1978 Florida Gators football team

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1978
Florida Field
Seasons
1978 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Alabama $ 6 – 0 – 0 11 – 1 – 0
No. 16 Georgia 5 – 0 – 1 9 – 2 – 1
Auburn 3 – 2 – 1 6 – 4 – 1
LSU 3 – 3 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
Tennessee 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 1
Florida 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Mississippi State 2 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Ole Miss 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Kentucky 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 1
Vanderbilt 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from
AP Poll

The 1978 Florida Gators football team represented the

wishbone offense his teams had used for several seasons in favor of a more pro-style system.[2] 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.[3]

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.[3][4] 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.[2] Days after the season finale, Florida announced that Clemson coach Charley Pell had been hired to coach the Gators.[5]

Schedule

DateOpponentSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 16vs. SMU*
L 25–3534,101[6]
September 30Mississippi State
W 34–048,597[7]
October 7No. 11 LSU
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
L 21–3455,457[8]
October 14at No. 7 Alabama
L 12–2360,210[9]
October 21Army*dagger
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL
W 31–757,625[10]
October 28at
ABC
L 13–1744,866[11]
November 4Auburn
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
W 31–759,343[12]
November 11vs. No. 11 Georgia
L 22–2468,232[13]
November 18at Kentucky
W 18–1656,500[14]
November 25at Florida State*
L 21–3848,432[15]
December 2Miami (FL)*
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
L 21–2247,815[16]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[1][17]

Postseason

After leaving Florida, Dickey went into private business for several years before becoming the athletic director of the

USFL
, Spurrier would return to become Florida's head coach in 1990.

References

  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ a b UPI (November 20, 1978). "No Title so Florida Gives Ax to Dickey". The Evening Independent. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  3. ^ a b "UF Fans can thank Vol's AD for Spurrier". Orlando Sentinel. November 29, 2001. Archived from the original on January 29, 2016. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  4. ^ Golenbock, Go Gators!, p. 438
  5. ^ Cobb, Mike (December 6, 1978). "UF Unveils Pell as New Head Football Coach". Lakeland Ledger. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  6. Newspapers.com
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  16. Newspapers.com
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  17. ^ Sports Publicity Department. "Florida Football '79" (PDF). floridagators.com. University Athletic Association, Inc. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  18. ^ "Doug Dickey". College Football Hall of Fame. Football Foundation. Retrieved September 17, 2010.

Additional sources

  • 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
    .
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