1983 Gator Bowl

1983 Gator Bowl
39th Gator Bowl Game
Iowa Hawkeyes Florida Gators (9–2) (8–2–1) 6 14 Head coach:  Hayden Fry Head coach:  Charley Pell AP Coaches 10 10 AP Coaches 11 11
1 2 3 4 Total Iowa 0 3 3 0 6 Florida 7 7 0 0 14
Date	December 30, 1983
Season	1983
Stadium	Gator Bowl Stadium
Location	Jacksonville, FL
MVP	Owen Gill (Iowa RB)[1] Tony Lilly (Florida S)[1]
Attendance	81,293
United States TV coverage
Network	ABC Sports
Announcers	Al Michaels and Frank Broyles

The 1983 Gator Bowl was an American college football bowl game played on December 30, 1983 at Gator Bowl Stadium in Jacksonville, FL. The matchup featured the #10 Iowa Hawkeyes of the Big Ten Conference and the #11 Florida Gators of the Southeastern Conference. The Gators won 14–6 to secure their first top 10 ranking in the final polls.

Teams

Iowa

Florida

Game summary

^[2]

Team statistics

	Iowa	Florida
First Downs	16	14
Rushing Yards	40-114	44-168
Passing	13-30-4	9-23-2
Passing Yards	167	92
Total Offense	281	250
Fumbles Lost	2-1	0-0
Punts-Average	2-40.0	7-38.0
Penalties	7-44	12-105

Individual leaders

Passing
Iowa: Long – 13-28, 167 yds, 4 INT
Florida: Peace – 9-22, 92 yds, 2 INT

Rushing
Iowa: Gill – 10 carries, 83 yds; Granger – 9 carries, 37 yds
Florida: Anderson – 17 carries, 84 yds, 1 TD; Williams – 10 carries, 68 yds

Receiving
Iowa: Harmon – 6 catches, 90 yds
Florida: Dixon – 5 catches, 55 yds

^[3]

References

1. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). "Bowl/All-Star Game Records: Most Valuable Players in Former Major Bowls" (PDF). 2012 NCAA Division I Football Records. NCAA.org. p. 90. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
2. "Gator Bowl to Florida, 14-6". New York Times. December 31, 1983. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
3. Box score