| Year: | 2018 |
| Team: | Florida Gators |
| Sport: | football |
| Logo Alt: | Florida Gators logo |
| Conference: | Southeastern Conference |
| Division: | Eastern Division |
| Short Conf: | SEC |
| Coachrank: | 6 |
| Aprank: | 7 |
| Record: | 10–3 |
| Conf Record: | 5–3 |
| Head Coach: | Dan Mullen |
| Hc Year: | 1st |
| Cooff Coach1: | Billy Gonzales |
| Cooc1 Year: | 1st |
| Cooff Coach2: | John Hevesy |
| Cooc2 Year: | 1st |
| Def Coach: | Todd Grantham |
| Dc Year: | 1st |
| Off Scheme: | Spread |
| Def Scheme: | 3–4 |
| Stadium: | Ben Hill Griffin Stadium |
| Champion: | Peach Bowl champion |
| Bowl: | Peach Bowl |
| Bowl Result: | W 41–15 vs. Michigan |
The 2018 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Gators played their home games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida. Florida played as a member of the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). They were led by first-year head coach Dan Mullen.
Florida, coming off a 4–7 season in 2017, began the year unranked. In the second game of the season, not only did the team lose to Kentucky for the first time since 1986, but they also lost to them at home for the first time since 1979, snapping a 31-game winning streak in the series.[1] Florida won its next five games, including on the road against No. 23 Mississippi State and at home against No. 5 LSU, rising to ninth in the AP Poll. They then lost two games to No. 7 Georgia and Missouri and ended the conference regular season tied for second in the SEC East Division at 5–3. After closing the regular season by defeating rival Florida State, they were invited to the Peach Bowl, where they defeated No. 8 Michigan by a score of 41–15. The team finished with an overall record of 10–3, and in the season's final AP Poll, the team was ranked in a tie for seventh, the highest finish for the school since 2009.
The team was led on offense by redshirt sophomore quarterback Feleipe Franks, who finished with 2,457 passing yards, 24 passing touchdowns, and 7 rushing touchdowns. His 31 total touchdowns was tied for third in the Southeastern Conference.[2] Running backs La'Mical Perine and Jordan Scarlett finished with 826 and 776 yards, respectively. Defensively, the team was led by defensive end Jachai Polite, who finished with 20 tackles for loss and was named first-team All-SEC.
Listed in the order that they were released
| Lott Trophy[3] | C. J. Gardner-Johnson | DB | JR | |
| Rimington Trophy[4] | T. J. McCoy | C | JR | |
| Chuck Bednarik Award[5] | David Reese | LB | JR | |
| Butkus Award[6] | David Reese | LB | JR | |
| Bronko Nagurski Trophy[7] | Cece Jefferson | DE | SR | |
| David Reese | LB | JR | ||
| Outland Trophy[8] | Martez Ivey | OL | SR | |
| Wuerffel Trophy[9] | Fred Johnson | OL | SR | |
| Ted Hendricks Award[10] | Cece Jefferson | DE | SR | |
| Jabari Zuniga | DE | JR | ||
| Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award[11] | Tyrie Cleveland | WR | JR |
The SEC media poll was released on July 20, 2018, with the Gators predicted to finish third in the East Division.[12]
| Media poll (East) | |||
| 1 | Georgia | 1,977 (271) | |
| 2 | South Carolina | 1,535 (8) | |
| 3 | Florida | 1,441 (4) | |
| 4 | Missouri | 1,057 | |
| 5 | Kentucky | 874 (1) | |
| 6 | Tennessee | 704 (1) | |
| 7 | Vanderbilt | 392 | |
The Gators had eight players selected to the preseason all-SEC teams.
Offense
1st team
Martez Ivey – OL
3rd team
Jordan Scarlett – RB
Defense
1st team
CeCe Jefferson – DL
2nd team
C. J. Henderson – DB
3rd team
David Reese – LB
Marco Wilson – DB
Specialists
3rd team
Kadarius Toney – all purpose player
See also: 2018 Charleston Southern Buccaneers football team.
See also: 2018 Kentucky Wildcats football team.
See also: 2018 Colorado State Rams football team.
See also: 2018 Tennessee Volunteers football team and Florida–Tennessee football rivalry.
See also: 2018 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team.
See also: 2018 LSU Tigers football team and Florida–LSU football rivalry.
See also: 2018 Vanderbilt Commodores football team.
See also: 2018 Georgia Bulldogs football team and Florida–Georgia football rivalry.
See also: 2018 Missouri Tigers football team.
See also: 2018 South Carolina Gamecocks football team.
See also: 2018 Idaho Vandals football team.
See also: 2018 Florida State Seminoles football team and Florida–Florida State football rivalry.
See also: 2018 Michigan Wolverines football team and 2018 Peach Bowl (December).
| Name | Position | Joined staff |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | ||
| 2018 | ||
| John Hevesy | 2018 | |
| Billy Gonzales | 2018 | |
| 2018 | ||
| 2018 | ||
| 2018 | ||
| 2018 | ||
| 2018 | ||
| 2018 | ||
| Christian Robinson | 2018 | |
| Nick Savage | 2018 | |
The Gators signed a total of 19 recruits.
See also: 2019 NFL draft.
| 2 | 35 | OT | Jacksonville Jaguars | ||
| 3 | 68 | OLB | New York Jets | ||
| 4 | 105 | S | New Orleans Saints | ||
| 5 | 147 | LB | Buffalo Bills | ||
| 5 | 154 | RB | Carolina Panthers |
Source:[14]