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.[2]

1972 Florida Gators football
Conference	Southeastern Conference
1972 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 (Capacity: 61,200)[1]

1972 Southeastern Conference football standings
	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
September 23	vs. SMU*	Tampa Stadium Tampa, FL		L 14–21	42,489
September 30	Mississippi State	Florida Field Gainesville, FL		W 28–13	42,712
October 7	at No. 13 Florida State*	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL (rivalry)		W 42–13	42,758
October 14	at No. 3 Alabama	Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL		L 7–24	57,631
October 21	at Ole Miss	Hemingway Stadium Oxford, MS		W 16–0	35,200
November 4	No. 11 Auburn	Florida Field Gainesville, FL (rivalry)		L 20–26	57,551
November 11	vs. Georgia	Gator Bowl Stadium Jacksonville, FL (rivalry)	ABC	L 7–10	66,252
November 18	Kentucky	Florida Field Gainesville, FL		W 40–0	47,639
November 25	No. 8 LSU	Florida Field Gainesville, FL (rivalry)		T 3–3	46,391
December 2	Miami (FL)*	Florida Field Gainesville, FL (rivalry)		W 17–6	45,432
December 9	vs. No. 16 North Carolina*	Gator Bowl Stadium Jacksonville, FL		L 24–28	33,103
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Primary source: 2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide[2]

Attendance figures: 1973 University of Florida Football Brochure.[3]

Season summary

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

[4]

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. Sports Publicity Department. "1972 University of Florida Football Brochure" (PDF). floridagators.com. University Athletic Association, Inc. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
2. 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.
3. Sports Publicity Department. "1973 University of Florida Football Brochure" (PDF). floridagators.com. University Athletic Association, Inc. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
4. 1973 Florida football media guide. Retrieved 2019-Jan-17.