1994 Florida Gators football team

1994 Florida Gators football
SEC champion
SEC Eastern Division champion
Sugar Bowl, L 17–23 vs. Florida State
Conference Southeastern Conference
Eastern Division
Ranking
Coaches No. 7
AP No. 7
Record 10–2–1 (7–1 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive scheme Fun and gun
Defensive coordinator Bob Pruett (1st season)
Base defense 3–4
Captain Terry Dean
Aubrey Hill
Ellis Johnson
Larry Kennedy
Henry McMillian
Home stadium Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
(Capacity: 83,000)
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.

Before the season

The Gators were eyeing a national championship.

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. 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.

Schedule

Date Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance
September 3 New Mexico State* No. 1
W 70–21 84,721
September 10 Kentucky No. 2
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
 ABC W 73–7 85,238
September 17 at No. 15 Tennessee No. 1
ESPN W 31–0 96,656
October 1 at Ole Miss No. 1
JPS W 38–14 38,360
October 8 LSU No. 1
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
 JPS W 42–18 85,385
October 15 No. 6 Auburn No. 1
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
 ABC L 33–36 85,562
October 29 Georgia No. 5
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
 ESPN W 52–14 85,604
November 5 Southern Miss*dagger No. 4
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL
 W 55–17 85,448
November 12 South Carolina No. 4
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL
 JPS W 48–17 85,028
November 19 at Vanderbilt No. 3
PPV W 24–7 33,508
November 26 at No. 7 Florida State* No. 4
ABC T 31–31 80,210
December 3 vs. No. 3 Alabama No. 6
ABC W 24–23 74,751
January 1, 1995 vs. No. 7 Florida State* No. 5
ABC L 17–23 76,244
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Primary source: 2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide.

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
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
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

Game summaries

New Mexico State

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

  • Terry Dean tied an NCAA record by throwing for seven touchdowns in the first half.

Kentucky

Kentucky at #2 Florida
1 2 3 4 Total
Wildcats 0 7 0 0 7
• Gators 14 17 21 21 73
  • Date: September 10
  • Location: Ben Hill Griffith Stadium
  • Game 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
See also: 1997 Kentucky Wildcats football team
  • E. Williams 13 Rush, 115 Yds

Tennessee

Ole Miss

LSU

Auburn

Georgia

Southern Mississippi

South Carolina

Vanderbilt

Florida State

#4 Florida at #7 Florida State
1 2 3 4 Total
Gators 7 17 7 0 31
Seminoles 3 0 0 28 31
Main article: Choke at Doak
See also: 1994 Florida State Seminoles football team and Florida–Florida State football rivalry

SEC Championship

Main article: 1994 SEC Championship Game

Florida State (Sugar Bowl)

#7 Florida State vs. #5 Florida
1 2 3 4 Total
• Seminoles 3 17 3 0 23
Gators 3 7 0 7 17
Main article: 1995 Sugar Bowl (January)

Postseason

The Seminoles then won a rematch in the Sugar Bowl, 23–17, referred to as "The Fifth Quarter in the French Quarter."