Familiar Bowl Foes: Florida vs Iowa, Part I - 1983 Gator Bowl

Monday, January 2

Tampa, FL

1PM

Florida Gators

Iowa

The '83 Gators Bowl was the final game for UF quarterback Wayne Peace (15), who left the school as the No. 2 passer in SEC history.

Familiar Bowl Foes: Florida vs Iowa, Part I - 1983 Gator Bowl

Sunday, December 25, 2016 | Football, Chris Harry

When the Gators and Hawkeyes kick off Jan. 2 in the Outback Bowl, they'll officially become each program's most frequent bowl game opponent.

By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida and Iowa, the states, don't have much in common. Let's start with the obvious: weather. The low in Iowa City on Christmas Day is expected to be in the high-30s, thanks to something of a warm front. In Gainesville, it'll bottom out in the low-60s, but jump into the 80s. How 'bout geography? Iowa is landlocked in the middle of the United States surrounded by rolling hills and cornfields, with the closest ocean 900 miles away. Florida? Well, you know.

We bring this up, obviously, because of football, with No. 20 Florida (8-4) and No. 21 Iowa (8-4) set to square off Jan. 2 in the Outback Bowl at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla. By kickoff, many a Hawkeyes fan will be beet-red with sunburn, while the native Gators will be taking in just another Sunshine State day.

Again, not much in common at all, except for one interesting element regarding their football programs.

The moment toe meets leather and kicks off the bowl game, UF and Iowa will become each other's most common opponent in bowl games. Seriously. The Gators, in their 43rd bowl, will be facing the Hawkeyes for the fourth time, pushing them past the three meetings against Maryland, Penn State and Michigan for tops on the list. For the Hawkeyes, it'll break a tie of three all-time bowls against Washington.

Also of note: Both teams are trying to grab winning all-time bowl records. UF is 21-21 in its history, Iowa 14-14-1.

The UF-Iowa postseason rivalry, if you will, began in the 1983 Gator Bowl, which was just the fifth bowl game in Hawkeyes history. The two didn't meet up for nearly 30 years, then butted heads twice in Tampa the next three years.

So over the next three days, we'll look back at each, starting with that first game on Dec. 30, 1983, when the Gators (8-2-1) went to Jacksonville having opened the season with a 28-3 upset of eventual national champion Miami and won seven of their last nine to climb to No. 10 in the polls. Iowa (9-2) came in ranked 11th.

To the time machine we go.

IN THE HEADLINES

With scant official encouragement but with the blessings of the mother of a captured American pilot, the Rev. Jesse Jackson began a trip to Damascus hoping a personal appeal could achieve the pilot's release "as a bold step toward peace." Jackson said he had "no signed contract" which would guarantee the release of Navy Lt. Robert O. Goodman Jr., who was wounded and captured Dec. 4 when his fighter jet was downed during a raid on Syrian gun positions in Lebanon's central mountains.
The last 5 percent chunk of President Reagan's four-step cut in federal income taxes was set to take effect Jan. 1, leaving the typical American with a 23 percent lower tax bite than when the program began Oct. 1, 1981.
Prince Charles and Princess Diana will visit to Italy in October of '84, their first tour together on the continent, Buckingham Palace announced.

IN THE THEATERS

"Scarface" -- starring Al Pacino
"Silkwood" -- starring Meryl Streep, Kurt Russell and Cher
"Uncommon Valor" -- starring Gene Hackman and Patrick Swayze

ON THE TUBE

"Dallas" — starring Larry Hagman, Patrick Duffy and Linda Gray
"Dynasty" — starring John Forsythe, Linda Evans and Joan Collins
"The A Team" — starring George Peppard, Dirk Benedict and Mr. T

ON THE RADIO
(Billboard's Top 3 songs of 1983)

"Every Breath You Take" by The Police
"Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson
"Flashdance ... What A Feeling" by Irene Cara

THE SETUP

The weather was relentless the days leading up to the game. The Hawkeyes might as well have stayed in Iowa City, where they could have gotten a lot more work done. Once in Jacksonville, rain and very cold temperatures limited the Hawkeyes to just one practice. UF managed to get in two.

"This is the least preparation I've ever seen a team have for a game -- even an all-star game," Iowa coach Hayden Fry said. "If we play well, it'll change the practice formula for every team in America."

UF coach Charley Pell echoed similar sentiments.

"I share Coach Fry's concerns," Pell said. "But we're healthy and I don't think the weather will amount to a hill of beans [game] night. Still, we're going to have as many heaters on the sidelines as we can get."

There was plenty of heat on the UF program, anyway. At the time, the Gators were the focus of a massive NCAA investigation into rules violations, but the coaches and players remained focused on the chance at taking an incredible step forward: the opportunity to finish a season with the highest ranking in school history.

Iowa brought a potent offense, led by quarterback Chuck Long and tailback Ronnie Harmon. Florida, a 3-point favorite, countered with the steady quarterbacking of Wayne Peace, No. 2 in SEC history in passing yards, along with two excellent running backs in Neal Anderson and John L. Williams, and a defense led by first-team All-America linebacker Wilber Marshall that allowed just 13.7 points per game and only once allowed more than 19 in a game.

THE GAME

UF's defense puts pressure on Chuck Long.

The weather may have been more suitable for Iowans, but the 39th Gator Bowl was all about the Gators finishing a season somewhere they'd never been before.

In the Top 10.

Anderson scored on a 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and backup linebacker Doug Drew recovered a fumble by Iowa's punter in the end zone in the second quarter, with those two first-half plays paving the way for Florida to upend Iowa 14-6 before a record Gator Bowl crowd of 81,293.

The outcome gave the Gators their ninth win of the season, tying the 1966, '69 and '75 squads for the most in school history. More significantly, Florida all but guaranteed a jump from its No. 11 spot into the Associated Press Top 10 final rankings for the first time in school history.

The Gators limited the Hawkeyes and Long, a likely candidate for the Heisman Trophy in '84, to just 13-of-30 passing, intercepted him four times and held Iowa's offense to just 281 yards.

UF was far from efficient on offense. The Gators totaled just 260 yards and had only one drive of more than 35 yards the entire game. Florida also had a Gator Bowl-record 13 penalties.

But that one early touchdown, coupled with the special teams play of the day -- Iowa punter Tom Nichol dropped a snap in the end zone, tried to pick it up, but lost the ball to Drew -- proved to be the difference.

THE QUOTES

"For some strange reason, it's not quite as cold as it was three hours ago."— Pell
"It was our night. [Chuck Long] was easy to read. When you've practiced against a Wayne Peace for four years, you don't get real scared about facing any other quarterback." — Florida safety Tony Lilly, named the game's MVP.
"It was a very frustrating game for us. We did not make the critical plays on offense. Our defense certainly gave us a chance to win by holding a fine Florida offense to one touchdown. You probably saw two of the better defensive teams in the nation out there. ... And Tom Nichol did the wrong thing in trying to pick up the muffed snap. He should have just fallen on the ball." — Fry
"That was my first [fumble] recovery, and I'm including Pop Warner, the works." — Drew
"We just didn't execute. Our passing game was way off. My night wasn't anything to write home about, but we went out a winner and that's the important thing. We won ugly, but we won." — Peace
"The younger guys know we can do it now. Florida's still going to be strong. They've got a lot of depth." — Marshall

EPILOGUE

The final 1983 AP poll placed Florida at No. 6, behind only national champion Miami, Nebraska, Auburn, Georgia and Texas. The Gators also finished sixth in the final UPI Coaches poll.