# 2000 Florida Gators football team

The 2000 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2000 NCAA Division I-A 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 their sixth SEC championship, a Sugar Bowl berth, and an overall win–loss record of 10–3 (.769). The season was the team's eleventh of twelve under Spurrier.

## Schedule

| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 2 | Ball State* | No. 9 | Ben Hill Griffin StadiumGainesville, FL | PPV | W 40–19 | 85,095 |
| September 9 | Middle Tennessee* | No. 8 | Ben Hill Griffin StadiumGainesville, FL | PPV | W 55–0 | 84,311 |
| September 16 | at No. 11 Tennessee | No. 6 | Neyland StadiumKnoxville, TN (rivalry, College GameDay) | CBS | W 27–23 | 108,768 |
| September 23 | Kentucky | No. 3 | Ben Hill Griffin StadiumGainesville, FL (rivalry) | CBS | W 59–31 | 85,319 |
| September 30 | at Mississippi State | No. 3 | Scott FieldStarkville, MS | CBS | L 35–47 | 43,816 |
| October 7 | LSU | No. 12 | Ben Hill Griffin StadiumGainesville, FL (rivalry) | JPS | W 41–9 | 85,365 |
| October 14 | No. 19 Auburn | No. 10 | Ben Hill Griffin StadiumGainesville, FL (rivalry) | CBS | W 38–7 | 85,710 |
| October 28 | vs. No. 13 Georgia | No. 8 | Alltel StadiumJacksonville, FL (rivalry) | CBS | W 34–23 | 84,404 |
| November 4 | at Vanderbilt | No. 6 | Vanderbilt StadiumNashville, TN | JPS | W 43–21 | 32,714 |
| November 11 | No. 21 South Carolina | No. 5 | Ben Hill Griffin StadiumGainesville, FL | CBS | W 41–21 | 85,718 |
| November 18 | at No. 3 Florida State* | No. 4 | Doak Campbell StadiumTallahassee, FL (rivalry, College GameDay) | ABC | L 7–30 | 83,042 |
| December 2 | vs. No. 18 Auburn | No. 7 | Georgia DomeAtlanta, GA (SEC Championship)) | ABC | W 28–6 | 73,427 |
| January 2, 2001 | vs. No. 2 Miami (FL)* | No. 7 | Louisiana SuperdomeNew Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl, rivalry) | ABC | L 20–37 | 64,407 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game ||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = First-place votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| AP | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 3 (1) | 12 | 10 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 10 |
| Coaches Poll | 7 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 11 |
| BCS | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 7 | Not released |

## Game summaries
### Ball State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Ball St | 7 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 19 |
| • No. 9 Florida | 12 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 40 |

### Middle Tennessee St.

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Middle Tennessee State | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| No. 8 Florida | 21 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 55 |

### Tennessee

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 6 Florida | 0 | 7 | 10 | 10 | 27 |
| No. 11 Tennessee | 3 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 23 |

### Kentucky

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Kentucky | 3 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
| No. 3 Florida | 10 | 28 | 14 | 7 | 59 |

### Mississippi State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| 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

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| LSU | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 9 |
| No. 12 Florida | 7 | 10 | 10 | 14 | 41 |

### Auburn

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 19 Auburn | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| No. 10 Florida | 14 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 38 |

### Georgia

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 8 Florida | 9 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 34 |
| No. 13 Georgia | 3 | 14 | 0 | 6 | 23 |
at Alltel Stadium • Jacksonville, Florida
* Date: October 28
* Game time: 3:30 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Sunny • 84 °F (29 °C) • Wind N 3 miles per hour (4.8 km/h; 2.6 kn)
* Game attendance: 84,404
* Referee: Rogers Redding
* TV: CBS
* Automated ScoreBook
Game information :
Florida
Rex Grossman 12/24, 152 yards, TD, 3 int
Robert Gillespie 15 rush, 79 yards, TD
Jabar Gaffney 8 rec, 138 yards, TD
Georgia
Quincy Carter 20/39, 240 yards, TD, 3 int 12 rush, 53 yards
Damien Gary 5 rec, 64 yards :
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | FLA | UGA |
| 1 | 6:36 | 12 | 61 | 5:28 | Georgia | 24-yard field goal by Billy Bennett | 0 | 3 |
| 1 | 5:23 | 4 | 73 | 1:13 | Florida | Jabar Gaffney 27-yard touchdown reception from Rex Grossman, Jeff Chandler kick no good | 6 | 3 |
| 1 | 0:10 | 12 | 40 | 3:20 | Florida | 37-yard field goal by Jeff Chandler | 9 | 3 |
| 2 | 5:23 | 2 | 5 | 0:47 | Georgia | Musa Smith 4-yard touchdown run, Billy Bennett kick good | 9 | 10 |
| 2 | 4:49 | 2 | 42 | 0:14 | Georgia | Musa Smith 1-yard touchdown run, Billy Bennett kick good | 9 | 17 |
| 2 | 0:30 | 3 | 26 | 0:39 | Florida | Robert Gillespie 14-yard touchdown reception from Jesse Palmer, 2-point pass good | 17 | 17 |
| 3 | 11:56 | 6 | 19 | 1:17 | Florida | 54-yard field goal by Jeff Chandler | 20 | 17 |
| 3 | 4:59 | 10 | 82 | 3:59 | Florida | Jesse Palmer 1-yard touchdown run, Jeff Chandler kick good | 27 | 17 |
| 4 | 9:50 | 12 | 65 | 5:40 | Georgia | Jasper Sanks 1-yard touchdown reception from Quincy Carter, Billy Bennett kick no good | 27 | 23 |
| 4 | 4:42 | 2 | 29 | 0:15 | Florida | Robert Gillespie 2-yard touchdown run, Jeff Chandler kick good | 34 | 23 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 34 | 23 |

### Vanderbilt

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 6 Florida | 10 | 7 | 19 | 7 | 43 |
| Vanderbilt | 7 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 20 |

### South Carolina

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 21 South Carolina | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| No. 5 Florida | 3 | 28 | 10 | 0 | 41 |

### Florida State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 4 Florida | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| No. 3 Florida State | 14 | 0 | 13 | 3 | 30 |

### SEC Championship Game

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 18 Auburn | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 6 |
| • No. 7 Florida | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 28 |

### Miami (Sugar Bowl)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 2 Miami | 10 | 3 | 14 | 10 | 37 |
| No. 7 Florida | 7 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 20 |

## 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.)