2000 Florida Gators football team

American college football season February 2026 August 2023 2000 Florida Gators football Florida Gators script logo.svg Southeastern Conference Eastern Division SEC 11 10 10–3 7–1 Steve Spurrier 11th Fun and gun Jon Hoke 2nd 4–3 Alex Brown Derrick Chambers Jesse Palmer Gerard Warren Alex Willis Ben Hill Griffin Stadium SEC championSEC Eastern Division champion SEC Championship Game W Won 28–6 vs. Auburn Sugar Bowl L Lost 20–37 vs. Miami (FL) The 2000 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida as a member of the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 2000 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by 11th-year head coach Steve Spurrier, the Gators compiled an overall record of 10–3 with mark of 7–1 in conference play, winning the SEC's Eastern Division title. Florida advanced to the SEC Championship Game, beating Auburn to capture the conference championship. The Gators were invited to the Sugar Bowl, where they lost to the Miami Hurricanes. The team played home games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida. Schedule 2000 AP September 2 w y 9 Ball State Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL PPV 40–19 85,095 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-indianapolis-star-florida-hands-ball/157478546/ The Indianapolis Star Florida hands Ball St. its 18th loss in row September 3, 2000 October 20, 2024 Newspapers.com September 9 w y 8 Middle Tennessee Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL PPV 55–0 84,311 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-montgomery-advertiser-florida-domina/157478579/ The Montgomery Advertiser Florida dominates Blue Raiders September 10, 2000 October 20, 2024 Newspapers.com September 16 w y 6 Tennessee 11 Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN rivalry, College GameDay CBS 27–23 108,768 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-atlanta-constitution-gators-get-a-br/157478604/ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Gators get a break on last grasp September 17, 2000 October 20, 2024 Newspapers.com September 23 w 3 Kentucky Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL rivalry CBS 59–31 85,319 https://www.newspapers.com/article/st-lucie-news-tribune-gators-run-over/157478646/ St. Lucie News Tribune Gators run over 'Cats, 59–31 September 24, 2000 October 20, 2024 Newspapers.com September 30 l y 3 Mississippi State Scott Field Starkville, MS CBS 35–47 43,816 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-commercial-appeal-dogs-take-bite-ou/157478685/ The Commercial Appeal 'Dogs take bite out of Gators October 1, 2000 October 20, 2024 Newspapers.com October 7 w 12 LSU Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL JPS rivalry 41–9 85,365 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tampa-tribune-gators-turn-it-loose-i/157478723/ The Tampa Tribune Gators turn it loose in win October 8, 2000 October 20, 2024 Newspapers.com October 14 w 10 Auburn 19 Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL rivalry CBS 38–7 85,710 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-courier-journal-grossman-passes-for/157478768/ The Courier-Journal Grossman passes for 5 TDs as Gators rip Auburn 38–7 October 15, 2000 October 20, 2024 Newspapers.com October 28 w y 8 Georgia 13 Alltel Stadium Jacksonville, FL rivalry CBS 34–23 84,404 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-miami-herald-defense-minded/157478808/ The Miami Herald Defense-minded October 29, 2000 October 20, 2024 Newspapers.com November 4 w y 6 Vanderbilt Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN JPS 43–21 32,714 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-jackson-sun-floridas-defense-domina/157478842/ The Jackson Sun Florida's defense dominates Vandy November 5, 2000 October 20, 2024 Newspapers.com November 11 w y 5 South Carolina 21 Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL CBS 41–21 85,718 https://www.newspapers.com/article/pensacola-news-journal-gator-fans-thinki/157478258/ Pensacola News Journal Gator fans thinking Orange November 12, 2000 October 20, 2024 Newspapers.com November 18 l y y 4 Florida State 3 Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL rivalry, College GameDay ABC 7–30 83,042 https://www.newspapers.com/article/florida-today-seminoles-blast-gators/157478889/ Florida Today Seminoles blast Gators November 19, 2000 October 20, 2024 Newspapers.com December 2 w y 7 Auburn 18 Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA SEC Championship) ABC 28–6 73,427 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-atlanta-constitution-gators-carry-on/157478935/ The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Gators carry on; Florida cruises to SEC title, Sugar Bowl bid December 3, 2000 October 20, 2024 Newspapers.com January 2, 2001 l y y 7 Miami (FL) 2 Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA Sugar Bowl, rivalry ABC 20–37 64,407 https://www.newspapers.com/article/clarion-ledger-miami-makes-case-3720/157478980/ The Clarion-Ledger Miami makes case 37–20 January 3, 2001 October 20, 2024 Newspapers.com2000 Florida Gators Schedule and Results Sports Reference LLC SR/College Football October 20, 2024 https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/florida/2000-schedule.html 2000 NCAA Football Statistics (Florida) https://stats.ncaa.org/teams/218413 National Collegiate Athletic Association October 20, 2024 Rankings 2000 NCAA Division I-A football rankings AP 0 16 9 9 8 7 3 3 (1) 12 10 8 8 6 5 4 7 7 7 10 Coaches 0 16 7 7 5 4 3 3 9 9 7 7 5 4 4 9 8 7 11 BCS 9 15 6 6 5 5 7 7 7 Game summaries Ball State Ball St 7 3 9 0 No. 9 Florida 12 14 7 7 September 2 Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida 85,095 David Steele (Play-by-play), Nat Moore (Color) & Larry Vettel (Sideline) PPV yes Q1 13:50 FLA Kirk Wells 8 yard pass from Jesse Palmer (kick failed) FLA 6–0 Q1 9:57 FLA Robert Gillespie 13 yard run (two-point conversion failed) FLA 12–0 Q1 6:35 BALL Cornelius Bowick recovered fumble in end zone (Mike Langford kick) FLA 12–7 Q2 14:25 FLA Robert Gillespie 1 yard run (Jeff Chandler kick) FLA 19–7 Q2 13:33 FLA Alex Willis 9 yard pass from Jesse Palmer (Jeff Chandler kick) FLA 26–7 Q2 7:09 BALL Mike Langford 32 yard field goal FLA 26–10 Q3 12:56 FLA Jesse Palmer 1 yard run (Jeff Chandler kick) FLA 33–10 Q3 8:08 BALL Safety, Robert Gillespie tackled by Evan Triggs in end zone FLA 33–12 Q3 :59 BALL Corey Pachman 49 yard pass from Talmadge Hill (Mike Langford kick) FLA 33–19 Q4 11:00 FLA Bo Carroll 75 yard pass from Jesse Palmer (Jeff Chandler kick) FLA 40–19 yes USA Today Middle Tennessee St. Middle Tennessee State 0 0 0 0 0 No. 8 Florida 21 17 10 7 55 Tennessee No. 6 Florida 0 7 10 10 27 No. 11 Tennessee 3 9 8 3 23 Kentucky Kentucky 3 14 7 7 31 No. 3 Florida 10 28 14 7 59 Mississippi State No. 3 Florida 0 10 13 12 35 Mississippi State 5 11 8 23 47 September 30, 2000 The Florida Gators came into Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi ranked third in the nation. The unranked Mississippi State Bulldogs ran for 351 yards, 172 yards and a touchdown for Dicenzo Miller, and 156 yards and a touchdown for Dontae Walker. Bulldogs quarterback Wayne Madkin also ran for two touchdowns. The Bulldogs compiled 517 total yards of offense. A frustrated Steve Spurrier rotated three quarterbacks including Rex Grossman. Grossman went 13 for 16 with 231 yards and two touchdowns. All together, the Gators had 494 yards and four touchdowns through the air. Mississippi State won the game 47–35, breaking Florida's 72-game winning streak against unranked teams in front of a crowd of 43,816. After the game, the Mississippi State fans stormed the field and tore down the goal posts, parts of which ended up all over campus. Florida Mississippi State First downs 26 25 Rushed–yards 22-M78 57–351 Passing yards 494 166 Sacked–yards lost 3–23 6–58 Return yards 73 54 Passes 34–57–1 14–27–2 Punts 1–45.0 7–42.0 Fumbles–lost 2–2 2–1 Penalties–yards 7–46 10–85 Time of possession 25:16 34:44 LSU LSU 0 3 0 6 9 No. 12 Florida 7 10 10 14 41 Auburn No. 19 Auburn 0 7 0 0 7 No. 10 Florida 14 21 0 3 38 Georgia 2000 Georgia Bulldogs football team Florida–Georgia football rivalry Florida Gators 2; text-align:center collapsed #8 Florida Gators (6–1) vs. #13 Georgia Bulldogs (6–1) October 28 3:30 p.m. EDT No. 8 Florida 9 8 10 7 No. 13 Georgia 3 14 0 6 Alltel Stadium • Jacksonville, Florida 84,404 Sunny • 84 F C • Wind N 3 mph km/h knot Rogers Redding CBS Automated ScoreBook Florida Rex Grossman12/24, 152 yards, TD, 3 int Robert Gillespie15 rush, 79 yards, TD Jabar Gaffney8 rec, 138 yards, TD Georgia Quincy Carter20/39, 240 yards, TD, 3 int12 rush, 53 yards Damien Gary5 rec, 64 yards FLA UGA collapsed 1 6:36 Georgia 12 61 5:28 FG 24 Billy Bennett 0 3 1 5:23 Florida 4 73 1:13 RecTD Jabar Gaffney Rex Grossman 27 no good Jeff Chandler run/pass good/failed/incomplete 6 3 1 0:10 Florida 12 40 3:20 FG 37 Jeff Chandler 9 3 2 5:23 Georgia 2 5 0:47 RushTD Musa Smith 4 good Billy Bennett run/pass good/failed/incomplete 9 10 2 4:49 Georgia 2 42 0:14 RushTD Musa Smith 1 good Billy Bennett run/pass good/failed/incomplete 9 17 2 0:30 Florida 3 26 0:39 RecTD Robert Gillespie Jesse Palmer 14 pass good 17 17 3 11:56 Florida 6 19 1:17 FG 54 Jeff Chandler 20 17 3 4:59 Florida 10 82 3:59 RushTD Jesse Palmer 1 good Jeff Chandler run/pass good/failed/incomplete 27 17 4 9:50 Georgia 12 65 5:40 RecTD Jasper Sanks Quincy Carter 1 no good Billy Bennett run/pass good/failed/incomplete 27 23 4 4:42 Florida 2 29 0:15 RushTD Robert Gillespie 2 good Jeff Chandler run/pass good/failed/incomplete 34 23 34 23 Vanderbilt No. 6 Florida 10 7 19 7 43 Vanderbilt 7 6 0 7 20 South Carolina No. 21 South Carolina 21 0 0 0 21 No. 5 Florida 3 28 10 0 41 Florida State No. 4 Florida 7 0 0 0 7 No. 3 Florida State 14 0 13 3 30 SEC Championship Game SEC Championship Game#18 Auburn vs. #7 Florida No. 18 Auburn 0 3 3 0 No. 7 Florida 14 7 7 0 December 2 Georgia Dome, Atlanta Brent Musburger (Play-by-play), Gary Danielson (Color) & Jack Arute (Sideline) ABC Source: https://archive.today/20130410171827/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/college/recaps/2000/12/02/ffa_aar/ yes 1 FLA Caldwell 10 yard pass from Grossman (Chandler kick) FLA 7-0 1 FLA Caldwell 66 yard pass from Grossman (Chandler kick) FLA 14-0 2 FLA Gaffney 27 yard pass from Grossman (Chandler kick) FLA 21-0 2 AUB Duval 44 yard field goal FLA 21-3 3 AUB Duval 21 yard field goal FLA 21-6 3 FLA Haugabrook 12 yard pass from Grossman (Chandler kick) FLA 28-6 yes Miami (Sugar Bowl) No. 7 Florida 7 3 7 3 20 No. 2 Miami 10 3 14 10 37 Notable players 07 QB Jesse Palmer (Sr.) 08 QB Rex Grossman (Fr.) 09 QB Brock Berlin (Fr.) 05 RB Earnest Graham (So.) 33 RB Ran Carthon (Fr.) 06 WR Taylor Jacobs (So.) 10 WR Jabar Gaffney (Fr.) 17 WR Reche Caldwell (So.) 78 T Kenyatta Walker (Jr.) 91 DE Derrick Chambers (Sr.) 57 DE Bobby McCray (Fr.) 61 DT Gerard Warren (Jr.) 45 LB Andra Davis (Jr.) 03 CB Lito Sheppard (So.) 04 S Marquand Manuel (Jr.) References Bibliography 2009 Southeastern Conference Football Media Guide, Florida Year-by-Year Records, Southeastern Conference, Birmingham, Alabama, p. 60 (2009). Carlson, Norm, University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators, Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). 0-7948-2298-3. Golenbock, Peter, Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory, Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). 0-9650782-1-3. Hairston, Jack, Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told, Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). 1-58261-514-4. McCarthy, Kevin M., Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football, Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). 978-0-7385-0559-6. Florida Category:Florida Gators football seasons Category:Southeastern Conference football champion seasons Florida Gators football