The 1980 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season . The season was the Florida Gators football team's second season under new head coach Charles B. "Charley" Pell , and marked a remarkable one-year turnaround for the Gators from their 0–10–1 record in 1979 .[ 1] Doug Dickey , was fired in the aftermath of a 4–7 season in 1978 .[ 1] Southeastern Conference (SEC) record of 4–2, tying for fourth place in the ten-team SEC.[ 2] Maryland Terrapins in the Tangerine Bowl , marking the first time in the history of major college football that a winless team received a bowl bid the following season.[ 1] David Little set the career record for tackles by a Gator and was consensus All-American.[ 3] Cris Collinsworth was first-team All-American. Ted Alston was the second receiver. The season features the famous "Run Lindsay Run" in the close loss to national champion Georgia .[ 4]
Date Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance Source September 13 vs. California * W 41–1341,388 [ 5] September 20 at Georgia Tech * W 45–1235,165 [ 6] September 27 Mississippi State W 21–1556,225 [ 7] October 4 LSU No. 19 Florida Field Gainesville, FL (rivalry ) L 7–2459,299 [ 8] October 18 at Ole Miss W 15–336,012 [ 9] October 25 Louisville * Florida Field Gainesville, FL W 13–062,687 [ 10] November 1 Auburn Florida Field Gainesville, FL (rivalry ) W 21–1063,274 [ 11] November 8 vs. No. 2 Georgia No. 20 ABC L 21–2668,528 [ 12] November 15 at Kentucky No. 20 W 17–1551,766 [ 13] November 29 Miami (FL) * No. 18 Florida Field Gainesville, FL (rivalry ) ABC L 7–3156,437 [ 14] December 6 at No. 3 Florida State * No. 19 ABC L 13–1753,772 [ 15] December 20 vs. Maryland * MTN W 35–2052,541 [ 16] *Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
[ 2]
1
2 3 4 Total
California
0
13 0 0
13
• Florida
13
0 21 7
41
Scoring summary Q1 8:58 FLA Kellom 1 yard run (Clark kick) FLA 7–0 Q1 3:29 FLA Clark 33 yard field goal FLA 10–0 Q1 :24 FLA Clark 49 yard field goal FLA 13–0 Q2 10:46 CAL Lewis 24 yard pass from Campbell (Luckhurst kick) FLA 13–7 Q2 3:29 CAL Luckhurst 42 yard field goal FLA 13–10 Q2 :04 CAL Luckhurst 30 yard field goal Tie 13–13 Q3 5:49 FLA Faulkner 9 yard pass from Hawko (Clark kick) FLA 20–13 Q3 3:11 FLA Jones 3 yard run (Clark kick) FLA 27–13 Q3 1:15 FLA Garrett 20 yard pass from Hawko (Clark kick) FLA 34–13 Q4 13:23 FLA T. Williams 2 yard run (Clark kick) FLA 41–13
[ 17]
Scoring summary
Quarter
Time
Drive
Team
Scoring information
Score
Plays
Yards
TOP
UGA
FLA
1
13:09
Georgia
Walker 72-yard touchdown run, Robinson kick good
7
0
1
7:07
Florida
40-yard field goal by Clark
7
3
2
13:29
77
Georgia
Stewart 13-yard touchdown reception from Belue , Robinson kick good
14
3
2
7:10
Florida
Collinsworth 9-yard touchdown reception from Peace , Clark kick good
14
10
3
9:38
Georgia
24-yard field goal by Robinson
17
10
3
3:58
Georgia
20-yard field goal by Robinson
20
10
4
14:14
81
Florida
Jones 11-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass good
20
18
4
6:52
11
Florida
40-yard field goal by Clark
20
21
4
1:03
Georgia
Scott 93-yard touchdown reception from Belue, 2-point pass incomplete
26
21
"TOP" = time of possession . For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football .
26
21
[ 19]
Game information
First quarter
Second quarter
FLA – Brian Clark 38-yard field goal, 9:55. Florida 10–3.
FLA – Brian Clark 36-yard field goal, 1:48. Florida 13–3. Third quarter
FSU – Hardis Johnson 19-yard pass from Rick Stockstill (Bill Capece kick), 10:12. Florida 13–10. Fourth quarter
FSU – Hardis Johnson 20-yard pass from Rick Stockstill (Bill Capece kick), 14:24. Florida St 17–13.
Top passers Top rushers FLA –
FSU – Ricky Williams – 21 rushes, 75 yards Top receivers FLA –
FSU – Hardis Johnson – 7 receptions, 107 yards
1980 Florida Gators football team roster
Players
Coaches
Offense
Defense
Pos.
#
Name
Class
DL
53
Rod Brooks (C)
Sr
DL
90
Val Brown So
DE
87
Mike Clark Sr
DL
61
Ron Coleman Sr
DB
Ivory Curry
DL
66
Robin Fisher Jr
DL
85
David Galloway Jr
DB
43
Sonny Gilliam So
DE
57
Tim Golden Sr
S
20
Tim Groves Sr
LB
Fernando Jackson
CB
24
Kyle Knight So
DB
Tony Lilly
LB
51
David Little Sr
DL
Dock Luckie
DB
Vito McKeever
DL
50
Yancey Sutton Sr
CB
47
Bruce Vaughan So
LB
95
Tom Weigmann So
Special teams
Pos.
#
Name
Class
K
3
Brian Clark Jr
P
4
Mark Dickert Jr
Head coach Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain(S) Suspended(I) Ineligible
^ a b c Norm Carlson, University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators , Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia, pp. 95–96 (2007).
^ a b 2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide Archived 2015-12-08 at the Wayback Machine ^ "Consensus All-America Teams (1980-1989)" . College Football at Sports-Reference.com .^ Associated Press, "Belue-to-Scott Desperation Pass Saves 'Dogs from Jaws of Gators ", The Albany Sunday Herald , p. 1D (November 9, 1980). Retrieved August 21, 2011.
^ "Florida thrashes Bears in second half" . The San Francisco Examiner . September 14, 1980. Retrieved October 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .^ "Lightning, Gators strike Tech" . The Macon Telegraph & News . September 21, 1980. Retrieved October 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .^ "Florida snaps SEC jinx" . The Tennessean . September 28, 1980. Retrieved October 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .^ "LSU feasts on Gator gumbo" . Daily World . October 5, 1980. Retrieved October 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .^ "Gators kick up a 15–3 storm" . The Pensacola News-Journal . October 19, 1980. Retrieved October 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .^ "Florida dumps U of L, suffers by comparison" . The Courier-Journal . October 26, 1980. Retrieved October 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .^ "Auburn fumbles to 21–10 loss" . The Atlanta Journal & Constitution . November 2, 1980. Retrieved October 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .^ "Great Scott! Gators stunned" . The Miami Herald . November 9, 1980. Retrieved October 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .^ "What couldn't be, was: Victory eludes UK again" . Sunday Herald-Leader . November 16, 1980. Retrieved October 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .^ "Hurricanes blow away Gators" . The Tampa Tribune . November 30, 1980. Retrieved October 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .^ "Seminoles escape threat by Gators" . The Commercial Appeal . December 7, 1980. Retrieved October 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .^ "Peace's passes lead Florida over Terrapins" . The Pensacola News-Journal . December 21, 1980. Retrieved October 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .^ Palm Beach Post. 1980 Sept 14. Retrieved 2015-Oct-14.
^ Ocala Star-Banner. 1980 Nov 09. Retrieved 2019-Jan-02.
^ 24/7 Sports . Retrieved 2019-Jan-02.
