1972 Florida Gators football team

The 1972 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1972 NCAA University Division football season. The season was the third for Doug Dickey as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team. Dickey's 1972 Florida Gators finished with a 5–5–1 overall record and a 3–3–1 Southeastern Conference (SEC) record, tying for sixth among ten SEC teams.^[1]

1972 Florida Gators football
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Record	5–5–1 (3–3–1 SEC)
Head coach	Doug Dickey (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Jimmy Dunn (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Doug Knotts (3rd season)
Captain	Fred Abbott
Home stadium	Florida Field
Seasons ← 1971 1973 →

1972 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 7 Alabama $	7	–	1	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 5 Auburn	6	–	1	–	0			10	–	1	–	0
No. 11 LSU	4	–	1	–	1			9	–	2	–	1
No. 8 Tennessee	4	–	2	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
Georgia	4	–	3	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Florida	3	–	3	–	1			5	–	5	–	1
Ole Miss	2	–	5	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Kentucky	2	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Mississippi State	1	–	6	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Vanderbilt	0	–	6	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 23	vs. SMU*	Tampa Stadium Tampa, FL		L 14–21	42,489	[2]
September 30	Mississippi State	Florida Field Gainesville, FL		W 28–13	42,712	[3]
October 7	at No. 13 Florida State*	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL (rivalry)		W 42–13	42,758	[4]
October 14	at No. 3 Alabama	Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL (rivalry)		L 7–24	57,631	[5]
October 21	at Ole Miss	Hemingway Stadium Oxford, MS		W 16–0	35,200	[6]
November 4	No. 11 Auburn	Florida Field Gainesville, FL (rivalry)		L 20–26	57,551	[7]
November 11	vs. Georgia	Gator Bowl Stadium Jacksonville, FL (rivalry)	ABC	L 7–10	66,252	[8]
November 18	Kentucky	Florida Field Gainesville, FL (rivalry)		W 40–0	47,639	[9]
November 25	No. 8 LSU	Florida Field Gainesville, FL (rivalry)		T 3–3	46,391	[10]
December 2	Miami (FL)*	Florida Field Gainesville, FL (rivalry)		W 17–6	46,432	[11]
December 9	vs. No. 16 North Carolina*	Gator Bowl Stadium Jacksonville, FL		L 24–28	33,103	[12]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[1][13]

Game summaries

SMU

	1	2	3	4	Total
SMU	7	0	7	7	21
Florida	0	0	0	14	14

Mississippi State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Mississippi St	7	0	6	0	13
Florida	7	0	14	7	28

Florida State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Florida	0	14	21	7	42
Florida St	0	7	0	6	13

Alabama

	1	2	3	4	Total
Florida	7	0	0	0	7
Alabama	7	3	7	7	24

Ole Miss

	1	2	3	4	Total
Florida	9	0	0	7	16
Ole Miss	0	0	0	0	0

Auburn

	1	2	3	4	Total
Auburn	16	10	0	0	26
Florida	0	7	6	7	20

Georgia

	1	2	3	4	Total
Georgia	0	0	0	10	10
Florida	0	7	0	0	7

• Passing: Bowden 7/14, 144 Yds, Rushing: Moore 17/64, Receiving: Jackson 3/71

^[14]

Kentucky

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kentucky	0	0	0	0	0
Florida	7	12	7	14	40

LSU

	1	2	3	4	Total
LSU	0	0	3	0	3
Florida	0	0	0	3	3

A massive rainstorm inundated Florida Field during the game, allowing a 4–4 Florida team to hang close enough with No. 8 LSU to tie the game at 3 with 2:08 left. LSU missed seven field goals during the deluge. The front page of the Youngstown Vindicator reported the next day that during the pre-game invocation, Catholic priest Michael Gannon prayed, "And if it be Thy will, we'd like You to stop the rain." It immediately started raining harder and continued heavily throughout the game

Miami (FL)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Miami (FL)	0	0	0	6	6
Florida	0	3	0	14	17

North Carolina

	1	2	3	4	Total
North Carolina	7	7	0	14	28
Florida	0	9	8	7	24

References

1. 2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide Archived 2015-12-08 at the Wayback Machine, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 110–111 (2015). Retrieved August 14, 2015.
2. "Mustangs stop Florida, 21–14". The Marshall News Messenger. September 24, 1972. Retrieved October 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "'Moore" speed gives Florida 28–13 win over Miss. State". The Courier-Journal. October 1, 1972. Retrieved October 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Seminoles are upset by Gators". The Sacramento Bee. October 8, 1972. Retrieved October 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Aroused Bama rolls, 24–7". Pensacola News Journal. October 15, 1972. Retrieved October 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Stingy Gators blank Rebels". The Tampa Tribune. October 23, 1972. Retrieved October 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Auburn escapes upset threat by Moore-led Gators, 26–20". The Miami Herald. November 5, 1972. Retrieved October 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Georgia rallies, nips Gators 10–7". Panama City News-Herald. November 12, 1972. Retrieved October 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Explosive Florida 'Moore' than Wildcats can handle". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. November 19, 1972. Retrieved October 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Gators save tie in stormy finish". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. November 26, 1972. Retrieved October 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Gators 'stand tall' in 17–6 victory". The Palm Beach Post-Times. December 3, 1972. Retrieved October 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "3 TDs by Johnson power N. Carolina". The Courier-Journal. December 10, 1972. Retrieved October 23, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
13. Sports Publicity Department. "1973 University of Florida Football Brochure" (PDF). floridagators.com. University Athletic Association, Inc. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
14. 1973 Florida football media guide. Retrieved 2019-Jan-17.