| 1984 Florida Gators football | |
|---|---|
 | |
SEC champion (vacated) | |
| Conference | Southeastern Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 7 |
| AP | No. 3 |
| Record | 9–1–1 (5–0–1 SEC) |
| Head coach |
|
| Offensive coordinator | Galen Hall (1st season) |
| Defensive coordinator | Joe Kines (4th season) |
| Home stadium | Florida Field |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 3 Florida | 5 | – | 0 | – | 1 | 9 | – | 1 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 15 LSU | 4 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 8 | – | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 14 Auburn | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Georgia | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 19 Kentucky | 3 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tennessee | 3 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vanderbilt | 2 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alabama | 2 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ole Miss | 1 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 6 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mississippi State | 1 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1984 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1984 NCAA Division I-A football season. The campaign was Charley Pell's sixth and last as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team, as he was forced to resign three games into the season after the release of an NCAA report detailing numerous recruiting and other rules violations committed during his tenure at Florida. Offensive coordinator Galen Hall had been hired the previous summer and was not implicated in the scandal, so he was named interim head coach.
After starting the season 1–1–1 under Pell, the Gators went 8–0 under Hall to post a 9–1–1 overall record, including 5–0–1 in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and Hall was named the SEC Coach of the Year. Florida was ranked #3 in the final Associated Press poll - the highest finish in program history up to that time - and were declared national champions by several minor pollsters, including the New York Times and The Sporting News. However, due to NCAA sanctions, the Gators were not permitted to participate in a bowl game.
Florida led the SEC in both points scored (31 points per game) and points allowed (15.5 points per game). The balanced offense featured freshman quarterback and SEC Player of the Year Kerwin Bell, three running backs who would be NFL first round draft picks in John L. Williams, Neal Anderson, and Lorenzo Hampton, and another future first round pick in freshman wide receiver Ricky Nattiel. The offensive line was dubbed "The Great Wall of Florida" and featured several all-conference lineman, including yet another future first round pick in tackle Lomas Brown, helping Florida lead the conference in rushing with 240 yards per game. The defense featured two consensus all-conference players in noseguard Tim Newton and linebacker Alonzo Johnson.[1][2][3]
No Florida football squad had ever been undefeated in the SEC or had won a conference championship, so there was much rejoicing in Gainesville when the 1984 team clinched the best record in the league in November.[4] However, due to the NCAA violations committed under Pell, the title was retroactively vacated in May 1985 by a vote of the presidents of the SEC schools.
Florida would again top the conference standings in 1985 but had been declared ineligible for the SEC championship before the season began. The program did not win an officially recognized SEC football championship until 1991.[4]
- ^ Carlson, Norm. "The Great Wall of Florida". University of Florida Athletic Association. Retrieved August 18, 2021.
- ^ "1984 Southeastern Conference Year Summary". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
ufmediaguidewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Dooley, Pat (November 20, 2009). "Do not forget 1984, UF football's first SEC title". Gainesville Sun. Retrieved August 17, 2021.