1982 Florida Gators football team

1982 Florida Gators football
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Record8–4 (3–3 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorMike Shanahan (3rd season)
Defensive coordinatorJoe Kines (2nd season)
Home stadiumFlorida Field
Seasons
← 1981
1983 →
1982 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 4 Georgia $ 6 0 0 11 1 0
No. 11 LSU 4 1 1 8 3 1
No. 14 Auburn 4 2 0 9 3 0
Vanderbilt 4 2 0 8 4 0
Tennessee 3 2 1 6 5 1
Alabama 3 3 0 8 4 0
Florida 3 3 0 8 4 0
Mississippi State 2 4 0 5 6 0
Ole Miss 0 6 0 4 7 0
Kentucky 0 6 0 0 10 1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1982 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1982 NCAA Division I-A football season. The season was the fourth for Charley Pell as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team. Pell's 1982 Florida Gators posted an 8–4 overall record and a Southeastern Conference (SEC) record of 3–3, tying for sixth place in the ten-team SEC.[1]

The highlight of the season was a nationally televised September victory over Southern Cal in the Trojans' only visit to Florida Field. Gator linebacker Wilber Marshall had 14 tackles and 4 sacks in the 17–9 victory and was named national defensive player of the week on his way to All-American honors at the end of the season.[2] On offense, the team was led by quarterback Wayne Peace, who set an NCAA record for completion percentage in a season (70.7%) running offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan's short passing attack.[3]

Florida played six of their first seven games at home and rode their early season success into a No. 4 ranking in early October, which matched the highest AP poll placement in program history up to that time. However, close losses to LSU and Vanderbilt and a blow-out loss to arch rival Georgia knocked them out of the polls, and the Gators finished the season 8–4 after a loss in the 1982 Bluebonnet Bowl

  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. ^ "Wilber Marshall - A Tradition of Honor". Florida Gators. University of Florida Athletic Association. Retrieved October 7, 2019.
  3. ^ Andreu, Robbie (July 31, 2010). "Where are they now? Wayne Peace". Gainesville Sun. Retrieved October 7, 2019.