# 2011 Florida Gators football team

The 2011 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2011 college football season. The Gators competed in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They played their home games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus, and were led by first-year head coach Will Muschamp. Muschamp coached the Gators to a third-place finish in the SEC East, a 3–5 conference record, a 24–17 Gator Bowl victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes, and an overall win–loss record of 7–6 (.539).

## Schedule

| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 3 | Florida Atlantic* | No. 22 | Ben Hill Griffin StadiumGainesville, FL | ESPNU | W 41–3 | 88,708 |
| September 10 | UAB* | No. 18 | Ben Hill Griffin StadiumGainesville, FL | FSN | W 39–0 | 87,473 |
| September 17 | Tennessee | No. 16 | Ben Hill Griffin StadiumGainesville, FL (rivalry) | CBS | W 33–23 | 90,744 |
| September 24 | at Kentucky | No. 15 | Commonwealth StadiumLexington, KY (rivalry) | ESPN | W 48–10 | 65,134 |
| October 1 | No. 3 Alabama | No. 12 | Ben Hill Griffin StadiumGainesville, FL (rivalry) | CBS | L 10–38 | 90,888 |
| October 8 | at No. 1 LSU | No. 17 | Tiger StadiumBaton Rouge, LA (rivalry) | CBS | L 11–41 | 93,022 |
| October 15 | at No. 24 Auburn | | Jordan–Hare StadiumAuburn, AL (rivalry) | ESPN | L 6–17 | 87,451 |
| October 29 | vs. No. 22 Georgia | | EverBank FieldJacksonville, FL (rivalry) | CBS | L 20–24 | 84,524 |
| November 5 | Vanderbilt | | Ben Hill Griffin StadiumGainesville, FL | SECN | W 26–21 | 90,144 |
| November 12 | at No. 15 South Carolina | | Williams–Brice StadiumColumbia, SC | CBS | L 12–17 | 80,250 |
| November 19 | No. 24 (FCS) Furman* | | Ben Hill Griffin StadiumGainesville, FL | PPV | W 54–32 | 84,674 |
| November 26 | Florida State* | | Ben Hill Griffin StadiumGainesville, FL (rivalry) | ESPN2 | L 7–21 | 90,798 |
| January 2, 2012 | vs. Ohio State* | | EverBank FieldJacksonville, FL (Gator Bowl) | ESPN2 | W 24–17 | 61,312 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game |||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | 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 | Final |
| AP | 22 | 18 | 16 | 15 | 12 | 17 | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Coaches | 23 | 18 | 17 | 15 | 12 | 18 | RV | — | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Harris | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 25 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not released |
| BCS | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Not released |

## Game summaries
### Florida Atlantic

Will Muschamp's debut as head coach for Florida was a success as the Gators defeated the Owls 41–3.
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Florida Atlantic | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| • Florida | 10 | 14 | 7 | 10 | 41 |

### UAB

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| UAB | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • Florida | 13 | 12 | 14 | 0 | 39 |

### Tennessee

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Tennessee | 0 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 23 |
| • Florida | 10 | 6 | 14 | 3 | 33 |

### Kentucky

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Florida | 21 | 10 | 10 | 7 | 48 |
| Kentucky | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 |

### Alabama

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Alabama | 10 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 38 |
| Florida | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |

### LSU

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Florida | 0 | 3 | 8 | 0 | 11 |
| • LSU | 14 | 10 | 3 | 14 | 41 |

### Auburn

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Florida | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| • Auburn | 7 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 17 |

### Georgia

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Georgia | 0 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
| Florida | 7 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 20 |

### Vanderbilt

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Vanderbilt | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 21 |
| • Florida | 0 | 17 | 3 | 6 | 26 |

### South Carolina

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Florida | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 12 |
| • South Carolina | 0 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 17 |

### Furman

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Furman | 22 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 32 |
| • Florida | 7 | 20 | 10 | 17 | 54 |

### Florida State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Florida State | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| Florida | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |

### Gator Bowl

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Ohio State | 0 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
| • Florida | 7 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 24 |

## Players
### Depth chart

Projected starters and primary backups versus Florida Atlantic.
Defense :
* FS
* De'Ante Saunders
* Josh Evans
| WLB | MLB | SLB |
| ⋅ | Jon Bostic | ⋅ |
| Dee Finley | Michael Taylor | ⋅ |
* SS
* Matt Elam
* Joshua Shaw
* CB
* Jeremy Brown
* Marcus Roberson
| DE | DT | DT | DE |
| Ronald Powell | Dominique Easley | Jaye Howard | Sharrif Floyd |
| Kedric Johnson | Leon Orr | Omar Hunter | William Green |
* CB
* Cody Riggs
* Moses Jenkins
Offense :
* WR
* Quinton Dunbar
* Andre Debose
| LT | LG | C | RG | RT |
| Xavier Nixon | Dan Wenger | Jonnotthan Harrison | Jon Halapio | Matt Patchan |
| Chaz Green | Kyle Koehne | Dan Wenger | Nick Alajajian | Chaz Green |
* TE
* Jordan Reed
* Gerald Christian
* WR
* Deonte Thompson
* Frankie Hammond Jr.
* QB
* John Brantley
* Jeff Driskel
* RB
* Chris Rainey
* Jeffery Demps
* FB
* Trey Burton
* Hunter Joyer
* Special teams
* PK Caleb Sturgis
* P David Lerner
* KR Andre Debose
* PR Chris Rainey
* LS Drew Ferris

### Coaching staff

| Name | Current Responsibilities | Joined Staff |
| Will Muschamp | Head Coach | 2011 |
| Charlie Weis | Offensive coordinator Quarterbacks | 2011 |
| Dan Quinn | Defensive Coordinator | 2011 |
| D.J. Durkin | Linebackers Special Teams | 2010 |
| Aubrey Hill | Wide Receivers Recruiting coordinator | 2011 |
| Frank Verducci | Offensive line Running game coordinator | 2011 |
| Brian White | Running backs | 2009 |
| Derek Lewis | Tight ends | 2011 |
| Travaris Robinson | Defensive backs | 2011 |
| Bryant Young | Defensive line | 2011 |
| Coleman Hutzler | Special teams coordinator Linebackers | 2010 |

## Players drafted into the NFL

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL Club |
| 4 | 114 | Jaye Howard | DT | Seattle Seahawks |
| 5 | 159 | Chris Rainey | RB | Pittsburgh Steelers |