2001 Florida Gators football team

{{{year}}} [[{{{team}}} football]]
Ranking
Coaches	No. 3
AP	No. 3

2001 Southeastern Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Eastern Division
No. 4 Tennessee x		7	–	1					11	–	2
No. 3 Florida  %		6	–	2					10	–	2
No. 13 South Carolina		5	–	3					9	–	3
No. 22 Georgia		5	–	3					8	–	4
Kentucky		1	–	7					2	–	9
Vanderbilt		0	–	8					2	–	9
Western Division
No. 7 LSU xy$		5	–	3					10	–	3
Auburn x		5	–	3					7	–	5
Ole Miss		4	–	4					7	–	4
Alabama		4	–	4					7	–	5
Arkansas		4	–	4					7	–	5
Mississippi State		2	–	6					3	–	8
Championship: LSU 31, Tennessee 20
$ – BCS representative as conference champion % – BCS at-large representative x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

The 2001 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2001 college football season. The Gators competed in Division I-A of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and played their home games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus. They were coached by Steve Spurrier, who led the Gators to a 56–23 Orange Bowl victory over the Maryland Terrapins, and an overall win-loss record of 10–2 (.833). The season was the team's twelfth and last under Spurrier before his departure to the NFL. Qurterback Rex Grossman was Heisman Trophy runner-up. Grossman, receiver Jabar Gaffney and defensive end Alex Brown were consensus All-American. Brown's 33 sacks is still a school record for a career.

Schedule

9–1–2001Marshall*No. 1

• Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
• Gainesville, FL

ESPN2W 49–1485,445 9–8–2001Louisiana–Monroe*No. 2

• Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
• Gainesville, FL

PPVW 55–685,011 9–22–2001KentuckyNo. 2

• Commonwealth Stadium
• Lexington, KY

JPSW 44–1066,126 9–29–2001No. 21 Mississippi StateNo. 2

• Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
• Gainesville, FL

CBSW 52–085,579 10–6–2001No. 18 Louisiana StateNo. 2

• Tiger Stadium
• Baton Rouge, LA

CBSW 44–1592,010 10–13–2001AuburnNo. 1

• Jordan–Hare Stadium
• Auburn, AL

ESPNL 20–2386,063 10–27–2001No. 15 GeorgiaNo. 6

• Alltel Stadium
• Jacksonville, FL

CBSW 24–1084,401 11–3–2001VanderbiltNo. 4

• Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
• Gainesville, FL (HC)

JPSW 71–1385,052 11–10–2001No. 14 South CarolinaNo. 4

• Williams-Brice Stadium
• Columbia, SC

ESPNW 54–1784,900 11–17–2001No. 20 Florida State*No. 4

• Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
• Gainesville, FL

CBSW 37–1385,732 12–1–2001No. 5 TennesseeNo. 2

• Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
• Gainesville, FL

CBSL 32–3485,771 1–2–2002No. 6 Maryland*No. 5

• Pro Player Stadium
• Miami Gardens, FL (Orange Bowl)

ABCW 56–2373,640

Sources: 2012 Florida Football Media Guide, and GatorZone.com.

September 11 impact The annual rivalry game with Tennessee scheduled for September 15th, was rescheduled to the final week of the regular season as a result of the tragic events of September 11, 2001.

Coaching staff

• Steve Spurrier - Head Coach
• Jim Collins - Special Teams Coordinator, Outside Linebackers, Recruiting Coordinator
• Dwayne Dixon - Wide Receivers
• Jon Hoke - Assistant Head Coach, Defensive Coordinator, Secondary
• Lawson Holland - Running Backs
• Ricky Hunley - Defensive Line
• John Hunt - Offensive Tackles
• Jerry Odom - Inside Linebackers
• Jimmy Ray Stephens - Offensive Line, Run Game Coordinator
• Buddy Teevens - Assistant Offensive Coordinator, Tight Ends
• Rob Glass - Director of Strength and Conditioning

Season summary

Marshall

1 2 3 4 Total Marshall 0 0 6 8 14 • Florida 21 14 0 14 49 Date: September 1 Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Game start: 7:15 p.m. EST Television network: ESPN2

Louisiana-Monroe

1 2 3 4 Total La.-Monroe 6 0 0 0 6 • Florida 7 31 14 3 55 Date: September 8 Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Game start: 6:00 p.m. EST Television network: PPV

Kentucky

1 2 3 4 Total • Florida 7 9 14 14 44 Kentucky 0 3 7 0 10 Date: September 22 Location: Commonwealth Stadium Game start: 12:30 p.m. EST Television network: JP

Mississippi State

1 2 3 4 Total Miss St 0 0 0 0 0 • Florida 21 14 7 10 52 Date: September 29 Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Game start: 3:30 p.m. EST Television network: CBS

LSU

1 2 3 4 Total • Florida 21 6 3 14 44 LSU 3 6 0 6 15 Date: October 6 Location: Tiger Stadium Game start: 2:30 p.m. EST Television network: CBS

Auburn

1 2 3 4 Total Florida 3 3 7 7 20 • Auburn 3 7 0 13 23 Date: October 13 Location: Jordan–Hare Stadium Game start: 6:45 p.m. EST Television network: ESPN

Georgia

1 2 3 4 Total Georgia 3 7 0 0 10 • Florida 10 7 0 7 24 Date: October 27 Location: ALLTEL Stadium Game start: 3:30 p.m. EST Television network: CBS

Vanderbilt

1 2 3 4 Total Vanderbilt 0 0 0 13 13 • Florida 24 13 28 6 71 Date: November 3 Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Game start: 12:30 p.m. EST Television network: JP

South Carolina

1 2 3 4 Total • Florida 10 17 13 14 54 South Carolina 10 0 0 7 17 Date: November 10 Location: Williams–Brice Stadium Game start: 7:45 p.m. EST Television network: ESPN

Florida State

1 2 3 4 Total Florida St 0 3 3 7 13 • Florida 7 13 7 10 37 Date: November 17 Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Game start: 8:00 p.m. EST Television network: CBS

Tennessee

1 2 3 4 Total • Tennessee 14 0 7 13 34 Florida 0 20 3 9 32 Date: December 1 Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Game start: 4:30 p.m. EST Television network: CBS

Orange Bowl

1 2 3 4 Total • Florida 14 14 21 7 56 Maryland 7 3 0 13 23 Date: January 2 Location: Pro Player Stadium Game start: 8:00 p.m. EST Game attendance: 73,640 Referee: James Sprenger Television network: ABC

Statistics

• QB Rex Grossman: 279/423 (66.0%) for 4,144 yards (9.80 YPA) with 38 TD vs. 12 INT (2.84%)
• QB Brock Berlin: 47/79 (59.5%) for 679 yards (8.59 YPA) with 10 TD vs. 3 INT (3.80%)
• RB Earnest Graham: 141 carries for 799 yards (5.67 YPC) with 11 TD. 12 catches for 129 yards (10.75 YPC) with 0 TD.
• RB Robert Gillespie: 98 carries for 458 yards (4.67 YPC) with 2 TD. 45 catches for 474 yards (10.53 YPC) with 2 TD.
• WR Jabar Gaffney: 74 catches for 1,309 yards (17.69 YPC) with 15 TD.
• WR Reche Caldwell: 69 catches for 1,106 yards (16.03 YPC) with 10 TD.
• WR Taylor Jacobs: 48 catches for 882 yards (18.38 YPC) with 9 TD.
• K Jeff Chandler: 19 FGM and 54 XPM.

See also

• Auburn–Florida football rivalry
• Florida–Florida State football rivalry
• Florida Gators
• Florida–Georgia football rivalry
• Florida–LSU football rivalry
• Florida–Tennessee football rivalry
• History of the University of Florida

Bibliography

• 2009 Southeastern Conference Football Media Guide, Florida Year-by-Year Records, Southeastern Conference, Birmingham, Alabama, p. 60 (2009).
• 2012 Florida Football Media Guide, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 107–116 (2012).
• Carlson, Norm, University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators, Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). ISBN 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). ISBN 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). ISBN 1-58261-514-4.

External links

• College Football Data Warehouse, Florida Yearly Results: 2000–2004. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
• CollegeFootballPoll.com, Polls 1936–Present. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
• GatorZone.com, Florida Gators football schedule. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
• GatorZone.com, Florida Gators 2001 Coaching Staff. Retrieved September 16, 2012.
• SportsIllustrated.com, 2001 Florida Gators football statistics. Retrieved September 16, 2012.