1982 Florida Gators football team

1982 Florida Gators football
Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, L 24–28 vs. Arkansas
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Record8–4 (3–3 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorMike Shanahan (3rd season)
Defensive coordinatorJoe Kines (2nd season)
Home stadiumFlorida Field
1982 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 4 Georgia $ 6 0 011 1 0
No. 11 LSU 4 1 18 3 1
No. 14 Auburn 4 2 09 3 0
Vanderbilt 4 2 08 4 0
Tennessee 3 2 16 5 1
Alabama 3 3 08 4 0
Florida 3 3 08 4 0
Mississippi State 2 4 05 6 0
Ole Miss 0 6 04 7 0
Kentucky 0 6 00 10 1
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1982 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1982 NCAA Division I-A football season. The season was the fourth for Charley Pell as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team. Pell's 1982 Florida Gators posted an 8–4 overall record and a Southeastern Conference (SEC) record of 3–3, tying for sixth place in the ten-team SEC.

The highlight of the season was a nationally televised September victory over Southern Cal in the Trojans' only visit to Florida Field. Gator linebacker Wilber Marshall had 14 tackles and 4 sacks in the 17–9 victory and was named national defensive player of the week on his way to All-American honors at the end of the season. On offense, the team was led by quarterback Wayne Peace, who set an NCAA record for completion percentage in a season (70.7%) running offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan's short passing attack.

Florida played six of their first seven games at home and rode their early season success into a No. 4 ranking in early October, which matched the highest AP poll placement in program history up to that time. However, close losses to LSU and Vanderbilt and a blow-out loss to arch rival Georgia knocked them out of the polls, and the Gators finished the season 8–4 after a loss in the 1982 Bluebonnet Bowl