# 1973 Florida Gators football team

The 1973 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. The season was Doug Dickey's fourth as the Florida Gators football team's head coach. Dickey's 1973 Florida Gators finished with a 7–5 overall record and a 3–4 Southeastern Conference (SEC) record, tying for fifth among ten SEC teams.
The Tangerine Bowl was temporarily moved from Orlando to Gainesville as the completion of the Citrus Bowl expansion was delayed. The fans were greeted by a record cold snap, with gametime temperatures at 25 degrees Fahrenheit (minus-4 degrees Celsius); the cold weather benefited the visiting Miami Redskins, who won 16–7.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 15 | 7:30 pm | Kansas State* | No. 14 | Florida FieldGainesville, FL | | W 21–10 | 50,673 |
| September 22 | | vs. Southern Miss* | No. 15 | Tampa StadiumTampa, FL | | W 14–13 | 38,377 |
| September 29 | | at Mississippi State | No. 16 | Mississippi Veterans Memorial StadiumJackson, MS | | L 12–33 | 35,000 |
| October 6 | 8:30 pm | at No. 10 LSU | | Tiger StadiumBaton Rouge, LA (rivalry) | | L 3–24 | 66,974 |
| October 13 | 4:00 pm | No. 3 Alabama | | Florida FieldGainesville, FL (rivalry) | | L 14–35 | 64,864 |
| October 20 | 4:00 pm | Ole Miss | | Florida FieldGainesville, FL | | L 10–13 | 47,079 |
| November 3 | 1:30 pm | at No. 19 Auburn | | Jordan–Hare StadiumAuburn, AL (rivalry) | | W 12–8 | 63,429 |
| November 10 | 2:00 pm | vs. Georgia | | Gator Bowl StadiumJacksonville, FL (rivalry) | ABC | W 11–10 | 70,266 |
| November 17 | 2:00 pm | Kentucky | | Florida FieldGainesville, FL (rivalry) | | W 20–18 | 55,328 |
| November 24 | 7:30 pm | at Miami (FL)* | | Miami Orange BowlMiami, FL (rivalry) | | W 14–7 | 39,071 |
| December 1 | 2:00 pm | Florida State* | | Florida FieldGainesville, FL (rivalry) | | W 49–0 | 62,233 |
| December 22 | | vs. No. 15 Miami (OH)* | | Florida FieldGainesville, FL (Tangerine Bowl) | MTN | L 7–16 | 37,234 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||||

## Game summaries
### Kansas State
### Auburn

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Florida | 0 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 12 |
| Auburn | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 8 |
at Jordan–Hare Stadium, Auburn, AL
* Date: November 3
* Game attendance: 63,429
Don Gaffney made the start, becoming the first black quarterback in school history, and Florida won at Jordan–Hare Stadium for the first time.
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | FLA | AUB |
| 2 | | | | | Florida | Parker 22-yard touchdown reception from Gaffney, kick no good | 6 | 0 |
| 3 | | | | | Florida | Kendrick 5-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass no good | 12 | 0 |
| 4 | 0:00 | | | | Auburn | Gossom 1-yard touchdown reception from Walls, 2-point pass good | 12 | 8 |
| "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. | 12 | 8 |

### Vs. Georgia

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Georgia | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
| Florida | 3 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 11 |
at Gator Bowl, Jacksonville, Florida
* Date: November 10
* Game time: 2:00 p.m. EST
* Game attendance: 70,266
* TV: ABC
Game information :
First quarter
FLA – John Williams 28-yard field goal. Florida 3–0.
Second quarter
UGA – Appleby 15-yard pass from Johnson (Leavitt kick). Georgia 7–3.
Third quarter
No scoring
Fourth quarter
UGA – Leavitt 42-yard field goal. Georgia 10–3.
FLA – Lee McGriff 18-yard pass from Don Gaffney (pass good), 3:48. Florida 11–10. Drive: 13 plays, 80 yards.
Top receivers
FLA – Joel Parker – 3 receptions, 71 yards :

### At Miami (FL)

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Florida | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Miami (FL) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
at Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida
* Date: November 24
* Game attendance: 39,071

#### First quarter

** FLA – Vince Kendrick 14-yard run (David Posey kick). Florida 7–0. Drive: 7 plays.

#### Second quarter

** FLA – Joel Parker 7-yard pass from Don Gaffney (kick good). Florida 14–0. Drive: 4 plays, 17 yards.

#### Third quarter

** No scoring

#### Fourth quarter

** MIA – Phil August 40-yard pass from Ed Carney (Brian Selmer kick). Florida 14–7.
Florida's defense held the Hurricanes out of the end zone from the five-yard line with 33 seconds left in the game.

### Tangerine Bowl
## Awards and honors

Ricky Browne
* 1st Team All-SEC (AP)
David Hitchock
* 2nd Team All-SEC (AP)
Burton Lawless
* 2nd Team All-SEC (AP)
Lee McGriff
* 2nd Team All-SEC (AP)
Ralph Ortega
* 1st Team All-SEC (AP, UPI)
Jim Revels
* 1st Team All-SEC (AP)
Jimmy Ray Stephens
* 2nd Team All-SEC (AP)