2018 Florida Gators football team

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2018 Florida Gators football
Florida Gators logo
Peach Bowl champion
Peach Bowl, W 41–15 vs. Michigan
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
DivisionEastern Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 6
APNo. 7
Record10–3 (5–3 SEC)
Head coach
Co-offensive coordinatorBilly Gonzales (1st season)
Co-offensive coordinatorJohn Hevesy (1st season)
Offensive schemeSpread
Defensive coordinatorTodd Grantham (1st season)
Base defense3–4
Home stadiumBen Hill Griffin Stadium
Seasons
← 2017
2019 →
2018 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
No.Georgia x   7 1     11 3  
No. 12 Kentucky   5 3     10 3  
No.Florida   5 3     10 3  
South Carolina   4 4     7 6  
Missouri   4 4     8 5  
Vanderbilt   3 5     6 7  
Tennessee   2 6     5 7  
West Division
No. 2 Alabama x$^   8 0     14 1  
No. 16 Texas A&M   5 3     9 4  
No. 6 LSU   5 3     10 3  
Mississippi State*   4 4     8 5  
Auburn   3 5     8 5  
Ole Miss   1 7     5 7  
Arkansas   0 8     2 10  
Championship: Alabama 35, Georgia 28
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • * Mississippi State vacated four conference and eight total wins due to NCAA violations.[1]
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2018 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Gators played their home games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida. Florida played as a member of the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by first-year head coach Dan Mullen.

Florida, coming off a 4–7 season in

AP Poll. They then lost two games to No. 7 Georgia and Missouri and ended the conference regular season tied for second in the SEC East Division at 5–3. After closing the regular season by defeating rival Florida State, they were invited to the Peach Bowl, where they defeated No. 8 Michigan by a score of 41–15. The team finished with an overall record of 10–3, and in the season's final AP Poll, the team was ranked in a tie for seventh, the highest finish for the school since 2009
.

The team was led on offense by redshirt sophomore quarterback Feleipe Franks, who finished with 2,457 passing yards, 24 passing touchdowns, and 7 rushing touchdowns. His 31 total touchdowns was tied for third in the Southeastern Conference.[3] Running backs La'Mical Perine and Jordan Scarlett finished with 826 and 776 yards, respectively. Defensively, the team was led by defensive end Jachai Polite, who finished with 20 tackles for loss and was named first-team All-SEC.

Preseason

Award watch lists

Listed in the order that they were released

Award Player Position Year
Lott Trophy[4] C. J. Gardner-Johnson DB JR
Rimington Trophy[5] T. J. McCoy C JR
Chuck Bednarik Award[6] David Reese LB JR
Butkus Award[7] David Reese LB JR
Bronko Nagurski Trophy[8] Cece Jefferson DE SR
David Reese LB JR
Outland Trophy[9] Martez Ivey OL SR
Wuerffel Trophy[10] Fred Johnson OL SR
Ted Hendricks Award[11] Cece Jefferson DE SR
Jabari Zuniga DE JR
Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award[12] Tyrie Cleveland WR JR

SEC media poll

The SEC media poll was released on July 20, 2018, with the Gators predicted to finish third in the East Division.[13]

Media poll (East)
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Georgia 1,977 (271)
2 South Carolina 1,535 (8)
3 Florida 1,441 (4)
4 Missouri 1,057
5 Kentucky 874 (1)
6 Tennessee 704 (1)
7 Vanderbilt 392

Preseason All-SEC teams

The Gators had eight players selected to the preseason all-SEC teams.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 17:30 p.m.Charleston Southern*SECNW 53–681,164
September 87:30 p.m.KentuckyNo. 25
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
SECNL 16–2780,651
September 154:00 p.m.Colorado State*
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL
SECNW 48–1080,021
September 227:00 p.m.at
ESPN
W 47–21100,027
September 296:00 p.m.at No. 23 Mississippi StateESPNW 13–661,406
October 63:30 p.m.No. 5
CBS
W 27–1990,283
October 1312:00 p.m.at
Vanderbilt Stadium
  • Nashville, TN
  • ESPNW 37–2731,118
    October 273:30 p.m.vs. No. 7
    College GameDay / SEC Nation
    )
    CBSL 17–3684,463
    November 34:00 p.m.MissouridaggerNo. 13
    • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
    • Gainesville, FL
    SECNL 17–3880,017
    November 1012:00 p.m.South CarolinaNo. 19
    • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
    • Gainesville, FL
    ESPNW 35–3182,696
    November 1712:00 p.m.Idaho*No. 15
    • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
    • Gainesville, FL
    ESPNUW 63–1081,467
    November 2412:00 p.m.at
    ABC
    W 41–1471,953
    December 2912:00 p.m.vs. No. 8 Michigan*No. 10ESPNW 41–1574,006

    Rankings

    Ranking movements
    Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
    — = Not ranked RV = Received votes т = Tied with team above or below
    Week
    PollPre1234567891011121314Final
    AP
    RV25RV2214119131915131110
    CoachesRV25RVRVRV1612111421161310106
    CFPNot released11151311910Not released

    Game summaries

    Charleston Southern

    Charleston Southern Buccaneers at Florida Gators – Game summary
    Period 1 2 34Total
    Charleston Southern 0 0 066
    Florida 10 28 13253

    at Ben Hill Griffin StadiumGainesville, Florida

    • Date: September 1, 2018
    • Game time: 7:30 p.m.
    • Game weather: Temperature: 85 °F (29 °C) • Wind: E at 7 miles per hour (11 km/h) • Weather: 67% humidity, clear
    • Game attendance: 81,164
    • Referee: John McDaid
    • TV announcers (SEC Network): Tom Hart, Jordan Rodgers, and Cole Cubelic[14]
    • Boxscore
    Game information
    Overall record Previous meeting Previous winner
    1–0 September 5, 2009 Florida, 62–3
    Uniform Combination
    Helmet Jersey Pants

    Kentucky

    Kentucky Wildcats at Florida Gators – Game summary
    Period 1 2 34Total
    Kentucky 7 0 14627
    No. 25 Florida 0 10 0616

    at Ben Hill Griffin StadiumGainesville, Florida

    • Date: September 8, 2018
    • Game time: 7:30 p.m.
    • Game weather: Temperature: 79 °F (26 °C) • Wind: ESE at 1 mile per hour (1.6 km/h) • Weather: 81% humidity, partly cloudy
    • Game attendance: 80,651
    • Referee: David Smith
    • TV announcers (SEC Network): Tom Hart, Jordan Rodgers, and Cole Cubelic[15]
    • Boxscore
    Game information
    Overall record Previous meeting Previous winner
    51–17 September 23, 2017 Florida, 28–27
    Uniform Combination
    Helmet Jersey Pants

    Colorado State

    Colorado State Rams at Florida Gators – Game summary
    Period 1 2 34Total
    Colorado State 0 3 7010
    Florida 6 21 02148

    at Ben Hill Griffin StadiumGainesville, Florida

    Game information
    Overall record Previous meeting Previous winner
    First meeting
    Uniform Combination
    Helmet Jersey Pants

    Tennessee

    Florida Gators at Tennessee Volunteers – Game summary
    Period 1 2 34Total
    Florida 14 12 71447
    Tennessee 0 3 10821

    at Neyland StadiumKnoxville, Tennessee

    • Date: September 22, 2018
    • Game time: 7:00 p.m.
    • Game weather: Temperature: 85 °F (29 °C) • Wind: N at 3 miles per hour (4.8 km/h) • Weather: Partly cloudy
    • Game attendance: 100,027
    • Referee: James Carter
    • TV announcers (
    • Boxscore
    Game information
    Overall record Previous meeting Previous winner
    27–20 September 16, 2017 Florida, 26–20
    Uniform Combination
    Helmet Jersey Pants

    Mississippi State

    Florida Gators at Mississippi State Bulldogs – Game summary
    Period 1 2 34Total
    Florida 0 3 7313
    No. 23 Mississippi State 3 3 006

    at Davis Wade StadiumStarkville, Mississippi

    • Date: September 29, 2018
    • Game time: 6:00 p.m.
    • Game weather: Temperature: 79 °F (26 °C) • Wind: N at 1 mile per hour (1.6 km/h) • Weather: Partly cloudy
    • Game attendance: 61,406
    • Referee: Matt Austin
    • TV announcers (
    • Boxscore
    Game information
    Overall record Previous meeting Previous winner
    33–19–2 October 16, 2010 Mississippi State, 10–7
    Uniform Combination
    Helmet Jersey Pants

    LSU

    LSU Tigers at Florida Gators – Game summary
    Period 1 2 34Total
    No. 5 LSU 7 3 3619
    No. 22 Florida 0 14 01327

    at Ben Hill Griffin StadiumGainesville, Florida

    • Date: October 6, 2018
    • Game time: 3:30 p.m.
    • Game weather: Temperature: 88 °F (31 °C) • Wind: ENE at 7 miles per hour (11 km/h) • Weather: 51% humidity, sunny
    • Game attendance: 90,283
    • Referee: Matt Loeffler
    • TV announcers (
    • Boxscore
    Game information
    Overall record Previous meeting Previous winner
    32–29–3 October 7, 2017 LSU, 17–16
    Uniform Combination
    Helmet Jersey Pants

    Vanderbilt

    Game information
    Overall record Previous meeting Previous winner
    39–10–2 September 30, 2017 Florida, 38–24
    Uniform Combination
    Helmet Jersey Pants

    Georgia

    Game information