The 1978 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. The season was Doug Dickey's ninth and last year as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team. The 1978 Florida Gators finished with a 4–7 overall record and a 3–3 Southeastern Conference (SEC) record, tying for fourth among ten SEC teams.[2] After a disappointing 1977 season, Dickey had been under pressure to shake up his coaching staff, and he decided to abandon the run-oriented wishbone offense his teams had used for several seasons in favor of a more pro-style system.[3] Former Florida quarterback Steve Spurrier, who had lived in Gainesville since wrapping up his NFL career in 1976, was tapped by Dickey to be the Gators' quarterback coach, his first coaching job.[4]
However, without the proper talent to run the new scheme, Florida's 1978 scoring output was almost identical to 1977's output – about 22 points per game.[4][5] Florida struggled with consistency, never winning consecutive games, losing to traditional rivals Georgia and Florida State, and enduring their first losing season since 1971. Days before the final game, Dickey (along with Spurrier and the rest of the coaching staff) were told by University of Florida president Robert Q. Marston that they would be let go after the season.[3] Days after the season finale, Florida announced that Clemson coach Charlie Pell had been hired to coach the Gators.[6]
Primary source: 2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide[2]
Attendance figures: Florida Football '79 (media guide).[8]
Postseason
After leaving Florida, Dickey went into private business for several years before becoming the athletic director of the University of Tennessee's Volunteers sports program in 1985. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2003.[9] After a dozen years spent as an offensive assistant and head coach in college football and the USFL, Spurrier would return to become Florida's head coach in 1990.
References
^Sports Publicity Department. "1978 University of Florida Press Guide" (PDF). floridagators.com. University Athletic Association, Inc. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
^ ab2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide 2015-12-08 at the Wayback Machine, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, p. 107 (2015). Retrieved August 16, 2015.
^ abUPI (20 November 1978). "No Title so Florida Gives Ax to Dickey". The Evening Independent. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
^ ab. Orlando Sentinel. 29 November 2001. Archived from the original on 29 January 2016. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
Golenbock, Peter (2002). Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory. St. Petersburg, Florida: Legends Publishing, LLC. ISBN0-9650782-1-3.
January 10, 2023
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The 1978 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1978 NCAA Division I A football season The season was Doug Dickey s ninth and last year as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team The 1978 Florida Gators finished with a 4 7 overall record and a 3 3 Southeastern Conference SEC record tying for fourth among ten SEC teams 2 After a disappointing 1977 season Dickey had been under pressure to shake up his coaching staff and he decided to abandon the run oriented wishbone offense his teams had used for several seasons in favor of a more pro style system 3 Former Florida quarterback Steve Spurrier who had lived in Gainesville since wrapping up his NFL career in 1976 was tapped by Dickey to be the Gators quarterback coach his first coaching job 4 1978 Florida Gators footballConferenceSoutheastern ConferenceRecord4 7 3 3 SEC Head coachDoug Dickey 9th season Defensive coordinatorDoug Knotts 9th season CaptainMike DuPreeDon SwaffordHome stadiumFlorida Field Capacity 62 800 1 Seasons 19771979 1978 Southeastern Conference football standingsvte Conf OverallTeam W L T W L TNo 1 Alabama 6 0 0 11 1 0No 16 Georgia 5 0 1 9 2 1Auburn 3 2 1 6 4 1LSU 3 3 0 8 4 0Tennessee 3 3 0 5 5 1Florida 3 3 0 4 7 0Mississippi State 2 4 0 6 5 0Ole Miss 2 4 0 5 6 0Kentucky 2 4 0 4 6 1Vanderbilt 0 6 0 2 9 0 Conference championRankings from AP PollHowever without the proper talent to run the new scheme Florida s 1978 scoring output was almost identical to 1977 s output about 22 points per game 4 5 Florida struggled with consistency never winning consecutive games losing to traditional rivals Georgia and Florida State and enduring their first losing season since 1971 Days before the final game Dickey along with Spurrier and the rest of the coaching staff were told by University of Florida president Robert Q Marston that they would be let go after the season 3 Days after the season finale Florida announced that Clemson coach Charlie Pell had been hired to coach the Gators 6 Contents 1 Schedule 2 Postseason 3 References 3 1 Additional sourcesSchedule EditDateOpponentSiteTVResultAttendanceSourceSeptember 16vs SMU Orlando StadiumOrlando FLL 25 3534 101September 30Mississippi StateFlorida FieldGainesville FLW 34 048 597October 7No 11 LSUFlorida FieldGainesville FL rivalry L 21 3455 457October 14at No 7 AlabamaBryant Denny StadiumTuscaloosa AL rivalry L 12 2360 210October 21Army Florida FieldGainesville FLW 31 757 625October 28at Georgia Tech Grant FieldAtlanta GAABCL 13 1744 866November 4AuburnFlorida FieldGainesville FL rivalry W 31 759 343November 11vs No 11 GeorgiaGator Bowl StadiumJacksonville FL rivalry L 22 2468 232November 18at KentuckyCommonwealth StadiumLexington KYW 18 1656 500 7 November 25at Florida State Doak Campbell StadiumTallahassee FL rivalry L 21 3848 432December 2Miami FL Florida FieldGainesville FL rivalry L 21 2247 015 Non conference game HomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gamePrimary source 2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide 2 Attendance figures Florida Football 79 media guide 8 Postseason EditAfter leaving Florida Dickey went into private business for several years before becoming the athletic director of the University of Tennessee s Volunteers sports program in 1985 He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 2003 9 After a dozen years spent as an offensive assistant and head coach in college football and the USFL Spurrier would return to become Florida s head coach in 1990 References Edit Sports Publicity Department 1978 University of Florida Press Guide PDF floridagators com University Athletic Association Inc Retrieved 15 March 2018 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 a b UPI 20 November 1978 No Title so Florida Gives Ax to Dickey The Evening Independent Retrieved 23 January 2016 a b UF Fans can thank Vol s AD for Spurrier Orlando Sentinel 29 November 2001 Archived from the original on 29 January 2016 Retrieved 23 January 2016 Golenbock Go Gators p 438 Cobb Mike 6 December 1978 UF Unveils Pell as New Head Football Coach Lakeland Ledger Retrieved 23 January 2016 John A McGill November 19 1978 History Haunts As Field Goal Sinks Wildcats The Lexington Herald pp C1 C7 via Newspapers com Sports Publicity Department Florida Football 79 PDF floridagators com University Athletic Association Inc Retrieved 15 March 2018 Doug Dickey College Football Hall of Fame Football Foundation Retrieved September 17 2010 Additional sources Edit Golenbock Peter 2002 Go Gators An Oral History of Florida s Pursuit of Gridiron Glory St Petersburg Florida Legends Publishing LLC ISBN 0 9650782 1 3 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1978 Florida Gators football team amp oldid 1048414443, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
