1992 Florida Gators football team

1992 Florida Gators football
SEC Eastern Division co-champion Gator Bowl champion
SEC Championship Game, L 21–28 vs. Alabama
Gator Bowl, W 27–10 vs. NC State
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Eastern Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 11
AP	No. 10
Record	9–4 (6–2 SEC)
Head coach	Steve Spurrier (3rd season)
Offensive scheme	Fun and gun
Defensive coordinator	Ron Zook (2nd season)
Base defense	4–4–3
Captains	Shane Matthews Carlton Miles
Home stadium	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
Seasons ←  1991 1993  →

1992 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Eastern Division
No. 10 Florida xy	6	–	2	–	0			9	–	4	–	0
No. 8 Georgia x	6	–	2	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 12 Tennessee	5	–	3	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
South Carolina	3	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Vanderbilt	2	–	6	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Kentucky	2	–	6	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Western Division
No. 1 Alabama x$	8	–	0	–	0			13	–	0	–	0
No. 16 Ole Miss	5	–	3	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
No. 23 Mississippi State	4	–	4	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Arkansas	3	–	4	–	1			3	–	7	–	1
Auburn	2	–	5	–	1			5	–	5	–	1
LSU	1	–	7	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Championship: Alabama 28, Florida 21
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

The 1992 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1992 NCAA Division I-A football season. The season was Steve Spurrier's third as the Florida Gators football team's head coach, and the wins were harder to come by as the star-studded senior classes from 1990 and 1991 had graduated. The Gators racked up six tough Southeastern Conference (SEC) wins over the Kentucky Wildcats (35–19), LSU Tigers (28–21), Auburn Tigers (24–9), seventh-ranked Georgia Bulldogs (26–24), South Carolina Gamecocks (14–9), and Vanderbilt Commodores (41–21). They also suffered two crushing SEC losses to the fourteenth-ranked Tennessee Volunteers (14–31) in Knoxville, Tennessee, and the twenty-fourth-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs (6–30) on a Thursday night in Starkville, Mississippi.

The Gators' non-conference schedule included a homecoming victory over the Louisville Cardinals (31–17), and another surprisingly difficult win over Southern Miss Golden Eagles (24–20). They closed their regular season with a road loss to the third-ranked Florida State Seminoles (24–45) in Tallahassee.

The Gators finished their SEC schedule with a 6–2 conference record, placing first among the six teams of the new SEC Eastern Division and earning a berth in the first-ever SEC Championship Game in Birmingham, Alabama. Spurrier's scrappy young Gators, however, fell short against the SEC Western Division champion, the second-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide (21–28). The Crimson Tide later defeated the Miami Hurricanes in the Sugar Bowl to win the 1992 national championship.

Spurrier's 1992 Florida Gators posted a 9–4 overall record, concluding their season with a victory over the twelfth-ranked NC State Wolfpack (27–10) in the Gator Bowl, and ranking tenth in the final AP Poll. ^[1]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 12		Kentucky	No. 4	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL (rivalry)	JPS	W 35–19	84,553	[2]
September 19	3:30 p.m.	at No. 14 Tennessee	No. 4	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)	ABC	L 14–31	97,137	[3]
October 1	7:45 p.m.	at No. 24 Mississippi State	No. 13	Scott Field Starkville, MS	ESPN	L 6–30	38,886	[4]
October 10	1:30 p.m.	LSU	No. 23	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL (rivalry)	JPS	W 28–21	83,401	[5]
October 17	12:00 p.m.	Auburn	No. 23	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL (rivalry)	ABC	W 24–9	84,098	[6]
October 24		Louisville *	No. 20	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL		W 31–17	84,476	[7]
October 31	3:30 p.m.	vs. No. 7 Georgia	No. 20	Gator Bowl Stadium Jacksonville, FL (rivalry)	ABC	W 26–24	82,429	[8]
November 7		Southern Miss *	No. 14	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL		W 24–20	82,882	[9]
November 14	12:30 p.m.	South Carolina	No. 11	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL	JPS	W 14–9	84,777	[10]
November 21		at Vanderbilt	No. 9	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN	JPS	W 41–21	32,279	[11]
November 28	12:00 p.m.	at No. 3 Florida State *	No. 6	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL (rivalry)	ABC	L 24–45	68,311	[12]
December 5	3:30 p.m.	vs. No. 2 Alabama	No. 12	Legion Field Birmingham, AL (SEC Championship Game, rivalry)	ABC	L 21–28	83,091	[13]
December 31		vs. No. 12 NC State *	No. 14	Gator Bowl Stadium Jacksonville, FL (Gator Bowl)	TBS	W 27–10	71,233	[14]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[1]

Roster

1992 Florida Gators football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 12 Terry Dean So WR 1 Jack Jackson RFr WR 22 Willie Jackson Jr OL 69 Brian Fisher Jr QB 9 Shane Matthews Sr RB 33 Errict Rhett Jr OL 73 Jim Watson Jr OL 50 Gantt Crouch Jr OL 76 Ryan Taylor So	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 57 Myrick Anderson Sr DE 57 Kevin Carter So DT 94 William Gaines Jr DB 10 Monty Grow Jr DE 99 Mike Karr Sr DT 61 Ellis Johnson So CB 4 Del Speer Sr DB 2 Will White FS 20 Sammy McCorkle  Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Steve Spurrier Coordinators/assistant coaches Ron Zook (DC) Charlie Strong (DE) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

References

1. 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. "No. 4 Florida's talent wears down Kentucky". The Evansville Courier. September 13, 1992. Retrieved November 14, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Vols one again reduce Gators to road kill, 31–14". The Orlando Sentinel. September 20, 1992. Retrieved November 14, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Turnovers sink Gators". St. Petersburg Times. October 2, 1992. Retrieved November 14, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Florida holds off LSU". Daily World. October 11, 1992. Retrieved November 14, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Gators thump Tigers". The Montgomery Advertiser. October 18, 1992. Retrieved November 14, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Gators building steam for run at SEC leaders". The Paducah Sun. October 25, 1992. Retrieved November 14, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Gators' Dawg-gone good day". The Miami Herald. November 1, 1992. Retrieved November 14, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Gators survive close call 24–20". The Palm Beach Post. November 8, 1992. Retrieved March 28, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Florida sneaks past USC". Florence Morning News. November 15, 1992. Retrieved November 14, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Gators lock up SEC East". Tallahassee Democrat. November 22, 1992. Retrieved November 14, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
12. "FSU humiliates Florida 45–24". The Naples Daily News. November 29, 1992. Retrieved November 14, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
13. "Bama: Bye Gators, hi UM". The Miami Herald. December 6, 1992. Retrieved March 28, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
14. "It's Gators' bowl: Florida, fog roll". The News and Observer. January 1, 1993. Retrieved November 14, 2023– via Newspapers.com.