The 2013 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2013 NCAA Division I FBS 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 the 2013 season was the Gators' third under head coach Will Muschamp. The Gators finished the season with a 4–8 overall win–loss record and finished 3–5 in the SEC and in fifth place in the SEC Eastern Division. The Gators suffered their first losing season since 1979 and did not play in a bowl game for the first time since 1990, when the program was on NCAA probation.

2013 recap Following their success in 2012, the Gators were ranked No. 10 in both major polls coming into the 2013 season. They opened with a 24–6 home win over Toledo, then fell 21–16 to in-state rival Miami in a game in which the Gators gained almost twice as many yards as the Hurricanes but committed 5 turnovers, including a crucial late interception in the red zone.

The Gators next beat the SEC rival Tennessee Volunteers at home but lost starting quarterback Jeff Driskel for the rest of the season with a broken leg. Tyler Murphy finished the Tennessee game at quarterback and garnered praise for his play in consecutive wins over Kentucky and Arkansas, at which point the team's record was 4–1.

The offense was held to just two field goals in the next game, a 17–6 loss at No. 10 LSU. This contest would start several negative trends, as the Gators ended the season on a seven-game losing streak in which the offense struggled mightily while major injuries ended the season for a dozen starting players, including Tyler Murphy and defensive leader Dominique Easley.

For the first time since the winless 1979 team, the Gators finished the 2013 season with a losing record. Several other streaks were broken, including 22 consecutive seasons going to a bowl game and a 22-game win streak against Vanderbilt. With a November loss to Georgia Southern, Florida suffered its first-ever defeat to a lower division teamGSU Recap and its first loss to a current FCS team since the winless 1946 Gators lost to Villanova.GSU story The Gator offense was ranked 112th nationally.

Despite calls from the fanbase to fire Will Muschamp for the team's performance, UF athletic director Jeremy Foley repeated several times that he would remain the Gators head coach through 2014. However, offensive coordinator Brent Pease and offensive line coach Tim Davis were fired on the day after the season finale. Muschamp hired Kurt Roper as the new offensive coordinator.

Schedule

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Rankings

The Gators fell out of the AP Top 25 on October 20 for the first time since the final rankings of the 2011 season, when they won the Gator Bowl, following their third loss of the season to Missouri on October 19.

Roster 2013 Florida Gators rosterQuarterbacks 6 Jeff Driskel – junior 3 Tyler Murphy – junior 17 Skyler Mornhinweg – freshman 14 Chris Wilkes – Freshman 9 Jacob Guy – freshman 19 Ryan McGriff – sophomore 12 Max Staver – freshman 13 Christian Provancha – junior 15 Ryan Parrish – junior

Running backs 24 Matt Jones – sophomore (6'2, 228) 33 Mack Brown – junior (5'11, 215) 21 Kelvin Taylor – freshman (5'10, 214) 22 Adam Lane – freshman (5'7, 205) 37 Mark Herndon – sophomore 10 Valdez Showers – sophomore

Full backs 41 Hunter Joyer – junior (5'11, 233) 25 Gideon Ajagbe – junior (6'2, 243) 29 Rhaheim Ledbetter – freshman

Wide receivers 1 Quinton Dunbar – junior (6'2, 194) 8 Trey Burton – senior (6'2, 224) 9 Latroy Pittman – sophomore (6'0, 207) 11 Demarcus Robinson – Freshman (6'2, 204) 4 Andre Debose – senior (6'0, 187) 81 Marqui Hawkins – freshman (6'1, 179) 89 Alvin Bailey – Freshman (6'0, 170) 5 Ahmad Fulwood – Freshman (6'4, 200) 85 Chris Thompson – Freshman (6'0, 167) 30 Michael McNeely – junior 33 Chris Maignan – senior 45 Braxton Skinner – senior 81 Darius Masline – freshman 83 Solomon Patton – senior 86 Raphael Andrades – sophomore 87 A. J. Mobley – junior

Tight ends 18 Kent Taylor – sophomore 82 Bair Diamond – freshman 84 Colin Thompson – freshman 87 Tevin Westbrook – junior 88 Clay Burton – junior Offensive line 67 Jon Halapio – senior 70 D. J. Humphries – sophomore 72 Jonotthan Harrison – senior 76 Max Garcia – junior 75 Chaz Green – junior 73 Tyler Moore – sophomore 74 Trenton Brown – Junior 64 Kyle Koehne – senior 63 Trip Thurman – sophomore 50 Octavius Jackson – Freshman 71 Cameron Dillard – Freshman 55 Rod Johnson – Freshman 78 Quinteze Williams – freshman 77 Ian Silberman – junior 79 Matthew Fuchs – freshman

Defensive Line (NT)(DT) 2 Dominique Easley – senior (6'3, 286) 55 Darious Cummings – Junior (6'1, 309) 4 Damien Jacobs – senior (6'2, 286) 44 Leon Orr – junior (6'5, 310) 57 Caleb Brantley – Freshman (6'3, 304) 99 Jay-nard Bostwick – Freshman (6'4 291)

Defensive Line (DE) 90 Jonathan Bullard – Sophomore (6'3, 270) 94 Bryan Cox Jr. – freshman (6'3 260) 95 Alex McCallister – freshman (6'6 238) 91 Joey Ivie – freshman (6'3 263) 17 Jordan Sherit – Freshman (6'5 234) 45 Antonio Riles – Freshman (6'4 286) 57 Dakota Wilson – sophomore 97 Evan Holmes – sophomore Buck 6 Dante Fowler Jr. – sophomore (6'3 265) 7 Ronald Powell – junior (6'4 240) 95 Alex McCallister – freshman (6'6 238)

Linebackers 3 Antonio Morrison – sophomore 7 Ronald Powell – junior 11 Neiron Ball – junior 49 Darrin Kitchens – senior 51 Michael Taylor – junior 13 Daniel McMillian – Freshman 34 Alex Anzalone – freshman 9 Matt Rolin – freshman 40 Jarrad Davis – Freshman 28 Jeremi Powell – freshman 36 David Campbell – senior 38 Samuel Nowakowski – freshman 53 Cody Adams – sophomore

Defensive backs 5 Marcus Roberson – junior 15 Loucheiz Purifoy – junior 14 Jaylen Watkins – senior 1 Vernon Hargreaves III – Freshman 24 Brian Poole – sophomore 8 Jeremy Brown – senior

Safety 31 Cody Riggs – junior 20 Marcus Maye – freshman 21 Jabari Gorman – junior 22 Nick Washington – Freshman 42 Keanu Neal – Freshman 26 Marcell Harris – Freshman 21 Evan Schroeder – sophomore 22 Hugh Miles – sophomore 27 Ben Peacock – sophomore 30 Tim Clark – seniorPunters 4 Kyle Christy – junior 39 Todd Fennell – sophomore 40 Justin Vogel – freshman 42 Grant Van Aman – freshman 19 Johnny Townsend – freshman

Kickers 16 Austin Hardin – freshman 95 Francisco Velez – junior 97 Brad Phillips – senior

Long snappers 43 Kyle Crofoot – sophomore 46 Drew Ferris – junior

Coaching staff Name Current responsibilities Joined staffWill MuschampHead coach 2011Brent PeaseOffensive coordinator/quarterbacks 2012D. J. DurkinDefensive coordinator/linebackers 2010Jeff ChoateAssistant head coach, outside linebackers/special teams2013Joker PhillipsWide receivers/recruiting coordinator 2013Brad LawingAssistant head coach/defensive line2013Tim DavisOffensive line/running game coordinator 2012Travaris RobinsonDefensive backs 2011Brian WhiteRunning backs 2009Derek LewisTight ends 2011

Game summaries Georgia Southern

Statistics GASOFLA First downs 16 15 Total yards 429 279 Rushing yards 429 157 Passing yards 0 122 Turnovers 2 0 Time of possession 30:23 29:37 Team Category Player StatisticsGeorgia Southern Passing Kevin Ellison 0/3, 0 yards Rushing Jerick McKinnon 9 rushes, 125 yards, TD Receiving None Florida Passing Skyler Mornhinweg 14/25, 122 yards, 2 TD Rushing Kelvin Taylor 22 rushes, 92 yards Receiving Solomon Patton 4 receptions, 69 yards, 2 TD

Players drafted into the NFL

1 29 Dominique Easley DT New England Patriots 4 101 Jaylen Watkins CB Philadelphia Eagles 5 169 Ronald Powell OLB New Orleans Saints 6 179 Jon Halapio G New England Patriots

References