.[1]

1982 Florida Gators football
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Record8–4 (3–3 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorMike Shanahan (3rd season)
Defensive coordinatorJoe Kines (2nd season)
Home stadiumFlorida Field
Seasons
← 1981
1983 →
1982 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 4 Georgia $ 6 0 0 11 1 0
No. 11 LSU 4 1 1 8 3 1
No. 14 Auburn 4 2 0 9 3 0
Vanderbilt 4 2 0 8 4 0
Tennessee 3 2 1 6 5 1
Alabama 3 3 0 8 4 0
Florida 3 3 0 8 4 0
Mississippi State 2 4 0 5 6 0
Ole Miss 0 6 0 4 7 0
Kentucky 0 6 0 0 10 1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The highlight of the season was a nationally televised September victory over Southern Cal in the Trojans' only visit to Florida Field. Gator linebacker Wilber Marshall had 14 tackles and 4 sacks in the 17–9 victory and was named national defensive player of the week on his way to All-American honors at the end of the season.[2] On offense, the team was led by quarterback Wayne Peace, who set an NCAA record for completion percentage in a season (70.7%) running offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan's short passing attack.[3]

Florida played six of their first seven games at home and rode their early season success into a No. 4 ranking in early October, which matched the highest AP poll placement in program history up to that time. However, close losses to LSU and Vanderbilt and a blow-out loss to arch rival Georgia knocked them out of the polls, and the Gators finished the season 8–4 after a loss in the 1982 Bluebonnet Bowl

Schedule

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DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 4No. 15 Miami (FL)*No. 16USAW 17–1471,864[4]
September 11No. 10 USC*No. 11
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL
ABCW 17–973,238[5]
September 25Mississippi StateNo. 5
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL
ESPNW 27–1771,544[6]
October 2LSUNo. 4
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
USAL 13–2473,152[7]
October 9at VanderbiltNo. 14L 29–3139,726[8]
October 16West Texas State* 
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL
W 77–1472,885[9]
October 30No. 19 Auburn
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
W 19–1773,532[10]
November 6vs. No. 3 GeorgiaNo. 20CBSL 0–4480,749[11]
November 13at KentuckyW 39–1353,245[12]
November 20at Tulane*W 21–1427,795[13]
December 4at No. 15 Florida State*W 13–1057,369[14]
December 31vs. No. 14 Arkansas*MTNL 24–2831,557[15]
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[1]

Personnel

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1982 Florida Gators football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
RB 27 Neal Anderson Fr
OL Phil Bromley
RB Johnell Brown
OL Lomas Brown
RB Ronnie Diltz
WR Dwayne Dixon
TE Chris Faulkner
OL Dan Fike
OL Russell Gallon
RB Lorenzo Hampton
RB Joe Henderson
QB Bob Hewko
OL Dwayne Hinson
OL John Hunt
WR Spencer Jackson
RB James Jones
WR Broughton Lang
TE Mike Mularkey
QB 15 Wayne Peace Jr
TE Tom Peddle
WR Gary Rolle
OL Buddy Schultheis
RB Derald Williams
RB John L. Williams
WR Tyrone Young
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
LB Val Brown
DB Vernell Brown
DB Randy Clark
DB Ivory Curry
DB Ricky Easmon
DB Sonny Gilliam
DL Roy Harris
LB Fernando Jackson
DB Tony Lilly
LB 88 Wilber Marshall Jr
LB Fred McCallister
DB Vito McKeever
LB Patrick Miller
DL Tim Newton
DB, P Roger Sibbald
DB Bruce Vaughan
DL John Whittaker
LB Tom Wiegmann
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
P Ray Criswell
K Jim Gainey
K Bobby Raymond
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  •   Injured
  •   Redshirt

References

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  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. ^ "Wilber Marshall - A Tradition of Honor". Florida Gators. University of Florida Athletic Association. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  3. ^ Andreu, Robbie (July 31, 2010). "Where are they now? Wayne Peace". Gainesville Sun. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  4. ^ "Peace TD pass topples Miami". The Montgomery Advertiser. September 5, 1982. Retrieved November 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Florida, on way up, uses USC as stepping stone, 17–9". The Los Angeles Times. September 12, 1982. Retrieved November 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Florida's Hampton keys Gator victory". The Selma Times-Journal. September 26, 1982. Retrieved November 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Tigers stun Gators". Hattiesburg American. October 3, 1982. Retrieved November 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Vandy shocks Gators!". The Leaf-Chronicle. October 10, 1982. Retrieved November 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Gators flex muscles in 77–14 romp". The Pensacola News-Journal. October 17, 1982. Retrieved November 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Last-second FG leads UF over Auburn". Fort Lauderdale News. October 31, 1982. Retrieved November 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Georgia feasts on Gators". Tallahassee Democrat. November 7, 1982. Retrieved November 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Gator attack clamps down on Kentucky". Sunday Courier & Press. November 14, 1982. Retrieved November 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Gators trim Tulane, win Bluebonnet bid". The Orlando Sentinel. November 21, 1982. Retrieved November 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Second-string quarterback sparks Florida". The Sacramento Bee. December 5, 1982. Retrieved November 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Hogs' Holtz bathen in comeback victory". The Memphis Press-Scimitar. January 1, 1983. Retrieved November 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.