1977 Florida Gators football team

The 1977 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. The season was Doug Dickey's eighth as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team. Dickey's 1977 Florida Gators finished with a 6–4–1 overall record and a 3–3 Southeastern Conference (SEC) record, placing fifth among ten SEC teams.[2]

1977 Florida Gators football
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
1977 record6–4–1 (3–3 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorJimmy Dunn (8th season)
Offensive schemeWishbone
Defensive coordinatorDoug Knotts (8th season)
CaptainWes Chandler
Scott Hutchinson
Charlie Williams
Home stadiumFlorida Field
(Capacity: 62,800)[1]
1977 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 2 Alabama $ 7 –0 –0  11 –1 –0
No. 6 Kentucky 6 –0 –0  10 –1 –0
Auburn 5 –1 –0  6 –5 –0
LSU 4 –2 –0  8 –4 –0
Florida 3 –3 –0  6 –4 –1
Georgia 2 –4 –0  5 –6 –0
Mississippi State 2 –4 –0  5 –6 –0
Ole Miss 2 –5 –0  5 –6 –0
Tennessee 1 –5 –0  4 –7 –0
Vanderbilt 0 –6 –0  2 –9 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • Kentucky ineligible for SEC championship due to NCAA probation. Mississippi State later forfeited all 1977 wins due to NCAA violations.
Rankings from AP Poll

Before the season

Florida had several quarterbacks, with Terry LeCount starting.[3]

Schedule
DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 17at Rice*No. 19
W 48–324,000
September 24at No. 12 Mississippi StateNo. 13
ABCW 24–2236,000
October 1at LSUNo. 9
L 14–3668,029
October 8No. 15 Pittsburgh*No. 20
T 17–1762,724
October 22TennesseeNo. 19
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
W 27–1762,711
October 29at AuburnNo. 18
L 14–2957,000
November 5vs. Georgia
ABCW 22–1768,538
November 12No. 7 Kentucky
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL
L 7–1458,125
November 19Utah*
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL
W 38–2956,055
November 26at Miami (FL)*
W 31–14
December 3No. 19 Florida State*
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
ABCL 9–3763,563
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Primary source: 2016 Florida Gators Football Media Guide[2]

Attendance figures: 1978 University of Florida Press Guide.[4]

Roster
1977 Florida Gators football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
QB John Brantley
RB 30 Earl Carr Sr
WR 89 Wes Chandler Sr
TE Juan Collins
QB 21 Cris Collinsworth Fr
TE 40 Lewis Gilbert Sr
RB 33 Tony Green Sr
WR 23 Derrick Gaffney Sr
OT 67 Ed Jacobsen Sr
QB 7 Terry LeCount Sr
RB Willie Wilder
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
LB Scot Brantley
DE Richard Brewton
DE Mike DuPree
DB 25 Chuck Hatch Jr
DT 66 Scott Hutchinson Sr
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
PK Berj Yepremian Jr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt
  • Other: Tim Aydp

Game summaries

Rice
1 2Total
Rice 3 0 3
• Florida 21 27 48

In the season's opener, a 48–3 win over Rice, Cris Collinsworth hit Derrick Gaffney on a record 99-yard touchdown pass.[2] 1 of his 2 passes on the day.

Mississippi State

In the second week of play, Florida edged Mississippi State 24–22.yepremian junior kicker comes through again keeping Florids hopes alive

LSU

Louisiana State beat Florida 36–14. Wes Chandler had 146 yards receiving, including an 85-yard reception from Terry LeCount.[2]

Pittsburgh
1 234Total
Pittsburgh 0 773 17
Florida 0 7010 17
  • Date: October 8
  • Location: Florida Field

[5]

Florida and Pitt tied 17–17.

Tennessee
1 234Total
Tennessee 0 3140 17
• Florida 7 10010 27
  • Date: October 22
  • Location: Florida Field
  • Game attendance: 62,711

[6]

The Gators called a timeout in the final seconds of a 27–17 win over the Tennessee Volunteers. Tennessee coach Johnny Majors was furious, and the post-game handshake ritual became a shoving match between coaching staffs.[7]

Auburn

The Auburn Tigers upset Florida 29–14.[8]

Georgia
1 234Total
Georgia 7 1000 17
• Florida 0 1066 22

The Gators beat rival Georgia 22–17.[9]

Kentucky

The seventh-ranked Kentucky Wildcats defeated Florida 14–7.

Utah
1 234Total
Utah 3 1439 29
• Florida 7 3028 38

The Gators ran over the Utah Utes for 531 yards and won 38–29.[10]

Miami (FL)
1 234Total
• Florida 3 7714 31
Miami (FL) 0 707 14

Florida defeated the Miami Hurricanes 31–14.[11]

Florida State
1 234Total
• FSU 10 7713 37
Florida 3 600 9
  • Date: December 3
  • Location: Florida Field, Gainesville, Florida
  • Game attendance: 63,563

Bobby Bowden got his first win over the Gators, as Florida State beat Florida 37–9.[12]

Postseason

Four Gators made All-SEC.[13]

References
  1. Sports Publicity Department. "1977 University of Florida Press Guide" (PDF). floridagators.com. University Athletic Association, Inc. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  2. 2016 Florida Gators Football Media Guide, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 110–111 (2015). Retrieved August 5, 2016.
  3. Jim Smith (September 16, 1977). "John: Ready to go". Ocala Star-Banner – via Google News Archive Search.
  4. Sports Publicity Department. "1978 University of Florida Press Guide" (PDF). floridagators.com. University Athletic Association, Inc. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
  5. Ocala Star-Banner. 1977 Oct 9. Retrieved 2018-Nov-03.
  6. Ocala Star-Banner. 1977 Oct 23. Retrieved 2018-Nov-03.
  7. "The Weekly List: Florida-Tennessee Boils Blood Before and After Game".
  8. "Auburn's Miamian gives boot to Florida (October 30, 1977)".
  9. "What Furor? Gators Get It Together." Ocala Star-Banner. 1977 Nov 6.
  10. Palm Beach Post. 1977 Nov 20.
  11. Palm Beach Post. 1977 Nov 27.
  12. Sentinel, Orlando. "1977 FSU team ended losing streak to Florida".
  13. "Four Gators selected for all-SEC squad". Boca Raton News. November 29, 1977 – via Google News Archive Search.
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