Gators running back Neal Anderson, center in orange shirt, rushed for 157 yards last time Florida played Tulane. (Photo: Jordan Perez/UAA Communications)
Carter's Corner: Florida-Tulane Gasparilla Bowl Matchup is First Meeting Between Schools Since Memorable 1984 Season
Sunday, December 8, 2024 | Football, Scott Carter
Share:
By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The 1984 Gators, the first team in program history to win an on-field Southeastern Conference championship, returned to Florida Field in mid-October to be recognized on the 40th anniversary of their memorable season.
Florida won its last nine games that season to finish 9-1-1 and ranked No. 1 in TheNew York Times computer poll. The Gators' first victory that season, following an 0-1-1 start, was a 63-21 home thrashing of Tulane.
The Gators and Green Wave have not met since. That streak ends on Dec. 20 when the two schools face off in the Gasparilla Bowl at Raymond James Stadium, announced Sunday afternoon.
We will have more in the next 12 days on the 2024 game between the former SEC rivals — Tulane was an original conference member from 1933-65. But for now, let's go back to that 1984 September afternoon when Florida hosted Tulane in the season's third game.
The Gators opened the '84 season in Tampa with a 32-20 loss to Miami in the first college football night game broadcast by ESPN. They tied LSU 21-all in the home opener a week later and then awaited a visit from the Green Wave as an NCAA investigation engulfed head coach Charley Pell and the program. Pell, who announced his resignation before the season, effective at the university's discretion, remained on the sideline as the investigation played out.
In the week leading up to the game, speculation swirled that the Tulane game would be Pell's last. Meanwhile, the Gators had arguably the most talented roster in the program's history, led by freshman quarterback Kerwin Bell and a backfield that featured Neal Anderson, John L. Williams and Lorenzo Hampton. Future NFL players dotted Florida's lineup on both offense and defense.
Despite the off-field turmoil, the Gators plowed ahead.
"The football team's mood is good,'' senior center Phil Bromley told the Tampa Tribune before the game. "We're taking it well. We had good practices, and we're going out on Saturday, and it's going to be game day and I don't think anybody is going to be thinking about NCAA violations and all those other things. We're going to be worrying about playing a good game."
The Gators proved Bromley correct, crushing an overmatched Tulane team that finished 3-8 as an independent. Afterward, Green Wave coach Wally English praised the Gators as one of the country's top teams.
"I've been coaching for 23 years, and that team physically might be the best football team I've ever coached against,'' English told reporters. "They're big, strong and aggressive. We physically couldn't handle them.
"It looked like a pro team playing against a small college."
Bell only played the first half and threw a pair of touchdowns (39 yards to Ricky Nattiel and 54 yards to Hampton). Anderson was the star of the day, rushing for 157 yards and three scores (1, 63 and 6 yards). Bobby Raymond nailed three field goals and gave way to Chris Perkins in the third quarter. Perkins responded by kicking a 60-yard field goal, which remains the longest in school history four decades later.
Gators coach Charley Pell, left, shakes hands with Tulane coach Wally English after a 63-21 win on Sept. 15, 1984, at Florida Field in Pell's final game as UF's coach. (Photo: Orlando Sentinel archives via Newspapers.com)
A dominant performance launched the Gators on the way to their historic season, including a 27-0 victory over Georgia and a 25-17 win at Kentucky to clinch the SEC title.
And it was the end for Pell, who coached his final game at Florida that afternoon. Assistant Galen Hall replaced Pell the next day and led the Gators to eight consecutive wins to close the season.
All these years later, anyone who followed the Gators closely at the time remembers a season unlike any other in school history. Florida's players somehow blocked out the distractions and answered every challenge on the field, starting against Tulane.
"We needed this very badly,'' Pell said afterward. "It has been a very difficult time. The players needed it, our coaches needed it, and even our coaches' children needed it."
Here is how Miami Herald reporter Gary Shelton, who later became a longtime columnist at the St. Petersburg Times, described the final scene as Pell and his wife, Ward Pell, departed the stadium behind the south end zone.
Pell's week was finally over. He shook hands in the dim, hot corridor. He started toward the team buses, Ward on one side and the patrolman on the other. Ward then changed sides, putting her left hand on his right forearm.
Together, they walked into the night, still Mr. and Mrs. Gator Coach.
The next day, they became Mr. and Mrs. Former Gator Coach.
