1991 Florida Gators football team

Schedule

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Rankings

Game summaries

San Jose State

The season opened with a 59–21 victory over the San Jose State Spartans.

Alabama

The Gators defeated Alabama, 35–0. Spurrier treasured the wins against the Crimson Tide: "Those victories early – '90, '91 – really got us started there at Florida ..."

Syracuse

The 1991 season also included a disappointing 38–21 road loss to the seventeenth-ranked Syracuse Orangemen in the Carrier Dome.

Mississippi State

The Gators had a dominating confidence win over the twenty-first-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs, 29–7.

LSU

Florida blanked the LSU Tigers 16–0.

Tennessee

The Gators defeated the fourth-ranked Tennessee Volunteers 35–18.

Northern Illinois

Florida beat Northern Illinois 41–10 .

Auburn

The Auburn Tigers fell to Florida 31–10.

Georgia

The Gators defeated rival and twenty-third-ranked Georgia Bulldogs 45–13.

Kentucky

Florida clinched its first SEC title with a hard-fought win over the Kentucky Wildcats, 35–26. "The Gators appeared on their way to a comfortable victory with a 28-6 lead in the third quarter. That's when the UF band started playing the song "Pour Some Sugar on Me" by Def Leppard and students began throwing little sugar packets into the air. Then UK quarterback Pookie Jones went wild, almost spoiling the party. "

Florida State

First quarter

• No scoring Second quarter
• FSU – Gerry Thomas 19-yard field goal, 8:31. ''Florida St 3–0. '''Drive:'''''
• UF – Errict Rhett 3-yard run (Arden Czyzewski kick), 3:11. ''Florida 7–3. '''Drive:''''' Third quarter
• UF – Harrison Houston 72-yard pass from Shane Matthews (Arden Czyzewski kick), 7:32. ''Florida 14–3. '''Drive:''''' Fourth quarter
• FSU – Amp Lee 25-yard pass from Casey Weldon (pass failed), 5:24. ''Florida 14–9. '''Drive:''''' ;Top passers
• FSU – Casey Weldon – 24/51, 305 yards, TD, INT
• UF – Shane Matthews – 13/30, 208 yards, TD, 3 INT ;Top rushers
• FSU – Amp Lee – 9 rushes, 24 yards
• UF – Errict Rhett – 24 rushes, 109 yards, TD ;Top receivers
• FSU – Kez McCorvey – 6 receptions, 89 yards
• UF – Harrison Houston – 2 receptions, 76 yards, TD

Among the Gators' 1991 victories, the 14–9 defensive upset of the Florida State Seminoles was a particularly memorable victory played in front of a record home crowd (the previous record set only five weeks earlier vs. Tennessee).

Sugar Bowl

Main article: 1992 Sugar Bowl

The Gators closed out their season with their first New Year's Day bowl appearance since 1974, a 39–28 defeat by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the Sugar Bowl, and were ranked seventh in the final Associated Press Poll.

Roster

• Steve Spurrier
• Ron Zook (DC)
• Charlie Strong (DE)

NFLdraft

The following Gators were selected in the 1992 NFL draft after the season.

References

References

1. (December 2, 1991). "Zook's defense was offensive to foes". [[Tampa Bay Times]].
2. Carlson, ''University of Florida Football Vault'', pp. 107–108.
3. (September 8, 1991). "Florida's air attack too much for San Jose". The San Francisco Examiner.
4. (September 8, 1991). "Big West". The Los Angeles Times.
5. (September 15, 1991). "Gators pummel Tide 35–0". The Tampa Tribune.
6. (22 September 1991). "Orange Crush Gators, 38-21". [[The Orlando Sentinel]].
7. (22 September 1991). "Orangemen Offer Gators an Option". [[The Orlando Sentinel]].
8. (September 29, 1991). "Gators run to win over Miss. St.". The Pensacola News-Journal.
9. (October 6, 1991). "Czyzewski's FGs, defense help UF beat LSU 16–0". The Palm Beach Post.
10. (October 13, 1991). "Florida's revenge, Tennessee falls 35–18". The Tennessean.
11. (October 20, 1991). "Florida struggles, but whips NIU". Chicago Tribune.
12. (November 3, 1991). "Gators a step closer". St. Petersburg Times.
13. (November 10, 1991). "Gators win 45–13, clinch tie for SEC". The Palm Beach Post.
14. (November 17, 1991). "How sweet! Gators rule SEC". The Miami Herald.
15. (December 1, 1991). "Florida finally solves slumping Florida State". Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
16. (January 2, 1992). "Irish thwart Florida". Wisconsin State Journal.
17. ''[http://web.gatorzone.com/football/media/2015/media_guide.pdf 2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide] {{webarchive. link. (2015-12-08 '', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, p. 107 (2015). Retrieved August 16, 2015.)
18. "Steve Spurrier says early '90s wins over Alabama 'got us started there at Florida'". AL.com.
19. (October 13, 1991). "Florida drops UT 35-18". Ocala Star-Banner.
20. Larry Savage. (November 10, 1991). "No. 6 Florida rules SEC". Ocala Star-Banner.
21. "Gators' streak vs. 'Cats filled with close calls".
22. The Gators scored touchdowns on a first-quarter run by tailback [[Errict Rhett]], and a 72-yard bomb from Shane Matthews to wide receiver Harrison Houston in the third quarter, and held on to win. Gators defensive ends [[Darren Mickell]] and Harvey Thomas kept Seminoles quarterback [[Casey Weldon]] off balance and on the run in the second half, and, in the fourth quarter, Gators safeties Will White and Del Speer combined to break up a fourth-down pass to the end zone by Weldon with two minutes remaining§, thus saving the victory for Florida.Gainesville Sun. 1991 Dec 1.
23. "1992 NFL Draft Listing".