2020 Florida Gators football team

2020 Florida Gators football
Florida Gators logo
SEC Eastern Division champion
Cotton Bowl Classic,
L 20–55 vs. Oklahoma
Conference Southeastern Conference
Eastern Division
Ranking
Coaches No. 12
AP No. 13
Record 8–4 (8–2 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinator Brian Johnson (1st season)
Offensive scheme Spread
Defensive coordinator Todd Grantham (3rd season)
Base defense 3–4
Home stadium Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
2020 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
No. 13 Florida x   8 2     8 4  
No. 7 Georgia   7 2     8 2  
Missouri   5 5     5 5  
Kentucky   4 6     5 6  
Tennessee   3 7     3 7  
South Carolina   2 8     2 8  
Vanderbilt   0 9     0 9  
West Division
No. 1 Alabama x$#^   10 0     13 0  
No. 4 Texas A&M   8 1     9 1  
Auburn   6 4     6 5  
LSU*   5 5     5 5  
Ole Miss   4 5     5 5  
Arkansas   3 7     3 7  
Mississippi State   3 7     4 7  
Championship: Alabama 52, Florida 46
  • # – College Football Playoff champion
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • * – ineligible for postseason due to self imposed ban
    Note: Due to COVID-19, the SEC played a conference-only schedule.
Rankings from AP Poll.

The 2020 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Gators played their home games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida, and competed in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by third-year head coach Dan Mullen.

Preseason

SEC Media Days

In the preseason media poll, Florida was predicted to win the East Division. Florida received the fourth-most votes to win the SEC Championship Game.

Schedule

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 college football season was postponed, and there was some question if the season would be played at all. On July 31, the Southeastern Conference announced that its teams would play a ten-game conference-only season beginning in late September. Florida's previously scheduled games against non-conference opponents Eastern Washington, New Mexico State, and South Alabama were all canceled due to the scheduling change, as was the annual rivalry game against Florida State, breaking a streak of annual meetings that began in 1957. Conference games against Texas A&M and Arkansas were added to increase the usual eight-game SEC schedule to ten.

Attendance at all college football games was restricted during the 2020 season due to COVID-19 social distancing considerations. The University of Florida limited home attendance to 20% of capacity at Florida Field. All road games along with the SEC Championship Game and the Cotton Bowl Classic were played with similar attendance caps.

Date Time Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance
September 26 12:00 p.m. at Ole Miss No. 5 ESPN W 51–35 13,926
October 3 12:00 p.m. South Carolina No. 3 ESPN W 38–24 15,120
October 10 12:00 p.m. at No. 21 Texas A&M No. 4 ESPN L 38–41 24,709
October 31 7:30 p.m. Missouridagger No. 10
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL
SECN Alt. W 41–17 12,049
November 7 3:30 p.m. vs. No. 5 Georgia No. 8 CBS W 44–28 19,210
November 14 7:00 p.m. Arkansas No. 6
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL
ESPN W 63–35 16,116
November 21 12:00 p.m. at Vanderbilt No. 6 ABC W 38–17 1,147
November 28 12:00 p.m. Kentucky No. 6
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
ESPN W 34–10 14,453
December 5 3:30 p.m. at Tennessee No. 6 CBS W 31–19 22,943
December 12 7:00 p.m. LSU No. 6
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
ESPN L 34–37 16,610
December 19 8:00 p.m. vs. No. 1 Alabama No. 7 CBS L 46–52 16,520
December 30 8:00 p.m. vs. No. 6 Oklahoma* No. 7 ESPN L 20–55 17,323
^[a] Due to COVID-19 management requirements in response to positive tests and subsequent quarantine of individuals within the Florida program, the Missouri game was moved from October 24 to October 31.
^[b] Due to COVID-19 management requirements in response to positive tests and subsequent quarantine of individuals within the Florida program, the LSU game was moved from October 17 to December 12.

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
т = Tied with team above or below
Week
Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Final
AP 8 8* 5 5 3 4 10 10 10 8 6 6 6 6 6 11 10 13
Coaches 8 8* 6 6 3 9 8 9 8 5 5 5 5 5 11 10 12
CFP Not released 6 6 6 7 7 Not released

Game summaries

Ole Miss

Florida Gators at Ole Miss Rebels – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total
No. 5 Florida 14 14 13 10 51
Ole Miss 7 7 7 14 35

at Vaught–Hemingway StadiumOxford, MS

Game information
Uniform Combination
Helmet Jersey Pants

South Carolina

South Carolina Gamecocks at Florida Gators – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total
South Carolina 7 7 3 7 24
No. 3 Florida 14 10 14 0 38

at Ben Hill Griffin StadiumGainesville, FL

  • Date: October 3, 2020
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: Temperature: 76 °F (24 °C) • Wind: N at 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h) • Weather: Partly cloudy
  • Game attendance: 15,120
  • Referee: Lee Hedrick
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Mark Jones, Dusty Dvoracek, and Marty Smith
  • Boxscore
Game information
Uniform Combination
Helmet Jersey Pants

Texas A&M

Florida Gators at Texas A&M Aggies – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total
No. 4 Florida 14 7 7 10 38
No. 21 Texas A&M 7 10 7 17 41

at Kyle FieldCollege Station, TX

  • Date: October 10, 2020
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: Temperature: 72 °F (22 °C) • Wind: Calm
  • Game attendance: 24,709
  • Referee: Steve Marlowe
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Dave Pasch, Greg McElroy, Holly Rowe
  • Boxscore
Game information
Uniform Combination
Helmet Jersey Pants

Missouri

Missouri Tigers at Florida Gators – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total
Missouri 0 7 0 10 17
No. 10 Florida 6 14 14 7 41

at Ben Hill Griffin StadiumGainesville, FL

  • Date: October 31, 2020
  • Game time: 7:30 p.m.
  • Game weather: Temperature: 76 °F (24 °C) • Wind: NE at 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h) • Weather: Clear
  • Game attendance: 12,049
  • Referee: David Smith
  • TV announcers (SECN Alt.): Mike Morgan, Hutson Mason, Taylor Davis
  • Boxscore
Game information
Uniform Combination*
Helmet Jersey Pants
  • For homecoming, the Gators wore throwback uniforms featuring blue helmets and jerseys based on those worn in the mid-1960s.

Georgia

Florida Gators vs. Georgia Bulldogs – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total
No. 8 Florida 14 24 3 3 44
No. 5 Georgia 14 7 7 0 28

at TIAA Bank FieldJacksonville, FL

  • Date: November 7, 2020
  • Game time: 3:30 p.m.
  • Game weather: Temperature: 79 °F (26 °C) • Wind: ENE at 15 miles per hour (24 km/h) • Weather: Partly cloudy
  • Game attendance: 19,210
  • Referee: James Carter
  • TV announcers (CBS): Brad Nessler, Gary Danielson, Jamie Erdahl
  • Boxscore
Game information
Uniform Combination
Helmet Jersey Pants

Arkansas

Arkansas Razorbacks at Florida Gators – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total
Arkansas 7 7 7 14 35
No. 6 Florida 7 28 7 21 63

at Ben Hill Griffin StadiumGainesville, FL

  • Date: November 14, 2020
  • Game time: 7:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: Temperature: 68 °F (20 °C) • Wind: ESE at 4 miles per hour (6.4 km/h) • Weather: Pleasant
  • Game attendance: 16,116
  • Referee: Steve Marlowe
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Bob Wischusen, Dan Orlovsky, Allison Williams
  • Boxscore
Game information
Uniform Combination*
Helmet Jersey Pants

Vanderbilt

Florida Gators at Vanderbilt Commodores – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total
No. 6 Florida 7 10 14 7 38
Vanderbilt 10 0 7 0 17

at Vanderbilt StadiumNashville, TN

  • Date: November 21, 2020
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: Temperature: 67 °F (19 °C) • Wind: SSE at 2 miles per hour (3.2 km/h) • Weather: Sunny
  • Game attendance: 1,147
  • Referee: Lee Hedrick
  • TV announcers (ABC): Bob Wischusen, Dan Orlovsky, Paul Carcaterra
  • Boxscore
Game information
Uniform Combination
Helmet Jersey Pants

Kentucky

Kentucky Wildcats at Florida Gators – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total
Kentucky 0 10 0 0 10
No. 6 Florida 7 7 17 3 34

at Ben Hill Griffin StadiumGainesville, FL

  • Date: November 28, 2020
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: Temperature: 75 °F (24 °C) • Wind: NE at 8 miles per hour (13 km/h) • Weather: Partly cloudy
  • Game attendance: 14,453
  • Referee: David Smith
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Mark Jones, Dusty Dvoracek, and Marty Smith
  • Boxscore
Game information
Uniform Combination
Helmet Jersey Pants

Tennessee

Florida Gators at Tennessee Volunteers – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total
No. 6 Florida 3 14 7 7 31
Tennessee 0 7 0 12 19

at Neyland StadiumKnoxville, TN

  • Date: December 5, 2020
  • Game time: 3:30 p.m.
  • Game weather: Temperature: 51 °F (11 °C) • Wind: W at 7 miles per hour (11 km/h) • Weather: Sunny and clear
  • Game attendance: 22,943
  • Referee: Steve Marlowe
  • TV announcers (CBS): Carter Blackburn, Aaron Murray, Jenny Dell
  • Boxscore
Game information
Uniform Combination
Helmet Jersey Pants

LSU

LSU Tigers at Florida Gators – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total
LSU 7 17 3 10 37
No. 6 Florida 7 10 14 3 34

at Ben Hill Griffin StadiumGainesville, FL

  • Date: December 12, 2020
  • Game time: 7:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: Temperature: 64 °F (18 °C) • Wind: NW at 2 miles per hour (3.2 km/h) • Weather: cloudy, 97% humidity
  • Game attendance: 16,610
  • Referee: James Carter
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Sean McDonough, Todd Blackledge, Todd McShay
  • Boxscore
Game information
Uniform Combination
Helmet Jersey Pants

Alabama

Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Florida Gators – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total
No. 1 Alabama 14 21 0 17 52
No. 7 Florida 10 7 14 15 46

at Mercedes-Benz StadiumAtlanta, GA

Game information
Uniform Combination
Helmet Jersey Pants

Oklahoma

Florida Gators vs. Oklahoma Sooners – Game summary
Period 1 2 3 4 Total
No. 7 Florida 3 10 0 7 20
No. 6 Oklahoma 17 14 10 14 55

at AT&T StadiumArlington, TX

Game information

Personnel

Roster

As of 24 January 2021
2020 Florida Gators roster

Quarterbacks

Running backs

  •  6 Nay'Quan Wright – Redshirt Freshman
  • 20 Malik DavisRedshirt Junior
  • 21 Lorenzo Lingard – Redshirt Sophomore
  • 24 Iverson Clement – Redshirt Sophomore
  • 27 Dameon PierceJunior
  • 39 Michael Weir – Redshirt Senior

Wide receivers

  •  0 Ja'Quavion Fraziars – Freshman
  •  1 Kadarius ToneySenior
  •  3 Xzavier Henderson – Freshman
  •  8 Trevon GrimesJunior
  • 12 Rick Wells – Redshirt Senior
  • 15 Jacob CopelandRedshirt Sophomore
  • 80 Trent Whittemore – Redshirt Freshman
  • 82 Ja'Markis Weston – Redshirt Freshman
  • 86 Jordan Pouncey – Redshirt Junior
  • 89 Justin ShorterRedshirt Sophomore

Tight ends

  •  9 Keon Zipperer – Sophomore
  • 45 Clifford Taylor IV – Senior
  • 84 Kyle PittsJunior
  • 87 Jonathan Odom – Freshman
  • 88 Kemore Gamble – Redshirt Junior

Offensive line

  • 51 Stewart Reese – Redshirt Senior
  • 54 Gerald Mincey – Freshman
  • 55 Hayden Knighton – Freshman
  • 56 Jean DeLance – Redshirt Senior
  • 61 Brett Heggie – Redshirt Senior
  • 62 Griffin McDowell – Redshirt Sophomore
  • 64 Riley Simonds – Redshirt Freshman
  • 65 Kingsley Eguakun – Redshirt Freshman
  • 67 Richie Leonard – Freshman
  • 70 Michael Tarquin – Redshirt Freshman
  • 72 Stone ForsytheRedshirt Senior
  • 73 Mark Pitts – Freshman
  • 74 Will Harrod – Redshirt Freshman
  • 75 T.J. Moore – Redshirt Junior
  • 76 Richard GouraigeRedshirt Sophomore
  • 77 Ethan White – Sophomore
  • 78 Josh Braun – Freshman

Defensive line

  •  9 Gervon DexterFreshman
  • 17 Zachary CarterRedshirt Junior
  • 33 Princely UmanmielenFreshman
  • 54 Lamar Goods – Freshman
  • 55 Kyree Campbell – Senior
  • 56 Tedarrell SlatonSenior
  • 66 Jaelin Humphries – Sophomore
  • 81 Dante Lang – Redshirt Sophomore
  • 91 Marlon Dunlap Jr. – Redshirt Senior
  • 92 Jalen Lee – Freshman
  • 95 Lucas Alonso – Freshman

Linebackers

Defensive backs

  •  0 Trey DeanJunior
  •  2 Brad Stewart Jr. – Senior
  •  3 Marco WilsonRedshirt Junior
  •  5 Kaiir ElamSophomore
  •  6 Shawn DavisSenior
  • 12 C.J. McWilliams – Redshirt Senior
  • 13 Donovan Stiner – Senior
  • 14 Quincy Lenton – Redshirt Senior
  • 16 Tre'Vez Johnson – Freshman
  • 21 Ethan Pouncey – Freshman
  • 22 Rashad Torrence II – Freshman
  • 23 Jaydon Hill – Sophomore
  • 24 Avery Helm – Freshman
  • 25 Chester Kimbrough – Sophomore
  • 26 Kamar Wilcoxson – Freshman
  • 27 Jahari Rogers – Freshman
  • 32 Mordecai McDaniel – Freshman
  • 38 Nick Oelrich – Redshirt Senior
  • 39 Fenley Graham – Freshman
  • 43 Nicolas Sutton – Redshirt Senior

Punters

  • 18 Jacob Finn – Redshirt Senior
  • 26 Jeremy Crawshaw – Freshman

Placekickers

  • 19 Evan McPhersonJunior
  • 36 Zack Sessa – Freshman
  • 71 Chris Howard – Redshirt Junior

Long snappers

  • 44 Brandon Becar – Graduate
  • 45 Marco Ortiz – Redshirt Sophomore
  • 48 Brett DioGuardi – Redshirt Senior

Athletes

  • 13 Kyle Engel – Redshirt Freshman
  • 17 Kahleil Jackson – Freshman
  • 18 Jack Anders – Redshirt Freshman
  • 19 Jack Ruskell – Redshirt Junior
  • 25 Erik Askeland – Redshirt Junior
  • 29 Khamal Ellison – Redshirt Junior
  • 29 Isaac Ricks – Redshirt Junior
  • 31 Chase DeMichele – Redshirt Sophomore
  • 32 N'Jhari Jackson – Redshirt Freshman
  • 33 Daniel Cross – Redshirt Sophomore
  • 35 William Sawyer – Redshirt Freshman
  • 36 Trey Thompson – Redshirt Junior
  • 37 Patrick Moorer – Redshirt Junior
  • 37 Tyler Waxman – Redshirt Freshman
  • 42 Quaylin Crum – Redshirt Junior
  • 42 Jaylin Jackson – Redshirt Sophomore
  • 43 Nicolas Sutton – Redshirt Junior
  • 46 John Brady – Redshirt Freshman
  • 47 Justin Pelic – Redshirt Freshman
  • 47 Austin Perry – Redshirt Junior
  • 53 Chase Whitfield – Redshirt Freshman
  • 57 Coleman Crozier – Redshirt Sophomore
  • 83 Joshua Tse – Redshirt Junior
  • 85 Kevin Johnson – Redshirt Sophomore
  • 96 Travis Freeman – Redshirt Freshman
  • Redshirt Redshirt
  • Injury

Coaching staff

Name Position Joined staff
Dan Mullen Head coach 2018
Todd Grantham Defensive coordinator 2018
Brian Johnson Offensive coordinator / quarterbacks 2018
Tim Brewster Assistant head coach / Tight ends 2020
John Hevesy Running game coordinator / offensive line 2018
Billy Gonzales Passing game coordinator / Wide receivers 2018
Greg Knox Running backs / Special teams coordinator 2018
Ron English Safeties 2018
Torrian Gray Cornerbacks 2019
David Turner Defensive line 2019
Christian Robinson Linebackers 2018
Nick Savage Director of strength and conditioning 2018

Players drafted into the NFL

Round Pick Player Position NFL club
1 4 Kyle Pitts TE Atlanta Falcons
1 20 Kadarius Toney WR New York Giants
2 64 Kyle Trask QB Tampa Bay Buccaneers
4 136 Marco Wilson CB Arizona Cardinals
5 149 Evan McPherson K Cincinnati Bengals
5 165 Shawn Davis S Indianapolis Colts
5 173 Tedarrell Slaton DT Green Bay Packers
6 208 Stone Forsythe OT Seattle Seahawks