2018_Florida_Gators_football_team

2018 Florida Gators football
2018 Florida Gators football
Peach Bowl champion
Peach Bowl, W 41–15 vs. Michigan
Conference	Southeastern Conference
	Eastern Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 6
AP	No. 7
Record	10–3 (5–3 SEC)
Head coach	Dan Mullen (1st season);
Co-offensive coordinator	Billy Gonzales (1st season)
Co-offensive coordinator	John Hevesy (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Spread
Defensive coordinator	Todd Grantham (1st season)
Base defense	3–4
Home stadium	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
	Seasons ← 2017 2019 →

2018 Florida Gators football team

American college football season

The 2018 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Gators played their home games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida. Florida played as a member of the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by first-year head coach Dan Mullen.

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Florida, coming off a 4–7 season in 2017, began the year unranked. In the second game of the season, not only did the team lose to Kentucky for the first time since 1986, but they also lost to them at home for the first time since 1979, snapping a 31-game winning streak in the series.^[2] Florida won its next five games, including on the road against No. 23 Mississippi State and at home against No. 5 LSU, rising to ninth in the AP Poll. They then lost two games to No. 7 Georgia and Missouri and ended the conference regular season tied for second in the SEC East Division at 5–3. After closing the regular season by defeating rival Florida State, they were invited to the Peach Bowl, where they defeated No. 8 Michigan by a score of 41–15. The team finished with an overall record of 10–3, and in the season's final AP Poll, the team was ranked in a tie for seventh, the highest finish for the school since 2009.

The team was led on offense by redshirt sophomore quarterback Feleipe Franks, who finished with 2,457 passing yards, 24 passing touchdowns, and 7 rushing touchdowns. His 31 total touchdowns was tied for third in the Southeastern Conference.^[3] Running backs La'Mical Perine and Jordan Scarlett finished with 826 and 776 yards, respectively. Defensively, the team was led by defensive end Jachai Polite, who finished with 20 tackles for loss and was named first-team All-SEC.

Game summaries

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[vacated2-1] [1]
Journal, Logan Lowery Daily. "MSU fires Moorhead after two seasons". Daily Journal. All eight of Moorhead's victories in 2018 had to be vacated after 10 football players were reprimanded by the NCAA for academic misconduct involving a former part-time tutor and an online chemistry class.

[2] [2]
"Kentucky stns No. 25 Florida; first win over Gators since '86". ESPN.com. Associated Press. September 8, 2018.

[3] [3]
"2018 Southeastern Conference Year Summary". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved June 4, 2019.

[4] [4]
"2018 Watch List | Lott IMPACT Trophy | Honoring College Football's Defensive Best". lottimpacttrophy.org. Retrieved July 17, 2018.

[5] [5]
"Rimington Trophy Press Release". May 30, 2018. Retrieved July 14, 2018.

[6] [6]
"2018 Bednarik Award Watch List". July 16, 2018. Archived from the original on July 16, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2018.

[7] [7]
"Butkus Award - 2018 Collegiate Watchlist". The Butkus Award. July 23, 2018. Archived from the original on August 20, 2010. Retrieved July 23, 2018.

[8] [8]
"2018 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Preseason Watch List". July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.

[9] [9]
"22018 OUTLAND TROPHY WATCH LIST UNVEILED". July 24, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2018.

[10] [10]
"Wuerffel Trophy Unveils 2018 Watch List". July 26, 2018. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 26, 2018.

[11] [11]
"Preseason Watch List - 2018 edition of the Ted Hendricks Award" (PDF). August 14, 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 14, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2018.

[12] [12]
"2018 Nominations The Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award" (PDF). August 16, 2018. Retrieved August 17, 2018.

[13] [13]
"Media predicts Alabama to win 2018 SEC Championship".

[14] [14]
Charleston Southern Pregame Notes

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Kentucky Pregame Notes

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Colorado State Pregame Notes

[17] [17]
Tennessee Pregame Notes

[18] [18]
Mississippi State Pregame Notes

[19] [19]
LSU Pregame Notes

[20] [20]
Vanderbilt Pregame Notes

[21] [21]
Georgia Pregame Notes

[22] [22]
Missouri Pregame Notes

[23] [23]
South Carolina Pregame Notes

[24] [24]
Idaho Pregame Notes

[25] [25]
Florida State Pregame Notes

[26] [26]
"2018 Football Roster". Florida Gators. Retrieved April 22, 2018.

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Award	Player	Position	Year
Lott Trophy^[4]	C. J. Gardner-Johnson	DB	JR
Rimington Trophy^[5]	T. J. McCoy	C	JR
Chuck Bednarik Award^[6]	David Reese	LB	JR
Butkus Award^[7]	David Reese	LB	JR
Bronko Nagurski Trophy^[8]	Cece Jefferson	DE	SR
Bronko Nagurski Trophy^[8]	David Reese	LB	JR
Outland Trophy^[9]	Martez Ivey	OL	SR
Wuerffel Trophy^[10]	Fred Johnson	OL	SR
Ted Hendricks Award^[11]	Cece Jefferson	DE	SR
Ted Hendricks Award^[11]	Jabari Zuniga	DE	JR
Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award^[12]	Tyrie Cleveland	WR	JR

Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
Media poll (East)
1	Georgia	1,977 (271)
2	South Carolina	1,535 (8)
3	Florida	1,441 (4)
4	Missouri	1,057
5	Kentucky	874 (1)
6	Tennessee	704 (1)
7	Vanderbilt	392

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 1	7:30 p.m.	Charleston Southern*		Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL	SECN	W 53–6	81,164
September 8	7:30 p.m.	Kentucky	No. 25	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL (rivalry)	SECN	L 16–27	80,651
September 15	4:00 p.m.	Colorado State*		Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL	SECN	W 48–10	80,021
September 22	7:00 p.m.	at Tennessee		Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)	ESPN	W 47–21	100,027
September 29	6:00 p.m.	at No. 23 Mississippi State		Davis Wade Stadium Starkville, MS (SEC Nation)	ESPN	W 13–6	61,406
October 6	3:30 p.m.	No. 5 LSU	No. 22	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL (rivalry / SEC Nation)	CBS	W 27–19	90,283
October 13	12:00 p.m.	at Vanderbilt	No. 14	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN	ESPN	W 37–27	31,118
October 27	3:30 p.m.	vs. No. 7 Georgia	No. 9	TIAA Bank Field Jacksonville, FL (rivalry/College GameDay / SEC Nation)	CBS	L 17–36	84,463
November 3	4:00 p.m.	Missouri	No. 13	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL	SECN	L 17–38	80,017
November 10	12:00 p.m.	South Carolina	No. 19	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL	ESPN	W 35–31	82,696
November 17	12:00 p.m.	Idaho*	No. 15	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL	ESPNU	W 63–10	81,467
November 24	12:00 p.m.	at Florida State*	No. 13	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL (rivalry)	ABC	W 41–14	71,953
December 29	12:00 p.m.	vs. No. 8 Michigan*	No. 10	Mercedes-Benz Stadium Atlanta, GA (Peach Bowl)	ESPN	W 41–15	74,006
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after October 30 released prior to game All times are in Eastern time

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Charleston Southern	0	0	0	6	6
Florida	10	28	13	2	53

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Florida	0	3	7	3	13
No. 23 Mississippi State	3	3	0	0	6

2018_Florida_Gators_football_team

2018 Florida Gators football team

Preseason

Award watch lists

SEC media poll

Preseason All-SEC teams

Schedule

Rankings

Game summaries

Charleston Southern

Kentucky

Colorado State

Tennessee

Mississippi State

LSU

Vanderbilt

Georgia

Missouri

South Carolina

Idaho

Florida State

Michigan (Peach Bowl)

Personnel

Roster

Coaching staff

Recruits

Players drafted into the NFL

References

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v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Division
No. 7т Georgia x	7	–	1	11	–	3
No. 12 Kentucky	5	–	3	10	–	3
No. 7т Florida	5	–	3	10	–	3
South Carolina	4	–	4	7	–	6
Missouri	4	–	4	8	–	5
Vanderbilt	3	–	5	6	–	7
Tennessee	2	–	6	5	–	7
West Division
No. 2 Alabama x$^	8	–	0	14	–	1
No. 16 Texas A&M	5	–	3	9	–	4
No. 6 LSU	5	–	3	10	–	3
Mississippi State*	4	–	4	8	–	5
Auburn	3	–	5	8	–	5
Ole Miss	1	–	7	5	–	7
Arkansas	0	–	8	2	–	10
Championship: Alabama 35, Georgia 28
^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions * Mississippi State vacated four conference and eight total wins due to NCAA violations.^[1] Rankings from AP Poll

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	Final
AP	RV	25	—	—	RV	22	14	11	9	13	19	15	13	11	10	7т
Coaches	RV	25	—	RV	RV	RV	16	12	11	14	21	16	13	10	10	6
CFP	Not released									11	15	13	11	9	10	Not released

Name	Position	Joined staff
Dan Mullen	Head coach	2018
Todd Grantham	Defensive coordinator	2018
John Hevesy	Co-offensive Coordinator / offensive line	2018
Billy Gonzales	Co-offensive Coordinator / Wide receivers	2018
Greg Knox	Running backs / Special teams coordinator	2018
Sal Sunseri	Defensive line	2018
Ron English	Safeties	2018
Brian Johnson	Quarterbacks	2018
Larry Scott	Tight ends	2018
Charlton Warren	Cornerbacks	2018
Christian Robinson	Linebackers	2018
Nick Savage	Director of strength and conditioning	2018

US college sports recruiting information for 2018 recruits
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Iverson Clement RB	Mount Holly, New Jersey	Rancocas Valley Regional High School	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	199 lb (90 kg)	Apr 13, 2017
Iverson Clement RB	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Amari Burney S	Clearwater, Florida	Calvary Christian High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Jun 1, 2017
Amari Burney S	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Kyle Pitts TE	Warminster, Pennsylvania	Archbishop Wood High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	224 lb (102 kg)	Jul 20, 2017
Kyle Pitts TE	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Dante Lang TE	Boca Raton, Florida	Boca Raton Community High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Jul 21, 2017
Dante Lang TE	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Randy Russell S	Miami, Florida	Miami Carol City High School	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Jul 22, 2017
Randy Russell S	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
David Reese LB	Fort Pierce, Florida	Vero Beach High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	213 lb (97 kg)	Jul 29, 2017
David Reese LB	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Dameon Pierce RB	Bainbridge, Georgia	Bainbridge High School	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Aug 6, 2017
Dameon Pierce RB	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Richard Gouraige OT	Tampa, Florida	Cambridge Christian School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	271 lb (123 kg)	Oct 20, 2017
Richard Gouraige OT	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Chris Bleich OT	Plymouth, Pennsylvania	Wyoming Valley West High School	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	305 lb (138 kg)	Nov 29, 2017
Chris Bleich OT	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Evan McPherson K	Fort Payne, Alabama	Fort Payne High School	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	Dec 10, 2017
Evan McPherson K	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
John Huggins S	Daytona Beach, Florida	Mainland High School	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Dec 17, 2017
John Huggins S	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Noah Banks OT	Pensacola, Florida	Iowa Western Community College	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	305 lb (138 kg)	Dec 19, 2017
Noah Banks OT	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN:
Trey Dean S	Hampton, Georgia	Dutchtown High School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Dec 20, 2017
Trey Dean S	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Emory Jones QB	Franklin, Georgia	Heard County High School	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	196 lb (89 kg)	Dec 20, 2017
Emory Jones QB	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Justin Watkins WR	Clermont, Florida	East Ridge High School	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)	172 lb (78 kg)	Jan 20, 2018
Justin Watkins WR	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Griffin McDowell C	Leesburg, Georgia	Lee County High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	280 lb (130 kg)	Jan 30, 2018
Griffin McDowell C	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports:
Andrew Chatfield LB	Plantation, Florida	American Heritage School	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	221 lb (100 kg)	Feb 7, 2018
Andrew Chatfield LB	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Malik Langham DE	Huntsville, Alabama	Lee High School	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	255 lb (116 kg)	Feb 7, 2018
Malik Langham DE	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Jacob Copeland WR	Pensacola, Florida	Escambia High School	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	192 lb (87 kg)	Feb 7, 2018
Jacob Copeland WR	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Florida Football Commitments". Rivals.com. Retrieved January 18, 2018. "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved January 18, 2018.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL club
2	35	Jawaan Taylor	OT	Jacksonville Jaguars
3	68	Jachai Polite	OLB	New York Jets
4	105	C. J. Gardner-Johnson	S	New Orleans Saints
5	147	Vosean Joseph	LB	Buffalo Bills
5	154	Jordan Scarlett	RB	Carolina Panthers