2020 Florida Gators football team

The 2020 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Gators played their home games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida, and competed in the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by third-year head coach Dan Mullen.

2020 Florida Gators football
Florida Gators logo
SEC Eastern Division champion
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
DivisionEastern Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 12
APNo. 13
Record8–4 (8–2 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorBrian Johnson (1st season)
Offensive schemeSpread
Defensive coordinatorTodd Grantham (3rd season)
Base defense3–4
Home stadiumBen Hill Griffin Stadium
Seasons
← 2019
2021 →
2020 Southeastern Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
East Division
No. 13 Florida x 82  84 
No. 7 Georgia 72  82 
Missouri 55  55 
Kentucky 46  56 
Tennessee 37  37 
South Carolina 28  28 
Vanderbilt 09  09 
West Division
No. 1 Alabama x$#^ 100  130 
No. 4 Texas A&M 81  91 
Auburn 64  65 
LSU* 55  55 
Ole Miss 45  55 
Arkansas 37  37 
Mississippi State 37  47 
Championship: Alabama 52, Florida 46
  • # – College Football Playoff champion
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • * – ineligible for postseason due to self imposed ban
    Note: Due to COVID-19, the SEC played a conference-only schedule.
Rankings from AP Poll.

Preseason

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SEC Media Days

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In the preseason media poll, Florida was predicted to win the East Division. Florida received the fourth-most votes to win the SEC Championship Game.[1]

Schedule

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Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2020 college football season was postponed, and there was some question if the season would be played at all. On July 31, the Southeastern Conference announced that its teams would play a ten-game conference-only season beginning in late September. Florida's previously scheduled games against non-conference opponents Eastern Washington, New Mexico State, and South Alabama were all canceled due to the scheduling change, as was the annual rivalry game against Florida State, breaking a streak of annual meetings that began in 1957. Conference games against Texas A&M and Arkansas were added to increase the usual eight-game SEC schedule to ten.[2][3]

Attendance at all college football games was restricted during the 2020 season due to COVID-19 social distancing considerations. The University of Florida limited home attendance to 20% of capacity at Florida Field. All road games along with the SEC Championship Game and the Cotton Bowl Classic were played with similar attendance caps.[4]

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 2612:00 p.m.at Ole MissNo. 5ESPNW 51–3513,926
October 312:00 p.m.South CarolinaNo. 3ESPNW 38–2415,120
October 1012:00 p.m.at No. 21 Texas A&MNo. 4ESPNL 38–4124,709
October 31[a]7:30 p.m.Missouri No. 10
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL
SECN Alt.W 41–1712,049
November 73:30 p.m.vs. No. 5 GeorgiaNo. 8CBSW 44–2819,210
November 147:00 p.m.ArkansasNo. 6
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL
ESPNW 63–3516,116
November 2112:00 p.m.at VanderbiltNo. 6ABCW 38–171,147
November 2812:00 p.m.KentuckyNo. 6
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
ESPNW 34–1014,453
December 53:30 p.m.at TennesseeNo. 6CBSW 31–1922,943
December 12[b]7:00 p.m.LSUNo. 6
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
ESPNL 34–3716,610
December 198:00 p.m.vs. No. 1 AlabamaNo. 7CBSL 46–5216,520
December 308:00 p.m.vs. No. 6 Oklahoma*No. 7ESPNL 20–5517,323
^[a] Due to COVID-19 management requirements in response to positive tests and subsequent quarantine of individuals within the Florida program, the Missouri game was moved from October 24 to 31.[5]
^[b] Due to COVID-19 management requirements in response to positive tests and subsequent quarantine of individuals within the Florida program, the LSU game was moved from October 17 to December 12.[6]

[7]

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
т = Tied with team above or below
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516Final
AP88*5534101010866666111013
Coaches88*663989855555111012
CFPNot released66677Not released

Game summaries

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Ole Miss

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Florida Gators at Ole Miss Rebels – Game summary
Period1234Total
No. 5 Florida1414131051
Ole Miss7771435

at Vaught–Hemingway StadiumOxford, MS

Game information
Uniform Combination
HelmetJerseyPants

South Carolina

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South Carolina Gamecocks at Florida Gators – Game summary
Period1234Total
South Carolina773724
No. 3 Florida141014038

at Ben Hill Griffin StadiumGainesville, FL

  • Date: October 3, 2020
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: Temperature: 76 °F (24 °C) • Wind: N at 6 miles per hour (9.7 km/h) • Weather: Partly cloudy
  • Game attendance: 15,120
  • Referee: Lee Hedrick
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Mark Jones, Dusty Dvoracek, and Marty Smith[9]
  • Boxscore
Game information
Uniform Combination
HelmetJerseyPants

Texas A&M

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Florida Gators at Texas A&M Aggies – Game summary
Period1234Total
No. 4 Florida14771038
No. 21 Texas A&M71071741

at Kyle FieldCollege Station, TX

Game information
Uniform Combination
HelmetJerseyPants

Missouri

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Missouri Tigers at Florida Gators – Game summary
Period1234Total
Missouri0701017
No. 10 Florida61414741

at Ben Hill Griffin StadiumGainesville, FL

  • Date: October 31, 2020
  • Game time: 7:30 p.m.
  • Game weather: Temperature: 76 °F (24 °C) • Wind: NE at 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h) • Weather: Clear
  • Game attendance: 12,049
  • Referee: David Smith
  • TV announcers (SECN Alt.): Mike Morgan, Hutson Mason, Taylor Davis[11]
  • Boxscore
Game information
Uniform Combination*
HelmetJerseyPants
  • For homecoming, the Gators wore throwback uniforms featuring blue helmets and jerseys based on those worn in the mid-1960s.[12]

Georgia

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Florida Gators vs. Georgia Bulldogs – Game summary
Period1234Total
No. 8 Florida14243344
No. 5 Georgia1477028

at TIAA Bank FieldJacksonville, FL

  • Date: November 7, 2020
  • Game time: 3:30 p.m.
  • Game weather: Temperature: 79 °F (26 °C) • Wind: ENE at 15 miles per hour (24 km/h) • Weather: Partly cloudy
  • Game attendance: 19,210
  • Referee: James Carter
  • TV announcers (CBS): Brad Nessler, Gary Danielson, Jamie Erdahl[13]
  • Boxscore
Game information
Uniform Combination
HelmetJerseyPants

Arkansas

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Arkansas Razorbacks at Florida Gators – Game summary
Period1234Total
Arkansas7771435
No. 6 Florida72872163

at Ben Hill Griffin StadiumGainesville, FL

Game information
Uniform Combination*
HelmetJerseyPants

Vanderbilt

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Florida Gators at Vanderbilt Commodores – Game summary
Period1234Total
No. 6 Florida71014738
Vanderbilt1007017

at Vanderbilt StadiumNashville, TN

  • Date: November 21, 2020
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: Temperature: 67 °F (19 °C) • Wind: SSE at 2 miles per hour (3.2 km/h) • Weather: Sunny
  • Game attendance: 1,147
  • Referee: Lee Hedrick
  • TV announcers (ABC): Bob Wischusen, Dan Orlovsky, Paul Carcaterra[15]
  • Boxscore
Game information
Uniform Combination
HelmetJerseyPants

Kentucky

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Kentucky Wildcats at Florida Gators – Game summary
Period1234Total
Kentucky0100010
No. 6 Florida7717334

at Ben Hill Griffin StadiumGainesville, FL

  • Date: November 28, 2020
  • Game time: 12:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: Temperature: 75 °F (24 °C) • Wind: NE at 8 miles per hour (13 km/h) • Weather: Partly cloudy
  • Game attendance: 14,453
  • Referee: David Smith
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Mark Jones, Dusty Dvoracek, and Marty Smith[16]
  • Boxscore
Game information
Uniform Combination
HelmetJerseyPants

Tennessee

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Florida Gators at Tennessee Volunteers – Game summary
Period1234Total
No. 6 Florida3147731
Tennessee0701219

at Neyland StadiumKnoxville, TN

  • Date: December 5, 2020
  • Game time: 3:30 p.m.
  • Game weather: Temperature: 51 °F (11 °C) • Wind: W at 7 miles per hour (11 km/h) • Weather: Sunny and clear
  • Game attendance: 22,943
  • Referee: Steve Marlowe
  • TV announcers (CBS): Carter Blackburn, Aaron Murray, Jenny Dell[17]
  • Boxscore
Game information
Uniform Combination
HelmetJerseyPants
LSU Tigers at Florida Gators – Game summary
Period1234Total
LSU71731037
No. 6 Florida71014334

at Ben Hill Griffin StadiumGainesville, FL

  • Date: December 12, 2020
  • Game time: 7:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: Temperature: 64 °F (18 °C) • Wind: NW at 2 miles per hour (3.2 km/h) • Weather: cloudy, 97% humidity
  • Game attendance: 16,610
  • Referee: James Carter
  • TV announcers (ESPN): Sean McDonough, Todd Blackledge, Todd McShay[18]
  • Boxscore
Game information
Uniform Combination
HelmetJerseyPants

Alabama

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Alabama Crimson Tide vs. Florida Gators – Game summary
Period1234Total
No. 1 Alabama142101752
No. 7 Florida107141546

at Mercedes-Benz StadiumAtlanta, GA

Game information
Uniform Combination
HelmetJerseyPants

Oklahoma

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Florida Gators vs. Oklahoma Sooners – Game summary
Period1234Total
No. 7 Florida3100720
No. 6 Oklahoma1714101455

at AT&T StadiumArlington, TX

Game information

Personnel

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Roster

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As of 24 January 2021[21]
2020 Florida Gators roster

Quarterbacks

Running backs

  •  6 Nay'Quan Wright – Freshman
  • 20 Malik Davis Junior
  • 21 Lorenzo Lingard – Sophomore
  • 24 Iverson Clement – Sophomore
  • 27 Dameon PierceJunior
  • 39 Michael Weir – Senior

Wide receivers

  •  0 Ja'Quavion Fraziars – Freshman
  •  1 Kadarius ToneySenior
  •  3 Xzavier Henderson – Freshman
  •  8 Trevon GrimesJunior
  • 12 Rick Wells – Senior
  • 15 Jacob Copeland Sophomore
  • 80 Trent Whittemore – Freshman
  • 82 Ja'Markis Weston – Freshman
  • 86 Jordan Pouncey – Junior
  • 89 Justin Shorter Sophomore

Tight ends

  •  9 Keon Zipperer – Sophomore
  • 45 Clifford Taylor IV – Senior
  • 84 Kyle PittsJunior
  • 87 Jonathan Odom – Freshman
  • 88 Kemore Gamble – Junior

Offensive line

  • 51 Stewart Reese – Senior
  • 54 Gerald Mincey – Freshman
  • 55 Hayden Knighton – Freshman
  • 56 Jean DeLance – Senior
  • 61 Brett Heggie – Senior
  • 62 Griffin McDowell – Sophomore
  • 64 Riley Simonds – Freshman
  • 65 Kingsley Eguakun Freshman
  • 67 Richie Leonard – Freshman
  • 70 Michael Tarquin – Freshman
  • 72 Stone Forsythe Senior
  • 73 Mark Pitts – Freshman
  • 74 Will Harrod – Freshman
  • 75 T.J. Moore – Junior
  • 76 Richard Gouraige Sophomore
  • 77 Ethan White – Sophomore
  • 78 Josh Braun – Freshman

Defensive line

Linebackers

Defensive backs

  •  0 Trey DeanJunior
  •  2 Brad Stewart Jr. – Senior
  •  3 Marco Wilson Junior
  •  5 Kaiir ElamSophomore
  •  6 Shawn DavisSenior
  • 12 C.J. McWilliams – Senior
  • 13 Donovan Stiner – Senior
  • 14 Quincy Lenton – Senior
  • 16 Tre'Vez Johnson – Freshman
  • 21 Ethan Pouncey – Freshman
  • 22 Rashad Torrence II – Freshman
  • 23 Jaydon Hill – Sophomore
  • 24 Avery Helm – Freshman
  • 25 Chester Kimbrough – Sophomore
  • 26 Kamar Wilcoxson – Freshman
  • 27 Jahari Rogers – Freshman
  • 32 Mordecai McDaniel – Freshman
  • 38 Nick Oelrich – Senior
  • 39 Fenley Graham – Freshman
  • 43 Nicolas Sutton – Senior

Punters

  • 18 Jacob Finn – Senior
  • 26 Jeremy Crawshaw – Freshman

Placekickers

  • 19 Evan McPhersonJunior
  • 36 Zack Sessa – Freshman
  • 71 Chris Howard – Junior

Long snappers

  • 44 Brandon Becar – Graduate
  • 45 Marco Ortiz – Sophomore
  • 48 Brett DioGuardi – Senior

Athletes

  • 13 Kyle Engel – Freshman
  • 17 Kahleil Jackson – Freshman
  • 18 Jack Anders – Freshman
  • 19 Jack Ruskell – Junior
  • 25 Erik Askeland – Junior
  • 29 Khamal Ellison – Junior
  • 29 Isaac Ricks – Junior
  • 31 Chase DeMichele – Sophomore
  • 32 N'Jhari Jackson – Freshman
  • 33 Daniel Cross – Sophomore
  • 35 William Sawyer – Freshman
  • 36 Trey Thompson – Junior
  • 37 Patrick Moorer – Junior
  • 37 Tyler Waxman – Freshman
  • 42 Quaylin Crum – Junior
  • 42 Jaylin Jackson – Sophomore
  • 43 Nicolas Sutton – Junior
  • 46 John Brady – Freshman
  • 47 Justin Pelic – Freshman
  • 47 Austin Perry – Junior
  • 53 Chase Whitfield – Freshman
  • 57 Coleman Crozier – Sophomore
  • 83 Joshua Tse – Junior
  • 85 Kevin Johnson – Sophomore
  • 96 Travis Freeman – Freshman
  • Redshirt
  • Injury

Coaching staff

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NamePositionJoined staff
Dan MullenHead coach2018
Todd GranthamDefensive coordinator2018
Brian JohnsonOffensive coordinator / quarterbacks2018
Tim BrewsterAssistant head coach / Tight ends2020
John HevesyRunning game coordinator / offensive line2018
Billy GonzalesPassing game coordinator / Wide receivers2018
Greg KnoxRunning backs / Special teams coordinator2018
Ron EnglishSafeties2018
Torrian GrayCornerbacks2019
David TurnerDefensive line2019
Christian RobinsonLinebackers2018
Nick SavageDirector of strength and conditioning2018
Stephen AdegokeGraduate assistant2019

Players drafted into the NFL

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RoundPickPlayerPositionNFL club
14Kyle PittsTEAtlanta Falcons
120Kadarius ToneyWRNew York Giants
264Kyle TraskQBTampa Bay Buccaneers
4136Marco WilsonCBArizona Cardinals
5149Evan McPhersonKCincinnati Bengals
5165Shawn DavisSIndianapolis Colts
5173Tedarrell SlatonDTGreen Bay Packers
6208Stone ForsytheOTSeattle Seahawks

References

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  1. ^ "Preseason SEC media poll, All-SEC Team announced". SECSports.com. Southeastern Conference. September 23, 2020.
  2. ^ Talty, John. "SEC moves to conference-only 2020 schedule, pushes back start of season". AL.com. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  3. ^ Dellenger, Ross. "Sources: SEC Adopts Conference-Only Schedule With Sept. 26 Start". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  4. ^ Cobb, David; Sallee, Barrett (September 11, 2020). "SEC football stadium attendance: All 14 league schools establish caps on capacity for 2020 season". CBSSports.com. CBS Sports. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  5. ^ SEC Announces Football Schedule Changes
  6. ^ LSU at Florida Football Game Postponed
  7. ^ "2020 Football Schedule". floridagators.com. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
  8. ^ MISS Pregame
  9. ^ SCAR Pregame
  10. ^ TAMU Pregame
  11. ^ MIZZ Pregame
  12. ^ "Gators to wear 1960s Throwback Uniforms vs. Missouri". gatorsports.com. Gainesville Sun. October 26, 2020. Retrieved November 9, 2020.
  13. ^ UGA Pregame
  14. ^ ARK Pregame
  15. ^ VAN Pregame
  16. ^ KEN Pregame
  17. ^ TENN Pregame
  18. ^ LSU Pregame
  19. ^ ALA Pregame
  20. ^ ESPN Commentators Set for New Year’s Six, College Football Playoff Semifinals
  21. ^ "2020 Football Roster". Florida Gators. Retrieved January 24, 2021.