1990 Florida Gators football team

The 1990 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1990 NCAA Division I-A football season. The season marked the return of the Gators' Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Steve Spurrier to his alma mater as the new head coach of the Florida Gators football team.^[1]

1990 Florida Gators football
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 13
Record	9–2 (6–1 SEC)
Head coach	Steve Spurrier (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Fun and gun
Defensive coordinator	Jim Bates (1st season)
Base defense	4–3
Captains	Chris Bromley Ernie Mills Godfrey Myles Glenn Neely Huey Richardson
Home stadium	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
Seasons ← 1989 1991 →

1990 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 13 Florida *	6	–	1	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
No. 8 Tennessee $	5	–	1	–	1			9	–	2	–	2
No. 21 Ole Miss	5	–	2	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Alabama	5	–	2	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
No. 19 Auburn	4	–	2	–	1			8	–	3	–	1
Kentucky	3	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
LSU	2	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Georgia	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Mississippi State	1	–	6	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Vanderbilt	1	–	6	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
$ – Conference champion * Florida ineligible for SEC championship due to NCAA probation. Rankings from AP Poll

Spurrier's 1990 Florida Gators, while ineligible to win the SEC title or receive a bowl bid because of lingering NCAA probation,^[2] nevertheless posted a best-in-the-SEC record of 6–1 and an overall record of 9–2,^[3] and laid the foundation for the Gators' run of six SEC championships and a national title during the next decade.^[1] They finished thirteenth in the season's final AP Poll.

Before the season

Just before Spurrier's Gator coaching debut, the Gainesville campus was rocked by the murders committed by Danny Rolling.^[4]

During Spurrier's first season, he was able to build on the strong talent recruited by departing Gators coach Galen Hall, but the Gators also reaped the benefits of Spurrier's "there are no excuses for losing" mantra.^[2] Even as Spurrier's new "fun 'n' gun" offensive scheme led by quarterback Shane Matthews, wide receiver Ernie Mills and tight end Kirk Kirkpatrick was breaking team scoring and yardage records, defensive coordinator Jim Bates coached one of the best defensive squads in team history, including two first-team All-Americans, defensive end Huey Richardson and safety Will White.^[2][3]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 8	Oklahoma State*		Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL		W 50–7	75,428	[5]
September 15	at Alabama	No. 24	Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL (rivalry)	TBS	W 17–13	70,123	[6]
September 22	No. 1 (I-AA) Furman*	No. 19	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL		W 27–3	71,868	[7]
September 29	Mississippi State	No. 17	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL	TBS	W 34–21	72,943	[8]
October 6	LSU	No. 10	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL (rivalry)	ESPN	W 34–8	75,039	[9]
October 13	at No. 5 Tennessee	No. 9	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)	ESPN	L 3–45	96,874	[10]
October 20	Akron*	No. 17	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL		W 59–0	74,558	[11]
November 3	No. 4 Auburn	No. 15	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL (rivalry)	ESPN	W 48–7	75,459	[12]
November 10	vs. Georgia	No. 10	Gator Bowl Jacksonville, FL (rivalry)	TBS	W 38–7	81,529	[13]
November 17	at Kentucky	No. 6	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY (rivalry)	TBS	W 47–15	55,140	[14]
December 1	at No. 8 Florida State*	No. 6	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL (rivalry)	ESPN	L 30–45	63,190	[15]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[3]

Personnel

1990 Florida Gators football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB Brady Ackerman WR Terence Barber OL Chris Bromley QB Michel Cohen OL Cal Dixon WR Monty Duncan WR Tre Everett OL Brian Fisher WR Aubrey Hill WR Harrison Houston OL Hesham Ismail Jr RB Terrell Jackson TE Greg Keller TE Kirk Kirkpatrick RB Kedra Malone QB 9 Shane Matthews So RB Willie McClendon RB Dexter McNabb WR Ernie Mills QB Kyle Morris RB Kelvin Randolph RB Errict Rhett OL Tony Rowell WR Alonzo Sullivan RB Chuck Wabbersen OL Jim Watson OL Mark White	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB Ephesians Bartley DL Mike Brandon DL Brad Culpepper DB 28 Richard Fain DL William Gaines DB Monty Grow DL Darren Mickell LB Carlton Miles DL Mark Murray LB Jerry Odom LB Tim Paulk DL Huey Richardson LB Ed Robinson DB Del Speer So DB Jimmy Spencer DB 2 Will White	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K Arden Czyzewski P Jason Hailey K Ryan Ruland	Head coach Steve Spurrier Coordinators/assistant coaches Jim Bates Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Game summaries

Oklahoma State

Oklahoma State Cowboys at Florida Gators

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	0	7	0	0	7
Gators	14	12	14	10	50

at Ben Hill Griffith Stadium, Gainesville, Florida

• Date: September 8
• Game attendance: 75,428
• Recap/Box Score

Game information

First quarter UF – Dexter McNabb 2-yard run (Arden Czyzewski kick), 13:18. Florida 7–0. UF – Shane Matthews 1-yard run (Arden Czyzewski kick), 3:20. Florida 14–0. Second quarter OSU – Curtis Mayfield 14-yard pass from Chris Smith (Cary Blanchard kick), 13:35. Florida 14–7. UF – Arden Czyzewski 33-yard field goal, 10:59. Florida 17–7. UF – Safety, Chris Smith tackled by Huey Richardson in end zone, 5:20. Florida 19–7. UF – Willie McClendon 1-yard run (Arden Czyzewski kick), 3:24. Florida 26–7. Third quarter UF – Tre Everett 50-yard pass from Shane Matthews (Arden Czyzewski kick), 7:45. Florida 33–7. UF – Willie McClendon 3-yard run (Arden Czyzewski kick), 3:14. Florida 40–7. Fourth quarter UF – Arden Czyzewski 40-yard field goal, 11:34. Florida 43–7. UF – Darren Mickell 14-yard interception return (Arden Czyzewski kick), 9:21. Florida 50–7. Top passers OSU – Chris Smith – 11/22, 81 yards, TD UF – Shane Matthews – 20/29, 332 yards, TD Top rushers OSU – Gerald Hudson – 14 rushes, 86 yards UF – Errict Rhett – 7 rushes, 63 yards Top receivers OSU – Curtis Mayfield – 7 receptions, 110 yards, TD UF – Tre Everett – 5 receptions, 123 yards, TD

Combating the gloom, the Gators opened the season with a no-huddle, 80-yard touchdown drive in six plays to defeat the Oklahoma State Cowboys 50–7.^[16]

External videos
Full game (first half)
Full game (second half)

At Alabama

See also: Alabama–Florida football rivalry

No. 24 Florida Gators at Alabama Crimson Tide

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 24 Gators	0	0	10	7	17
Crimson Tide	7	0	3	3	13

at Bryant–Denny Stadium, Tuscaloosa, Alabama

• Date: September 15
• Game attendance: 70,123
• TV: TBS
• Recap/Box

Game information

First quarter UA – Craig Sanderson 15-yard pass from Gary Hollingsworth (Philip Doyle kick), 3:55. Alabama 7–0. Second quarter No scoring Third quarter UA – Philip Doyle 41-yard field goal, 11:21. Alabama 10–0. UF – Terence Barber 6-yard pass from Shane Matthews (Arden Czyzewski kick), 7:48. Alabama 10–7. UF – Arden Czyzewski 23-yard field goal, 1:28. Tie 10–10. Fourth quarter UF – Richard Fain recovered blocked punt in end zone (Arden Czyzewski kick), 14:45. Florida 17–10. UA – Philip Doyle 46-yard field goal, 7:22. Florida 17–13.

In their second game, the Gators came from behind to beat Alabama, a confidence-building, 17–13 signature road win, which set the tone for the remainder of the season,.^[2] Spurrier treasured the wins against the Crimson Tide: "Those victories early – '90, '91 – really got us started there at Florida ..."^[17] Alabama quarterback Gary Hollingsworth threw three interceptions to Florida safety Will White, and the Gators scored the winning touchdown on a blocked punt.^[18]

External videos
Game highlights

Furman

Main article: 1990 Furman Paladins football team

Florida then beat Furman 27–3.

Mississippi State

Main article: 1990 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team

Building on the Alabama win, the Gators had a 34–21 conference victory over the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

LSU

Main articles: 1990 LSU Tigers football team and Florida–LSU football rivalry

Next, the Gators blew out the LSU Tigers 34–8.

At No. 5 Tennessee

Main articles: 1990 Tennessee Volunteers football team and Florida–Tennessee football rivalry

The Gators suffered a disappointing 3–45 road loss to the fifth-ranked Tennessee Volunteers in Knoxville, Tennessee. In yet another link between the programs, Spurrier had been a star quarterback at Science Hill High School in Johnson City, Tennessee during the early 1960s. Although Knoxville is nearby, he did not seriously consider attending UT because he was an excellent passer and the Vols ran a single-wing offense at the time which featured a running quarterback.^[19] Instead, he choose to return to the state of his birth (Spurrier was born in Miami Beach^[20]), eventually becoming the Gators' first Heisman Trophy winner in 1966.

Spurrier's first Gator squad was 5–0 and ranked No. 9 coming into the matchup with Johnny Majors' 3–0–2 and No. 5 Vols, marking the first time in series history that both rivals were ranked in the AP top-10 when they faced off. (It was not Spurrier's first visit to Knoxville as an opposing coach; his 1988 Duke Blue Devils had upset the Vols 31–26.^[21])

The 1990 game began as a defensive struggle, with UT holding a slim 7–3 lead at the half. However, the Vols' Dale Carter returned the second half kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown, igniting the home crowd at Neyland Stadium.^[22]

On their ensuing possession, the Gators fumbled for what would be the first of six UF turnovers in the second half. The opportunistic Vols took full advantage, turning Spurrier's homecoming (and, coincidentally, UT's homecoming game) into a dominating 45–3 rout, the largest margin of victory for either team in the series.^[23]

Akron

Main article: 1990 Akron Zips football team

Florida blanked Akron 59–0.

Auburn

Main articles: 1990 Auburn Tigers football team and Auburn–Florida football rivalry

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 4 Tigers	7	0	0	0	7
• No. 15 Gators	7	27	7	7	48

• Date: November 3
• Location: Ben Hill Griffith Stadium
• Game attendance: 75,459
• TV announcers (ESPN): Ron Franklin and Gary Danielson (play-by-play), Kevin Kiley (sideline reporter)

Scoring summary

Q1		FLA	McNabb 1 yard run (Czyzewski kick)	FLA 7–0
Q1		AUB	Casey 55 yard pass from White (Von Wyl kick)	Tie 7–7
Q2		FLA	McClendon 1 yard run (Czyzewski kick)	FLA 14–7
Q2		FLA	Czyzewski 42 yard field goal	FLA 17–7
Q2		FLA	McClendon 3 yard run (Czyzewski kick)	FLA 24–7
Q2		FLA	Rhett 29 yard run (Czyzewski kick)	FLA 31–7
Q2		FLA	Czyzewski 42 yard field goal	FLA 34–7
Q3		FLA	McClendon 1 yard run (Czyzewski kick)	FLA 41–7
Q4		FLA	Rhett 4 yard run (Czyzewski kick)	FLA 48–7

^[24]

Coach Pat Dye's 1990 Auburn Tigers were the defending three-time SEC champions, had built an undefeated 6−0−1 record, and were ranked fourth in the nation in the AP Poll.^[25] Notwithstanding the fact that first-year coach Steve Spurrier's fifteenth-ranked Gators were three-point favorites,^[25] Dye had been publicly dismissive of Spurrier's pass-oriented offense before the game. The Gators and Tigers were tied 7–7 after the first quarter, but Spurrier's Gators exploded for twenty-seven points in the second quarter, resulting in a 34–7 halftime lead and a 48–7 victory for the Gators, which was the Gators' biggest margin of victory in the series, and the worst loss of Dye's career.^[26]

Vs. Georgia

Main articles: 1990 Georgia Bulldogs football team and Florida–Georgia football rivalry

World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party: Florida Gators vs. Georgia Bulldogs

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	7	0	0	0	7
No. 10 Gators	14	10	14	0	38

at Gator Bowl, Jacksonville, Florida

• Date: November 10
• Game attendance: 81,529
• Gainesville Sun

Game information
Georgia Greg Talley 6/12, 93 Yds, TD, 2 INT Dupree 8 Rush, 32 Yds Hummings 3 Rec, 33 Yds Florida Shane Matthews 26/39, 344 Yds, 3 TD Willie McClendon 16 Rush, 58 Yds, TD Kirk Kirkpatrick 8 Rec, 112 Yds

Florida's first win against Georgia since 1986, the Gators beat the Bulldogs 38–7 .^[27]

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP UGA FLA 1 Florida Willie McClendon 2-yard touchdown run, Arden Czyzewski kick good 0 7 1 Florida Interception returned 36 yards for touchdown by Tim Paulk, Arden Czyzewski kick good 0 14 1 Georgia Andre Hastings 23-yard touchdown reception from Greg Talley, John Kasay kick good 7 14 2 Florida 23-yard field goal by Arden Czyzewski 7 17 2 Florida Ernie Mills 6-yard touchdown reception from Shane Matthews, Arden Czyzewski kick good 7 24 3 Florida Terence Barber 51-yard touchdown reception from Shane Matthews, Arden Czyzewski kick good 7 31 3 Florida Ernie Mills 16-yard touchdown reception from Shane Matthews, Arden Czyzewski kick good 7 38 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 7 38

At Kentucky

Main article: 1990 Kentucky Wildcats football team

Florida beat the Kentucky Wildcats 47–15.

At No. 8 Florida State

Main articles: 1990 Florida State Seminoles football team and Florida–Florida State football rivalry

No. 6 Florida Gators at No. 8 Florida State Seminoles

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 6 Gators	3	7	6	14	30
No. 8 Seminoles	17	7	14	7	45

at Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, Florida

• Date: December 1, 1990
• Game weather: Clear
• Game attendance: 63,190
• Recap/Box Score

Game information

First quarter FSU – Lawrence Dawsey 76-yard pass from Casey Weldon (Richie Andrews kick), 14:03. Florida St 7–0. Drive: FSU – Richie Andrews 47-yard field goal, 12:57. Florida St 10–0. Drive: FLA – Arden Czyzewski 41-yard field goal, 8:35. Florida St 10–3. Drive: FSU - Amp Lee 8-yard pass from Casey Weldon (Richie Andrews kick), 2:36. Florida St 17–3. Drive: Second quarter FLA – Shane Matthews 1-yard run (Arden Czyzewski kick), 5:12. Florida St 17–10. Drive: FSU – Edgar Bennett 2-yard run (Richie Andrews kick), 1:11. Florida St 24–10. Drive: Third quarter FSU – Edgar Bennett 2-yard run (Richie Andrews kick), 10:59. Florida St 31–10. Drive: FLA – Ernie Mills 14-yard pass from Shane Matthews (kick blocked), 4:03. Florida St 31–16. Drive: FSU – Amp Lee 16-yard run (Richie Andrews kick), 3:08. Florida St 38–16. Drive: Fourth quarter FLA – Shane Matthews 1-yard run (pass good), 12:38. Florida St 38–24. Drive: FSU – Amp Lee 2-yard run (Richie Andrews kick), 11:56. Florida St 45–24. Drive: FLA – Kirk Kirkpatrick 9-yard pass from Shane Matthews (pass failed), 8:50. Florida St 45–30. Drive: Top passers FLA – Shane Matthews – 29/48, 351 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT FSU – Casey Weldon – 13/23, 325 yards, 2 TD Top rushers FLA – Errict Rhett – 14 rushes, 57 yards FSU – Amp Lee – 26 rushes, 147 yards, 2 TD Top receivers FLA – Ernie Mills – 7 receptions, 126 yards, TD FSU – Lawrence Dawsey – 4 receptions, 172 yards, TD

The game was dubbed by some as the "Seminole Bowl" due to Florida's postseason ban.

Postseason

Matthews finished the season with 2,952 passing yards and twenty-three touchdowns—then the most passing yards in Gators history.^[2] He was SEC Player of the Year.^[28]

Before Spurrier returned to Gainesville, the Gators had never won an officially sanctioned Southeastern Conference (SEC) or national football championship (Florida's first SEC championship was in 1984, but was retroactively vacated by the SEC for infractions incurred by former head coach Charley Pell). Before Spurrier resigned to seek a coaching position in the National Football League in January 2002, the Gators would win six SEC titles, play for two national championships, and win one in 1996.^[1]