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1971 Florida Gators football team

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1971 Florida Gators football
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Record4–7 (1–6 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorJimmy Dunn (2nd season)
Defensive coordinatorDoug Knotts (2nd season)
CaptainHarvin Clark
Tommy Durrance
John Reaves
Home stadiumFlorida Field
Seasons
← 1970
1972 →
1971 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 4 Alabama $ 7 0 0 11 1 0
No. 7 Georgia 5 1 0 11 1 0
No. 12 Auburn 5 1 0 9 2 0
No. 15 Ole Miss 4 2 0 10 2 0
No. 9 Tennessee 4 2 0 10 2 0
No. 11 LSU 3 2 0 9 3 0
Vanderbilt 1 5 0 4 6 1
Florida 1 6 0 4 7 0
Kentucky 1 6 0 3 8 0
Mississippi State 1 7 0 2 9 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1971 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1971 NCAA University Division football season. The season was Doug Dickey's second as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team. Dickey's 1971 Florida Gators finished with a 4–7 overall record and a 1–6 record in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), tying for eighth among ten SEC teams.[1]

Schedule

[edit]
DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 11vs. Duke*L 6–1251,477[2]
September 18at Mississippi StateL 10–1333,500[3]
September 25No. 8 AlabamaL 0–3861,832[4]
October 2No. 12 Tennessee
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
L 13–2061,112[5]
October 9at No. 16 LSUL 7–4867,055[6]
October 16No. 19 Florida State*
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
W 17–1565,109[7]
October 23Maryland*dagger
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL
W 27–2353,021[8]
October 30at No. 5 AuburnL 7–4063,500[9]
November 6vs. No. 7 GeorgiaL 7–4967,383[10]
November 13Kentucky
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
W 35–2445,268[11]
November 27at Miami (FL)*W 45–1637,710[12]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[1][13]

Personnel

[edit]
1971 Florida Gators football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
G 68 Fred Abbott Jr
WR Larry Adams
WR 45 Carlos Alvarez Sr
OT 74 Kris Anderson So
WR 89 Hollis Boardman So
G 79 Bill Dowdy Sr
RB 33 Tommy Durrance (C) Sr
TE 81 Hank Foldberg So
QB 10 Chan Gailey So
WR 21 Bruce Gunter Sr
G 69 Dale Hutcherson So
WR 22 Willie Jackson Jr
FB 20 Vince Kendrick So
C 55 Richard Kensler Sr
C 51 Mark King So
RB 36 Lenny Lucas So
WR 44 Joel Parker So
OT 76 David Peek Sr
QB 7 John Reaves (C) Sr
FB 40 Mike Rich Sr
QB 9 John Schnelby Sr
G 62 Joe Sheppard So
TE 87 Jim Yancy Sr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
S 16 Jimmy Barr Jr
ILB 50 Ricky Browne So
DE 88 Richard Buchanan Sr
CB 38 Harvin Clark (C) Sr
S 34 John Clifford Jr
DB 43 John Faix Sr
MG 72 Len Fuller Sr
CB 23 Leonard George Jr
LB Jan Gowland
DT 77 Robert Harrell Sr
MG 65 David Hitchcock So
DL 75 Eddy Moore Jr
DE 85 Mike Moore So
OLB 57 David Poff Jr
DB 35 John Silman Jr
CB 28 Doug Sorensen Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K 8 Richard Franco Sr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Roster

Game summaries

[edit]

Duke

[edit]
1 234Total
Duke 6 303 12
Florida 0 060 6

[14]

Mississippi State

[edit]
1 234Total
Florida 0 1000 10
Mississippi State 3 073 13

[15]

Alabama

[edit]
1 234Total
#8 Alabama 10 1477 38
Florida 0 000 0
  • Date: September 25
  • Location: Florida Field
    Gainesville, Florida
  • Game attendance: 61,832

Against the Gators, Alabama's Johnny Musso scored four rushing touchdowns en route to a 38–0 shutout at Florida Field.[16][17] After Bill Davis gave the Crimson Tide a 3–0 lead with his first quarter field goal, Musso scored Alabama's next four touchdowns and extended their lead to 31–0.[16][17] All four came on the ground with a pair from one-yard out, a three-yard run and a five-yard run.[16][17] Alabama then closed the game with an 11-yard Billy Sexton touchdown pass to Dexter Wood that made the final score 38–0.[16][17]

The four touchdowns scored by Musso on the ground set a new school record for rushing touchdowns. Additionally, the shutout was the first for the Crimson Tide defense since their 17–0 victory in 1967 over South Carolina.[17]

Tennessee

[edit]
#12 Tennessee Volunteers at Florida Gators
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Tennessee 3 10 7020
Florida 0 13 0013

at Florida Field, Gainesville, Florida

  • Date: October 2, 1971
  • Game attendance: 61,112
  • New York Times, 1971 Oct 03.
Game information

LSU

[edit]

Florida State

[edit]
Florida State Seminoles at Florida Gators
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Florida St 0 0 01515
Florida 0 14 0317

at Florida Field, Gainesville, Florida

  • Date: October 16, 1971
  • Game weather: Overcast
  • Game attendance: 65,109
  • Recap/Box Score
Game information

Maryland

[edit]
1 234Total
Maryland 0 13100 23
Florida 7 677 27

[18]

Auburn

[edit]
1 234Total
Florida 0 700 7
Auburn 12 0721 40

[19]

Georgia

[edit]
1 234Total
Georgia 7 13227 49
Florida 0 700 7

[20]

Kentucky

[edit]
1 234Total
Kentucky 0 3714 24
Florida 0 7721 35

[21]

Miami (FL)

[edit]
Florida Gators at Miami (FL) Hurricanes
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Florida 7 10 141445
Miami (FL) 0 0 8816

at Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida

  • Date: November 27, 1971
  • Game attendance: 37,710
  • Box Score

The disappointing season ended on a controversial note. With the Gators leading the Miami Hurricanes 45–8 late in the fourth quarter of the last game of the season, senior quarterback John Reaves was just 14 yards short of the NCAA career record for passing yardage, but Miami had the ball and seemed destined to run out the clock. At the urging of Florida defensive captain Harvin Clark, Dickey agreed to permit the Gators defense to allow the Hurricanes to score, thus returning the ball to the Gators offense and giving Reaves a chance to break the record. Dubbed the "Florida Flop" or "Gator Flop", the move worked. When Miami snapped the ball from the Florida 8-yard line, the Gators instantly flopped to the turf, allowing Miami quarterback John Hornibrook to walk uncontested into the endzone. Florida's offense got one more possession, and Reeves promptly broke the record with a pass to favorite target Carlos Alvarez. After the game, many Gator players celebrated by jumping into the pool at the Orange Bowl's east end zone used by the Miami Dolphins' live mascot, Flipper.

Miami coach Fran Curci was so angered by the turn of events that he refused to shake Dickey's hand. In a post-game interview, he called the actions "bush league" and declared that "what Doug Dickey did shows absolutely no class."[22][23][24]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b 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. ^ "Duke kicks favored Florida in face, 12–6". The Palm Beach Post. September 12, 1971. Retrieved January 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Ellis connects on field goal to nip Gators". Daily Press. September 19, 1971. Retrieved October 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Musso scores four times as Tide manhandles Gators 38–0". The Selma Times-Journal. September 26, 1971. Retrieved January 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Tennessee sidesteps Florida's bid for an upset, 20–13". The Palm Beach Post. October 3, 1971. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "LSU begins SEC chase with 48–7 win". Daily World. October 10, 1971. Retrieved October 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Gators stun Seminoles on Franco's field goal". St. Lucie News Tribune. October 17, 1971. Retrieved January 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Reaves, Alvarez lead Gators over Terps". The Palm Beach Post. October 24, 1971. Retrieved January 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Sullivan-led Tigers drub Gators, 40–7". The Bradenton Herald. October 31, 1971. Retrieved October 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "'Dogs bury UF by 49–7". Tallahassee Democrat. November 7, 1971. Retrieved October 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Gators skin 'Cats as Alvarez sparkles". The Bradenton Herald. November 14, 1971. Retrieved October 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Reaves: Wow!". St. Petersburg Times. November 28, 1971. Retrieved January 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Sports Publicity Department. "1972 University of Florida Football Brochure" (PDF). floridagators.com. University Athletic Association, Inc. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  14. ^ "Duke Boots Top Gators." Ocala Star-Banner. 1971 Sept 12.
  15. ^ Ocala Star-Banner. 1971 September 19.
  16. ^ a b c d e Reed, Delbert (September 26, 1971). "High Tide in Florida". The Tuscaloosa News. Google News Archives. p. 1B. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  17. ^ a b c d e f Tucker, Tommy (September 26, 1971). "Musso leads Alabama romp by hapless Florida, 38–0". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. Google News Archives. p. 1C. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
  18. ^ Palm Beach Post. 1971 Oct. 24.
  19. ^ Palm Beach Post. 1971 Oct 31.
  20. ^ Ocala Star-Banner. 1971 Nov 7.
  21. ^ Ocala Star-Banner. 1971 Nov 14.
  22. ^ Paul Lukas, "The stories behind the 1971 Gator Flop", ESPN.com (September 16, 2010). Retrieved March 9, 2012.
  23. ^ Randall Mell, "It was humiliating Archived 2014-03-30 at the Wayback Machine", Orlando Sun-Sentinel (December 20, 2000). Retrieved March 30, 2014.
  24. ^ "Contemporary TV coverage of Florida Flop (youtube)". Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved March 30, 2014.