American college football season
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]
Date Time Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance Source September 3 New Mexico State * No. 1 W 70–2184,721 [ 3]
September 10 3:30 p.m. Kentucky No. 2 Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL (rivalry ) ABC W 73–785,238 [ 4]
September 17 6:30 p.m. at No. 15 Tennessee No. 1 ESPN W 31–096,656 [ 5]
October 1 at Ole Miss No. 1 JPS W 38–1438,360 [ 6]
October 8 12:30 p.m. LSU No. 1 Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL (rivalry ) JPS W 42–1885,385 [ 7]
October 15 1:00 p.m. No. 6 Auburn No. 1 Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL (rivalry ) ABC L 33–3685,562 [ 8]
October 29 7:00 p.m. Georgia No. 5 Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL (rivalry ) ESPN W 52–1485,604 [ 9]
November 5 Southern Miss * No. 4 Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL W 55–1785,448 [ 10]
November 12 12:30 p.m. South Carolina No. 4 Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL JPS W 48–1785,028 [ 11]
November 19 at Vanderbilt No. 3 PPV W 24–733,508 [ 12]
November 26 12:00 p.m. at No. 7 Florida State * No. 4 ABC T 31–3180,210 [ 13]
December 3 3:30 p.m. vs. No. 3 Alabama No. 6 ABC W 24–2374,751 [ 14]
January 2, 1995 8:30 p.m. vs. No. 7 Florida State* No. 5 ABC L 17–2376,244 [ 15]
*Non-conference game HomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time
[ 1]
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = First-place votes Week Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Final AP 1 (15) 1 (14) 2 (15) 1 (27) 1 (33) 1 (31) 1 (39) 1 (44) 5 5 4 4 3 4 6 5 7 Coaches 1 (17) 2 (23) 2 (18) 2 (20) 2 (22) 1 (34) 1 (43) 6 6 5 5 5 4 6 4 7
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]
New Mexico State at #1 Florida
1
2 3 4 Total
Aggies
7
14 0 0
21
• Gators
28
28 0 14
70
Scoring summary 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
[ 18]
Terry Dean tied an NCAA record by throwing for seven touchdowns in the first half.[ 19]
Kentucky at #2 Florida
1
2 3 4 Total
Wildcats
0
7 0 0
7
• Gators
14
17 21 21
73
Date: September 10Location: Ben Hill Griffith StadiumGame attendance: 85,238
Scoring summary 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
[ 20]
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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]
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Southern Mississippi [ edit ]
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#4 Florida at #7 Florida State
1
2 3 4 Total
Gators
7
17 7 0
31
Seminoles
3
0 0 28
31
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.
Florida State (Sugar Bowl)[ edit ]
#7 Florida State vs. #5 Florida
1
2 3 4 Total
• Seminoles
3
17 3 0
23
Gators
3
7 0 7
17
The Seminoles then won a rematch in the Sugar Bowl , 23–17, referred to as "The Fifth Quarter in the French Quarter."
1994 Florida Gators football team roster
Players
Coaches
Offense
Defense
Special teams
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
Injured
Redshirt
^ 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.
^ "1994 Florida Gators Schedule and Results" . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 5, 2024 .
^ "Florida QB shows NMSU who's Dean" . Albuquerque Journal . September 4, 1994. Retrieved February 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Dean, No. 2 Florida overpowers Kentucky, 73–7" . The Jackson Sun . September 11, 1994. Retrieved February 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Gators add Vols to impressive wins list" . The News and Observer . September 18, 1994. Retrieved February 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Gators batter Rebels, 38–14" . Hattiesburg American . October 2, 1994. Retrieved February 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "LSU gains respect" . Daily World . October 9, 1994. Retrieved February 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Auburn 'upsets' Florida" . Daily Press . October 16, 1994. Retrieved February 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Gators gobble Georgia" . Fort Myers News-Press . October 30, 1994. Retrieved February 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "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 .
^ "Gators out of Gamecocks' league" . The Atlanta Journal & Constitution . November 13, 1994. Retrieved February 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Sputtering Gators handle Vanderbilt" . The Charlotte Observer . November 20, 1994. Retrieved February 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Seminoles' rally a Gators letdown" . The Fresno Bee . November 27, 1994. Retrieved February 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "SEC-ond chance" . The Tampa Tribune . December 4, 1994. Retrieved February 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ " 'Noles east by Gators" . The Commercial Appeal . January 3, 1995. Retrieved February 5, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "National title Gators' goal" . Rome News-Tribune . August 17, 1994. p. 4-B.
^ a b King, Bill (1994), Florida out to catch best prep receivers , web: News-Press, retrieved March 13, 2023
^ Ocala Star-Banner. 1994 Sep 04. Retrieved 2018-Nov-17.
^ Chicago Tribune . Retrieved 2018-Nov-17.
^ Gainesville Sun. 1994 Sep 11. Retrieved 2018-Nov-17.
^ a b c Rick Warner, "Undefeated Auburn swamps No. 1 Florida, 36−33 ," The Sunday Gazette , pp. 1E & 6E (October 16, 1994). Retrieved August 17, 2011.
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