1994 Florida Gators football
SEC champion
SEC Eastern Division champion
Sugar Bowl, L 17–23 vs. Florida State
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
DivisionEastern Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 7
APNo. 7
Record10–2–1 (7–1 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive schemeFun and gun
Defensive coordinatorBob Pruett (1st season)
Base defense3–4
CaptainTerry Dean
Aubrey Hill
Ellis Johnson
Larry Kennedy
Henry McMillian
Home stadiumBen Hill Griffin Stadium
(Capacity: 83,000)[1]
Seasons
← 1993
1995 →
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.[2]

Before the season

The Gators were eyeing a national championship.[3]

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.[4] 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.[4]

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 3New Mexico State*No. 1W 70–2184,721
September 10KentuckyNo. 2
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL
ABCW 73–785,238
September 17at No. 15 TennesseeNo. 1ESPNW 31–096,656
October 1at Ole MissNo. 1JPSW 38–1438,360
October 8LSUNo. 1
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
JPSW 42–1885,385
October 15No. 6 AuburnNo. 1
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
ABCL 33–3685,562
October 29GeorgiaNo. 5
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
ESPNW 52–1485,604
November 5Southern Miss*daggerNo. 4
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL
W 55–1785,448
November 12South CarolinaNo. 4
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL
JPSW 48–1785,028
November 19at VanderbiltNo. 3PPVW 24–733,508
November 26at No. 7 Florida State*No. 4ABCT 31–3180,210
December 3vs. No. 3 AlabamaNo. 6ABCW 24–2374,751
January 1, 1995vs. No. 7 Florida State*No. 5ABCL 17–2376,244
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Primary source: 2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide.[2]

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
PollPre123456789101112131415Final
AP1 (15)1 (14)2 (15)1 (27)1 (33)1 (31)1 (39)1 (44)554434657
Coaches1 (17)2 (23)2 (18)2 (20)2 (22)1 (34)1 (43)665554647

Season summary

New Mexico State

New Mexico State at #1 Florida
1 234Total
Aggies 7 1400 21
Gators 28 28014 70

[5]

Kentucky

Kentucky at #2 Florida
1 234Total
Wildcats 0 700 7
Gators 14 172121 73
  • Date: September 10
  • Location: Ben Hill Griffith Stadium
  • Game attendance: 85,238

See also: 1997 Kentucky Wildcats football team

[7]

Tennessee

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (November 2018)

Ole Miss

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (November 2018)

LSU

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (November 2018)

Auburn

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (November 2018)

Georgia

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (November 2018)

Southern Mississippi

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (November 2018)

South Carolina

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (November 2018)

Vanderbilt

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (November 2018)

Florida State

#4 Florida at #7 Florida State
1 234Total
Gators 7 1770 31
Seminoles 3 0028 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 234Total
Seminoles 3 1730 23
Gators 3 707 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."

References

  1. ^ University of Florida Sports Information Department. "Florida 1994 Football Guide" (PDF). floridagators.com. University Athletic Association, Inc. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ "National title Gators' goal". Rome News-Tribune. August 17, 1994. p. 4-B.
  4. ^ a b King, Bill (1994), Florida out to catch best prep receivers, web: News-Press, retrieved March 13, 2023
  5. ^ Ocala Star-Banner. 1994 Sep 04. Retrieved 2018-Nov-17.
  6. ^ Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2018-Nov-17.
  7. ^ Gainesville Sun. 1994 Sep 11. Retrieved 2018-Nov-17.