The 1983 Gator Bowl was an American

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...

played on December 30, 1983, at

Gator Bowl Stadium The Gator Bowl was an American football stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. Originally built in 1927, all but a small portion was razed in 1994 in preparation for the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars' inaugural season; the reconstructed stadium became Jac ...

Jacksonville, FL Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

. The matchup featured the 10th-ranked

Iowa Hawkeyes The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 22 sports, 8 for men and 14 for women; a 15th women's sport will be added in 2023. The teams partici ...

of the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

and the 11th-ranked

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as t ...

of the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

. The Gators won, 14–6, to secure their first top 10 ranking in the season's final polls.

Teams

The 1983 Gator Bowl was the first meeting between the two programs.

Iowa

Florida

Game summary

Scoring summary

Team statistics

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 Box score
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References

{{Iowa Hawkeyes bowl game navbox Gator Bow Gator Bowl Florida Gators football bowl games Iowa Hawkeyes football bowl games December 1983 sports events in the United States