The 2000 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida as a member of the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 2000 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by 11th-year head coach Steve Spurrier, the Gators compiled an overall record of 10âÂÂ3 with mark of 7âÂÂ1 in conference play, winning the SEC's Eastern Division title. Florida advanced to the SEC Championship Game, beating Auburn to capture the conference championship. The Gators were invited to the Sugar Bowl, where they lost to the Miami Hurricanes. The team played home games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida.
September 30, 2000
The Florida Gators came into Davis Wade Stadium in Starkville, Mississippi ranked third in the nation. The unranked Mississippi State Bulldogs ran for 351 yards, 172 yards and a touchdown for Dicenzo Miller, and 156 yards and a touchdown for Dontae Walker. Bulldogs quarterback Wayne Madkin also ran for two touchdowns. The Bulldogs compiled 517 total yards of offense.
A frustrated Steve Spurrier rotated three quarterbacks including Rex Grossman. Grossman went 13 for 16 with 231 yards and two touchdowns. All together, the Gators had 494 yards and four touchdowns through the air.
Mississippi State won the game 47âÂÂ35, breaking Florida's 72-game winning streak against unranked teams in front of a crowd of 43,816. After the game, the Mississippi State fans stormed the field and tore down the goal posts, parts of which ended up all over campus.