1983 Florida Gators football team

The 1983 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season. The season was Charley Pell's fifth as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team. Pell's Gators posted a 9–2–1 overall record and a Southeastern Conference (SEC) record of 4–2, placing third among ten SEC teams.^[1] Behind a stout defense and a rushing attack led by future pros Neal Anderson, John L. Williams, and Lorenzo Hampton the 1983 Gators were the first squad in program history to be ranked among the top ten teams in the final Associated Press (AP) poll. It was also the second time that the Gators were ranked in every weekly AP Poll throughout the season, (1975 being the first).

1983 Florida Gators football
Gator Bowl, W 14–6 vs. Iowa
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 6
AP	No. 6
Record	9–2–1 (4–2 SEC)
Head coach	Charley Pell (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Mike Shanahan (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	Joe Kines (3rd season)
Home stadium	Florida Field
Seasons ← 1982 1984 →

1983 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 3 Auburn $	6	–	0	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
No. 4 Georgia	5	–	1	–	0			10	–	1	–	1
No. 6 Florida	4	–	2	–	0			9	–	2	–	1
Tennessee	4	–	2	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
No. 15 Alabama	4	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Ole Miss	4	–	2	–	0			6	–	6	–	0
Kentucky	2	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	1
Mississippi State	1	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
LSU	0	–	6	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Vanderbilt	0	–	6	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 3	Miami (FL)*		Florida Field Gainesville, FL (rivalry)		W 28–3	73,907	^[2]
September 10	at No. 9 USC*	No. 18	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA		T 19–19	53,948	^[3]
September 17	Indiana State*	No. 15	Florida Field Gainesville, FL		W 17–13	68,191	^[4]
September 24	at Mississippi State	No. 15	Scott Field Starkville, MS		W 35–12	31,875	^[5]
October 1	at No. 16 LSU	No. 12	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry)		W 31–17	78,616	^[6]
October 8	Vanderbilt	No. 9	Florida Field Gainesville, FL		W 29–10	73,764	^[7]
October 22	East Carolina*	No. 6	Florida Field Gainesville, FL		W 24–17	73,943	^[8]
October 29	at No. 4 Auburn	No. 5	Jordan-Hare Stadium Auburn, AL (rivalry)	CBS	L 21–28	75,700	^[9]
November 5	vs. No. 4 Georgia	No. 9	Gator Bowl Stadium Jacksonville, FL (rivalry)	CBS	L 9–10	82,166	^[10]
November 12	Kentucky	No. 14	Florida Field Gainesville, FL (rivalry)		W 24–7	73,192	^[11]
December 3	Florida State*	No. 12	Florida Field Gainesville, FL (rivalry)	CBS	W 53–14	74,113	^[12]
December 30	vs. No. 10 Iowa*	No. 11	Gator Bowl Stadium Jacksonville, FL (Gator Bowl)	ABC	W 14–6	81,293	^[13]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[1]

Roster

1983 Florida Gators football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB 27 Neal Anderson So WR 89 Ricky Nattiel Fr QB 15 Wayne Peace Sr FB 22 John L. Williams So	Defense Pos. # Name Class S 18 Tony Lilly Sr LB 88 Wilber Marshall Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K Bobby Raymond Jr	Head coach Charley Pell Coordinators/assistant coaches Mike Shanahan (OC) Vince Kendrick (RB) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible   Injured   Redshirt

Team players in the 1984 NFL Draft

Main article: 1984 NFL Draft

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Wilber Marshall	Linebacker	1	11	Chicago Bears
Tony Lilly	Safety	3	78	Denver Broncos
Randy Clark	Defensive back	8	202	Kansas City Chiefs
John Hunt	Guard	9	232	Dallas Cowboys

^[14]

References

1. 2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide 2015-12-08 at the Wayback Machine, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, p. 107 (2015). Retrieved August 16, 2015.
2. "For Gators, a Peace-full victory". St. Petersburg Times. September 4, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "USC rallies to tie Florida, then flubs extra-point try". The Fresno Bee. September 11, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Sycamore upset bid just misses". The Indianapolis Star. September 18, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Bulldogs lose in fourth quarter". The Sun. September 25, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "LSU just Gator bait for Florida". Daily World. October 2, 1983. Retrieved November 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Undefeated Gators break out cigars". The Orlando Sentinel. October 9, 1983. Retrieved November 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Florida overcomes 6 turnovers, East Carolina". The Palm Beach Post. October 23, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Auburn wins 28–21 thriller, but Florida disputes it". The Atlanta Journal & Constitution. October 30, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "'Dogs 'hang in there, 'nip Gators, 10–9". The Pensacola News-Journal. November 6, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Gators bounce back, rip 'Cats". The Pensacola News-Journal. November 13, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Unexpected rout, Florida rips rival Florida State, 53–14". Florida Today. December 4, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Gators put bite on Hawkeyes, 14–6". The Des Moines Register. December 31, 1983. Retrieved November 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
14. . pro-football-reference.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007. Retrieved August 10, 2019.