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.[1]

1977 Florida Gators football
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Record6–4–1 (3–3 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinator8th
Offensive schemeWishbone
Defensive coordinatorDoug Knotts (8th season)
CaptainWes Chandler
Scott Hutchinson
Charlie Williams
Home stadiumFlorida Field
Seasons
← 1976
1978 →
1977 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   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 3 4 0 6 5 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

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Florida had several quarterbacks, with Terry LeCount starting.[2]

Schedule

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DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 17at Rice*No. 19W 48–324,000[3]
September 24at No. 12 Mississippi StateNo. 13ABCW 24–2236,000[4]
October 1at LSUNo. 9L 14–3668,029[5]
October 8No. 15 Pittsburgh*No. 20T 17–1762,724[6]
October 22TennesseeNo. 19
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
W 27–1762,711[7]
October 29at AuburnNo. 18L 14–2957,000[8]
November 5vs. GeorgiaABCW 22–1768,538[9]
November 12No. 7 Kentucky
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
L 7–1458,125[10]
November 19Utah* 
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL
W 38–2956,055[11]
November 26at Miami (FL)*W 31–1430,662[12]
December 3No. 19 Florida State*
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
ABCL 9–3763,563[13]
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[1][14]

Roster

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1977 Florida Gators football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
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. # Name Class
LB Scot Brantley
DE Richard Brewton
DE Mike DuPree
DB 25 Chuck Hatch Jr
DT 66 Scott Hutchinson Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
PK Berj Yepremian Jr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  •   Injured
  •   Redshirt
  • Other: Tim Aydp

Game summaries

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Rice

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

Florida opened the season in Houston with a non-conference game against Rice. Former all-conference safety Terry LeCount started at quarterback in the Gators' wishbone offense, but the most notable play at the position came in the 4th quarter, when third-string freshman Cris Collinsworth tossed an NCAA record 99-yard touchdown pass to Derrick Gaffney on his first collegiate attempt.[1][15]

Mississippi State

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

Louisiana State beat Florida 36–14. Wes Chandler had 146 yards receiving, including an 85-yard reception from Terry LeCount.[1]

Pittsburgh

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

[16]

Florida and Pitt tied 17–17.

Tennessee

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

[17]

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.[18]

Auburn

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The Auburn Tigers upset Florida 29–14.[19]

Georgia

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1 234Total
Georgia 7 1000 17
Florida 0 1066 22

The Gators beat rival Georgia 22–17.[20]

Kentucky

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

Utah

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1 234Total
Utah 3 1439 29
Florida 7 3028 38

The Gators ran over the Utah Utes for 531 yards and won 38–29.[21]

Miami (FL)

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

Florida defeated the Miami Hurricanes 31–14.[22]

Florida State

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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.[23]

Postseason

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Four Gators made All-SEC.[24]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d 2016 Florida Gators Football Media Guide, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 110–111 (2015). Retrieved August 5, 2016.
  2. ^ Jim Smith (September 16, 1977). "John: Ready to go". Ocala Star-Banner – via Google News Archive Search.
  3. ^ "Wilder, LeCount direct Florida's rout of Rice". The El Paso Times. September 18, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Awakened LeCount rescues Gators". The Palm Beach Post-Times. September 25, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Gators bagged by LSU, 36–14". Tallahassee Democrat. October 2, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Florida ties fumbling Pitt, 17–17". The Pittsburgh Press. October 9, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Florida's "I" disposes of Tennessee". St. Petersburg Times. October 23, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Auburn tops Florida 29–14 in upset win". The Tennessean. October 30, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Chandler Ace, Gators win". The Tennessean. November 6, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "UK Wildcats 'purrr...fect' against UF". The Pensacola News-Journal. November 13, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Gutsy Utes scare Gators in 38–29 defeat". The Salt Lake Tribune. November 20, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Gators blow past Hurricanes 31–14". Fort Myers News-Press. November 27, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Seminole air attack swamps Gators". The Commercial Appeal. December 4, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Sports Publicity Department. "1978 University of Florida Press Guide" (PDF). floridagators.com. University Athletic Association, Inc. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  15. ^ "Gators Blitzkrieg Swamps Rice". Ocala Star-Banner. AP. September 18, 1977. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  16. ^ Ocala Star-Banner. 1977 Oct 9. Retrieved 2018-Nov-03.
  17. ^ Ocala Star-Banner. 1977 Oct 23. Retrieved 2018-Nov-03.
  18. ^ "The Weekly List: Florida-Tennessee Boils Blood Before and After Game".
  19. ^ "Auburn's Miamian gives boot to Florida (October 30, 1977)".
  20. ^ "What Furor? Gators Get It Together." Ocala Star-Banner. 1977 Nov 6.
  21. ^ Palm Beach Post. 1977 Nov 20.
  22. ^ Palm Beach Post. 1977 Nov 27.
  23. ^ Sentinel, Orlando. "1977 FSU team ended losing streak to Florida".
  24. ^ "Four Gators selected for all-SEC squad". Boca Raton News. November 29, 1977 – via Google News Archive Search.
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