History of Florida Gators football

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Main article: Florida Gators football

The history of Florida Gators football began in 1906, when the newly established "University of the State of Florida" fielded a

Deland and Mercer Bears from Macon. During the 1910s, Florida began playing a wider range of opponents from more established football programs across the southeastern United States and faced off against several future rivals - such as Georgia, Georgia Tech, South Carolina, and Auburn
- for the first time.

Florida's football program first rose to national prominence in the 1920s, when coach

Florida Field opened in 1930. Despite their new home stadium, Gator teams did not find much success on the field through the 1930s and 1940s and had only four winning seasons in those decades. The period did see the beginning of a long annual series with the Miami Hurricanes and the cancelling of a football season when the university did not field a team in 1943 due to World War II

The program began an upward trend in the 1950s under coach Bob Woodruff, whose 1952 team was the first in school history to win a bowl game. The 1950s also saw the beginnings of rivalries with Florida State and LSU. Coach Ray Graves continued the success in the 1960s, with the Gators appearing in the AP top ten rankings for the first time. His 1966 team won the school's first Orange Bowl with quarterback Steve Spurrier, the school's first Heisman Trophy winner. Florida football slipped in the late 1970s under head coach Doug Dickey but was rejuvenated under coach Charley Pell, whose 1984 team won the school's first conference title. However, the championship was later stripped due to NCAA infractions committed under Pell, who was fired.

The 1990s brought unprecedented success to Florida football under head coach Steve Spurrier, who returned to lead his alma mater to many firsts. The 1991 team won the first official conference title, the first of six SEC titles under Spurrier. The Gators won their first national championship in 1996, and quarterback Danny Wuerffel became the first Heisman winner to be coached by a Heisman winner when he won the award in that year. Coach Urban Meyer led Florida to two additional national championships in 2006 and 2008 with quarterback Tim Tebow, who was the school's third Heisman Trophy winner. After a decline for several seasons after Meyer's departure in 2010, Florida returned to top-10 rankings and major bowl games in 2018 and 2019 under former coach Dan Mullen.

The Gators have competed in the

Pee Wee Forsythe
in 1906.

Overview

See also: List of Florida Gators football seasons
Football team photo outside a building; some players are standing, and others are sitting on the steps.
The 1899 FAC team, the first football team from any of UF's predecessor institutions.

Early history (1906–1959)

The modern University of Florida (UF) was created in 1905 when the

Clemson, who was later the Gators' first coach).[12]

Team photo, with players in dress suits
1907 UF football team; Forsythe is second from left in the center row, and Shands is bottom right.

The University of the State of Florida was in

1908 team defeated Stetson at home and played a scoreless tie on the road. William A. Shands, future state senator and namesake of Shands Hospital, played on the 1907 and 1908 teams.[20] During these early years the Florida sports teams adopted their orange-and-blue team colors, reportedly a combination of school's predecessors: the blue and white of the FAC and the orange and black of the EFS.[13]

Tinted graduation picture
"Bo Gator" Storter

The new university's name was shortened to University of Florida in 1909, and

football team. The only blemishes that season were two games with Stetson: a loss on the road and a tie in Gainesville.[note 5] Pyle had a 26–7–3 (.764) record with the Gators, the third-winningest coach in school history.[22]

Serious-looking young man
Dummy Taylor

The 1910s saw the newly-named

Rex Farrior, faced the Alabama Crimson Tide and Tennessee Volunteers for the first time.[note 7] The ill-fated 1916 team lost every game, faced multiple transfers, began the season with an injury to Ramsdell and ended it with one to Farrior.[40] The Gators were shut out in all but the last game, a 14–3 loss to Indiana.[41]

Football player in uniform, crouching with arms and legs spread
Tootie Perry

After the winless 1916 season the Gators hired

Florida Southern was the first to a Florida opponent since Stetson in 1909 and was viewed as an unacceptable failure.[44] In 1920 the Gators hired William G. Kline, former halfback for the Illinois Fighting Illini who had coached the Nebraska Cornhuskers, as head coach.[45] Kline's first year saw an improved, 6–3 overall record but a 1–3 conference record. He upgraded the team for his second season, bringing in five players "from the University of Oklahoma and the western states."[46][note 8]

Football player in uniform, standing
Ark Newton

The 1921 Gators went 6–3–2 overall and 4–1–2 in the conference, including a 9–2 defeat of

Thanksgiving Day, the Gators defeated Wallace Wade's heavily-favored Alabama 16–6.[67] This, the Tide's only SoCon loss, gave the Gators their first national media coverage.[59][note 12] Halfback Edgar Jones scored all the Gator points, and Newton kicked long punts.[69][note 13]

Football sailing over the goalposts
1924 field goal at Fleming Field

The 1924 loss to Army was close, 14–7, with Newton returning the second-half kickoff 102 yards for the Gator touchdown.[72] Van Fleet swore biased officiating cost his Gators the victory.[73] The week after the loss to Army, the team was defeated by Mercer 10–0 after about 5,000 miles of travel in three weeks.[74] Florida was ranked second to conference champion Alabama.

Football player charging toward the camera
Edgar Jones

Led by new head coach

Rose Bowl berth.[84] The Florida players accused Tennessee of watering the field.[89]

Man sitting in suit and tie, with hair parted.
Dale Van Sickel

The 1929 Gators lost only to defending national champion

Florida Field (a 20–0 loss to national champion Alabama).[95] Winning four of 18 games over the next two seasons (1931 and 1932), Bachman ended his tenure on a high note in his final game with a 12–2 inter-sectional upset of the UCLA Bruins.[94] After the season, Bachman accepted an offer to become head coach of the Michigan State Spartans and was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.[96]

The 1930s and 1940s were difficult for the Gators. After posting a six-win season in 1934, Florida did not win more than five games in a season until 1952.[97]

Bleachers and lights, seen across a football field
Florida Field during the 1930s

In 1928

interceptions in a season (6) and a career (11).[33][note 19] According to one writer, "I have not seen a better back in six years than Mayberry ... Wallace Wade, Bernie Moore, and Harry Mehre all told me that Mayberry was the best back in the South, one of the best they have seen in half a dozen years and certainly the best that Florida has produced in a decade."[108] The 1938 Gators finished seventh of 13 SEC teams, Cody's best finish in the conference.[33] The season included the first meeting between the Gators and their in-state rival Miami Hurricanes. The team also lost at home to Temple 20–12 in the last game Pop Warner ever coached.[109]

Player crouching, one hand on the ground
Fergie Ferguson

Cody's finest moment as the Gators' head coach may have been the team's 7–0 upset of Frank Leahy's undefeated, second-ranked Boston College Eagles in 1939. Sophomore end Fergie Ferguson was the Gators' defensive star in the game.[110] Florida failed to win a conference game in 1939, and Cody left Gainesville with a 17–24–2 win–loss–tie record in four seasons to become an assistant coach at Temple University.[103]

Tom Lieb, who had most recently posted a winning record at Loyola, replaced Cody as head coach in 1940. Lieb, a former Notre Dame All-American, became Knute Rockne's top assistant in South Bend.[111] He assisted during the Fighting Irish 1924 national-championship season (with the Four Horsemen), and was the de facto head coach during Notre Dame's 1929 national-championship season when Rockne was ill.[112] Despite fans' early hopes for a return to a Bachman-like "Notre Dame system" and Lieb's previous success,[111] the Gators posted a 20–26–1 record in five seasons.[113] Lieb's best season was probably his first, in 1940, when the Gators defeated Georgia, Georgia Tech and Miami.[33] The 1941 season was disappointing, except for a 14–0 road upset of Miami and a hard-fought 14–7 homecoming victory against Georgia Tech. Georgia running back Frank Sinkwich played with a broken jaw as the Bulldogs romped over the Gators, 19–3.[114] However, Florida honored its second first-team All-SEC selection: senior end Fergie Ferguson, who led the team in points scored (36) and minutes played (420).[33] Ferguson also received honorable mention All-America honors from Grantland Rice in Collier's magazine.[115] The Fergie Ferguson Award is named in his honor. He caught both touchdowns in the win against Miami; according to the Miami Herald, the score was "Forrest Ferguson 14; University of Miami 0."[116]

Middle-aged man in a cap
Coach Bear Wolf of Florida's "golden era"

During the World War II years of

D-Day landings in France and died from complications of his injuries ten years later.[120]

Returning war

T-formation by 1948.[124] Several members of the Florida Board of Control and a number of Florida alumni called for Wolf to step down after the 1948 season, but player-led support rallies led to a one-year contract extension.[125] Gator running back Chuck Hunsinger was first-team All-SEC in 1948 and 1949, rushing for a career 2,017 yards.[33] In 1949, Hunsinger ran for 174 yards and three touchdowns in a 28–7 victory over Georgia.[126] Jimmy Kynes was a defensive standout, the last Gator player to play an entire 60-minute game.[33] The Gators lost their last three games, and Wolf's contract was not renewed.[127] Iconic cheerleader Mr. Two Bits attended his first home game during the 1949 season, beginning his 60-year tradition of leading Gator fans in the "two bits" cheer at Florida Field.[128]

Bob Woodruff in a suit, arms folded, leaning against a wall
Bob Woodruff

The Gators improved under coach

AP Poll ranking.[133] The Gators shut out Georgia 33–0 (their largest victory against the Bulldogs for almost forty years),[134] and national champion Georgia Tech needed a last-second field goal to defeat Florida. The Gators received their first bowl-game invitation, defeating the Tulsa Golden Hurricane 14–13 in the Gator Bowl on New Year's Day.[135] The team produced Florida's second first-team All-American: the walk-on former Army paratrooper Charlie LaPradd, the Gators' lightest tackle and one of their two captains.[136][note 21] Woodruff never equaled the success of his 1952 team, in part due to a 1953 NCAA rule change forbidding unlimited substitutions.[note 22] The 1953 season was a year of rebuilding and backsliding after LaPradd's graduation.[139] The 1954 Gators' record SEC win–loss record of 5–2, including a win against Georgia Tech and their first victory against Tennessee, was countered by five overall losses. The 1955 team played their only eight-game SEC schedule before the 1990s. In 1956, although the Gators produced first-team All-American guard John Barrow[33] and began the season with a 6–1–1 record, they lost the last two games to Georgia Tech and Miami.[33] The 1957 team upset Billy Cannon and the 10th-ranked LSU Tigers, finishing with a number-17 AP ranking.[140] In 1958, Florida produced first-team All-American tackle Vel Heckman[33] and ranked 14th despite a 6–4–1 record.[141] The season included a 12–9 upset of Miami and the first win against new in-state rival Florida State Seminoles (FSU). In a 5–6 loss to fourth-ranked Auburn, an injury to a Florida tackles led Woodruff to employ the unorthodox strategy of shifting Heckman between right and left tackle.[142] Bill Kastelz, the sports editor of the Jacksonville Times-Union, wrote: "Big, fast and tough, he outshone all of Auburn's great linemen."[143] According to Auburn coach Shug Jordan, "There should be a law to prevent things like that. We were supposed to run plays where Heckman wasn't, and he's there now."[144] Woodruff finished his Gator career with a 53–42–6 record.[145] Despite his success, UF president J. Wayne Reitz pressured him to resign after 1959.[146] Woodruff returned to his alma mater, Tennessee, in 1963 and was the school's athletic director for many years.[147]

Ray Graves era (1960–1969)

Ray Graves, on his players' shoulders
Graves is carried from the field by his players after the 1967 Orange Bowl victory.

Florida attained its first consistent success in the 1960s, when

Denny Stadium during Bear Bryant's 25 years at Alabama.[157] Before the game, Florida's defensive coordinator Gene Ellenson challenged his shaky team's manhood and they rose to the occasion.[156] The Gators won their last three games—against Georgia (21–14), Miami (27–21) and FSU (7–0)—to finish with a 6–3–1 record.[158]

Quarterback, crouched and waiting for the ball
Quarterback Steve Spurrier (11) against Georgia in 1966

The 1964 team, with sophomore quarterback Steve Spurrier and first-team All-American running back Larry Dupree, posted a 7–3 record and tied for second place in the SEC. They defeated Sugar Bowl bound, seventh-ranked LSU 20–6 in a game postponed until weeks after the season ended due to Hurricane Hilda.[159] The 1965 team was ranked 12th in the Coaches Poll and lost a close game to the Missouri Tigers in the Sugar Bowl, the Gators' first major-bowl appearance.[160] Spurrier was the game's most valuable player, the only MVP from a losing team in Sugar Bowl history.[161]

Carlos Alvarez running with the ball, guarded by another Gator
Receiver Carlos Alvarez (45) against Georgia, 1970

Graves fielded one of his best teams in 1966, finishing with a 9–2 record and defeating Georgia Tech 27–12 in the Orange Bowl (Florida's first major-bowl victory).[162] Halfback Larry Smith ran 94 yards for a touchdown while struggling to keep his pants up. His 187 yards rushing resulted in him being named the game's "Outstanding Player."[163] Spurrier won the Heisman Trophy[164] and was a unanimous All-American[165] after waving off Florida's kicker and booting a 40-yard field goal for a 30–27 victory against Auburn.[166] The 1967 Gators upset Georgia, which the 1966 team had not done. End Richard Trapp sparked a Florida comeback with a 57-yard touchdown catch-and-run. The Gators kicked a field goal with 34 seconds left to upset the Bulldogs, 17–16.[167] Graves signed Leonard George and Willie Jackson Sr., the Gators' first two black football players, on December 17 and 18, 1968.[1] Since the NCAA did not permit freshmen to play on varsity teams, Jackson became the first black player (and starter) for the Gators during the 1970 season[1] and Florida integrated black players into the team.[168] Graves' 1969 season (his last) is remembered for the "Super Sophs", which included quarterback John Reaves, All-American wide receiver Carlos Alvarez, and tailback Tommy Durrance's 110-point season scoring record.[77] The 1969 Gators also posted an alltime-best 9–1–1 record and a 14–13 Gator Bowl upset of SEC champion Tennessee.[169] The Gator Bowl was dominated by a Gator defense led by linebacker Mike Kelley (the game's MVP) and All-Americans: defensive back Steve Tannen and defensive end Jack Youngblood.[169] After the game, Graves resigned as head coach (with a 70–31–4 record) but continued as Florida's athletic director until 1979.[148]

Doug Dickey era (1970–1978)

Florida alumnus and former quarterback Doug Dickey took over as head coach in 1970, agreeing to a five-year contract.[170] Dickey was the head coach of Tennessee for the previous six seasons, winning two SEC championships and taking the Volunteers to five bowl games.[171]

Doug Dickey, in Florida shirt and cap
Doug Dickey

A colorful moment during the Dickey era was a play known as the "Florida Flop" or the "Gator Flop." In the last game of the 1971 regular season, the Gators led Miami 45–8 with less than two minutes left.[172] Victory was assured, and Florida senior quarterback John Reaves needed 14 yards to break Jim Plunkett's NCAA record for career passing yardage; Miami had the ball.[172] Several of Florida's defensive players convinced Dickey that the only way for Reaves to set the mark would be for Miami to score quickly.[173] Dickey refused twice before he agreed.[174] With the Hurricanes near the Florida end zone, the entire Gator defense except one player fell to the ground and allowed Miami to score a touchdown.[175] Florida then got the ball back, and Reaves completed a 15-yard pass to Carlos Alvarez for the record.[173] After the final whistle, jubilant Florida players jumped into a tank behind the Orange Bowl end zone usually used by the Miami Dolphins' mascot, "Flipper" and angry Miami coach Fran Curci refused to shake hands with Dickey.[174]

Beginning in 1972, for the first time since 1921,[176] freshmen were permitted to play on southeastern teams.[177] Dickey also brought in 12 African-American players.[177] The 1972 and 1973 Gators were spearheaded by running back Nat Moore.[33] Dickey's team peaked in 1974 and 1975. The 1974 Gators posted an 8–4 record (after a 7–1 start) and a Sugar Bowl appearance, a 13–10 loss. Dickey employed the wishbone offense for the first season in the Gators' history.[178] The 1975 Gators had a 9–3 record.[171] Sammy Green was a consensus All-American and Jimmy DuBose was SEC Player of the Year.[179] The 1976 and 1977 teams featured All-American wide receiver Wes Chandler, widely considered one of Florida's best all-around football players[180] and voted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2015.[181] The 1976 season opened with a 24–21 loss to North Carolina before Florida won six straight games. In the win against Auburn Chandler scored a touchdown on a short pass, running 64 yards through the Auburn defense.[182] When Chandler ran out of the end zone, Auburn's mascot (the War Eagle) jumped off its perch and began clawing his shoulder pads.[183] In the next game, against Georgia game, the Gators led 27–13 at halftime and an upset seemed possible. After Georgia scored midway through the third period, Dickey gambled on fourth down with one yard to go; his play failed. Florida never recovered, and Georgia won 41–27; the play became known as "Fourth and Dumb."[184] The Gators had a 6–4–1 season in 1977, and Chandler was 10th in balloting for the Heisman Trophy.[185] He resigned after a 4–7 season in 1978; unable to duplicate his success at Tennessee, the coach had a 58–43–2 record in nine seasons with the Gators.[171]

Charley Pell era (1979–1984)

Charley Pell was hired as Florida's new head coach for the 1979 season.[186][187] Pell had coached at Clemson, where he led the Tigers to a 10–1 record and an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championship in 1978.[187] Although he helped build Florida's football program, a public scandal and NCAA sanctions crippled it after his departure.

Two men holding trophies
UF president Marshall Criser and Galen Hall celebrating the 1984 season

The

Tangerine Bowl, the first time a winless team received a bowl invitation the following season. Pell's teams built on that success, leading Florida to seven wins in 1981, eight wins in 1982 and nine wins in 1983.[188] The 1982 team upset 10th-ranked USC, 17–9, in a nationally-televised game which helped return Florida football to national prominence.[190] The 1983 team finished sixth in the final AP Poll,[191] the highest final ranking in school history to date. The 1982 and 1983 teams included consensus All-American linebacker Wilber Marshall.[33]

Before the 1990s, Florida's

Several polls ranked the Gators as the best team in the nation.[194] Pell did not finish the 1984 season with the team. Due to reports of serious recruiting and other NCAA rule violations by the coach and his staff, he announced in August 1984 that he would retire at the end of the season. When school officials received a list of 107 major infractions from the NCAA in mid-September, however, university president Marshall Criser fired Pell.[195]

Galen Hall era (1984–1989)

Offensive coordinator Galen Hall, who had just arrived for the 1984 season and was not involved with the rule violations, was named interim head coach before the season's fourth game.[196] Hall rallied his players after a 1–1–1 start to win eight consecutive games for a 9–1–1 record (including an undefeated 5–0–1 SEC record), all but ensuring that he would become the permanent coach after the season. The SEC banned the Gators from the Sugar Bowl, and LSU went in their place.[197] Two weeks after the end of the season, the NCAA imposed two years of probation (a third year was suspended) and banned the Gators from bowl games and live television in 1985 and 1986. The most damaging sanctions in the long run were a limit of 20 new scholarships in 1985 and 1986 and a reduction to 85 total scholarships in 1985 and 75 in 1986.[198] In the spring of 1985, the SEC university presidents voted 6–4 to vacate the Gators' 1984 SEC championship.[199] Florida posted another 9–1–1 record in 1985, Hall's first full season as head coach, and was briefly ranked number one in the AP Poll for the first time in school history. The Gators finished the season atop the SEC standings, but were ineligible for the conference title. Although he never had a losing season, Hall's subsequent teams did not match his early success when the scholarship losses for Pell's violations took their full effect; his first two recruiting classes had only 25 players.[200] The unranked 1986 Gators upset the Auburn Tigers, 18–17. Kerwin Bell led the Gators to overcome a 17–0 fourth-quarter deficit in a game still considered one of the most dramatic in Florida Field history.[201]

The greatest player during Hall's tenure was All-American running back Emmitt Smith, who set school and conference rushing records from 1987 to 1989.[33][note 25] The Gators began the 1988 season with a 5–0 record, and were ranked as high as 14th.[203] During an October game against the Memphis State Tigers, Smith injured his knee and was unable to play for a month.[204] Florida lost that game and the next three, with the Gator offense unable to score a touchdown while Smith was sidelined.[205] Another NCAA infraction scandal would end Hall's tenure at Florida. In 1989, he admitted supplementing his assistant coaches' salaries with his own funds and was accused of paying child support-related legal expenses for one of his players, a charge he denied.[200] Interim university president Robert A. Bryan demanded Hall's resignation five games into the 1989 season.[206] Defensive coordinator Gary Darnell was interim head coach for the rest of the season. The NCAA imposed two years' probation and banned the Gators from bowl consideration in 1990. The NCAA deemed Hall's actions egregious enough that it would have banned the Gators from live television in 1990 if he had remained as coach.[207]

Steve Spurrier era (1990–2001)

Despite intermittent success, Florida had never been considered a consistent national power.[208] This changed in 1990, when Duke head coach Steve Spurrier returned to Gainesville as the Gators' "head ball coach".[209][210] Since his return, the Gators rank among the three Division I (FBS) programs with the most wins.[211] Spurrier is credited with changing SEC football. He used a pass-oriented offense (known in the media as "fun 'n' gun"),[212] in contrast with the ball-control, rush-oriented offense traditionally played in the conference.[213] Spurrier's Gators won four consecutive SEC championships (1993–1996), and he once said when the Gators posed for their championship photo: "This is our annual team picture."[214]

Orange bleacher wall reading, "This is ... THE SWAMP"
Spurrier called Florida Field "the Swamp"... "only Gators get out alive."

The 1990 Gators finished first in the SEC for the third time in their history, and for the third time they were ineligible for the SEC title because of NCAA probation. Just before Spurrier's Gator coaching debut, the Gainesville campus was rocked by the Danny Rolling murders.[215] Combatting the gloom, the 1990 Gators opened the season with a no-huddle, 80-yard touchdown drive in six plays to defeat the Oklahoma State Cowboys 50–7. In their second game, they came from behind to beat Alabama 17–13; the 1991 Gators defeated Alabama, 35–0. Spurrier treasured the wins against the Crimson Tide: "Those victories early – '90, '91 – really got us started there at Florida ..."[216] The 1991 Gators won the team's first official SEC championship, 59 seasons after joining the conference as a charter member. Quarterback Shane Matthews was SEC Player of the Year in 1990 and 1991.[179] The 1992 Gators won the first of five consecutive SEC Eastern Division titles. They lost the first SEC Championship Game to eventual national champion Alabama, 28–21.[217]

The 1993 season was the first in which the Gators were ranked in the AP top ten every week. In the second week, quarterbacks Danny Wuerffel and Terry Dean throw a total of seven interceptions against Kentucky.[218] With eight seconds left, Wuerffel threw a pass down the middle to walk-on receiver Chris Doering for the game-winning touchdown; Gator play-by-play announcer Mick Hubert shouted, "Doering's got a touchdown!"[219] The next week, Florida recovered and defeated Heath Shuler-led, fifth-ranked Tennessee 41–34 in a "shootout".[220] Auburn dropped the Gators to their lowest ranking (10th) of the season. Tied 35–35 late in the game, Auburn kicked a 41-yard field goal to win 38–35.[221] Florida's other loss was to national champion FSU. The Gators never led, although they had cut the score to 27–21. With just under six minutes left and the crowd roaring, FSU faced third down at its 21-yard-line. Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Charlie Ward hit freshman running back Warrick Dunn up the sideline for a 79-yard touchdown and a 33–21 FSU win.[222] The Gators defeated Alabama 28–13 in the SEC Championship and the third-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers 41–7 in the Sugar Bowl, finishing fifth in the AP Poll.[223]

The Gators were first in the preseason AP Poll for the first time in 1994, remaining there until their loss to Auburn.[224] Florida remained in the top five until the FSU game known as the Choke at Doak (FSU plays at Doak Campbell Stadium). The Gators led, 31–3, at the beginning of the fourth quarter before FSU scored four touchdowns. FSU coach Bobby Bowden opted to kick the extra point rather than attempt a two-point conversion, overruling nine assistants who begged him to go for the win (there was no overtime in college football at the time).[225] The kick was good, tying the game at 31 and completing FSU's comeback. Florida edged Alabama by one point in the SEC Championship before facing the Seminoles in a rematch in the Sugar Bowl (won by FSU, 23–17). The Gators finished seventh in the AP Poll.[226]

Florida had its first undefeated, untied regular season in 1995. The Gators' closest victory margin was 11 points as they defeated three top-10 teams. Their victory against Tennessee reportedly placed Wuerffel on the cover of Sports Illustrated instead of Tennessee quarterback Peyton Manning.[227] The Gators lost the national championship to the Nebraska Cornhuskers, 62–24, in the Fiesta Bowl.[228] Despite the decisive loss, they remained second in the AP Poll.[229]

Most of Florida's 1996 offensive players were returning upperclassmen, who set dozens of team scoring records as they began the season with a 10–0 record. During this stretch, Spurrier became the Gators' all-time winningest coach, surpassing Ray Graves' 70 career wins. The Gators were only seriously threatened twice: by Tennessee (35–29) and Vanderbilt (28–21). After racing to a 35–0 lead at halftime against Tennessee, the Gators held on for the win after Tennessee scored 29 unanswered points in the second half. Against Vanderbilt, the Gators were held to 28 points due to the Commodores' relentless blitzing. Top-ranked Florida then faced second-ranked, undefeated FSU on the road to finish the regular season. With several blocking errors, the Gators fell behind in the first quarter and left Tallahassee with a 24–21 loss. Florida defeated Alabama 45–30 in the SEC Championship and Texas upset Nebraska in the inaugural Big 12 Championship Game, leaving the third-ranked Gators the best available opponent for the top-ranked Seminoles in the Sugar Bowl. For a chance at the national title, the Gators needed Ohio State to defeat second-ranked Arizona State (the only team undefeated in the regular season) in the Rose Bowl. Ohio State won on the game's final play, setting up the Sugar Bowl as the national championship game. The Gators seized the moment, defeating FSU 52–20 for their first national championship as quarterback Danny Wuerffel received MVP honors for his shotgun formation.[230] Wuerffel and receivers Ike Hilliard and Reidel Anthony were consensus All-Americans.[231]

Steve Spurrier, smiling in an orange Gators shirt
Spurrier in 1999

The 1997 Gators seemed poised for another title, never trailing Manning-led Tennessee at home to regain the top spot in the polls.[note 26] They struggled midway through the schedule, however, losing to LSU on the road and to Georgia after defeating both teams the previous year. Florida ended the regular season with a 32–29 upset of top-ranked FSU known as the "greatest game ever played in the Swamp."[234] The Seminoles were driving late in the fourth quarter when the Gator defense stopped them at the 5-yard line, and they settled for a Sebastian Janikowski field goal for a 29–25 lead. On first down of the next drive, quarterback Doug Johnson passed to consensus All-American receiver Jacquez Green from the Gator 20-yard line for a 62-yard gain. Running back Fred Taylor completed the drive with a touchdown, and Florida took the lead for good 32–29. FSU's final comeback attempt was stymied when senior linebacker Dwayne Thomas intercepted a third-down pass from Thad Busby, costing the Seminoles a chance at the national championship.[235]

Florida went three seasons before recapturing an SEC title in 2000.

Washington Redskins.[243]

Ron Zook era (2002–2004)

Coach Zook

Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley initiated a coaching search which focused on Denver Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan[244] and Oklahoma Sooners head coach Bob Stoops, who served as the Gators defensive coordinator from 1996 to 1998.[245] After both turned him down, Foley hired New Orleans Saints defensive coordinator and former Gator assistant Ron Zook as Spurrier's replacement.[246]

Zook was a strong recruiter, signing the 20th-ranked class in an abbreviated 2002 search,

BCS Championship,[251] but lost to both SEC Mississippi schools and twice to Miami.[252] The Gators lost six games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, one more than they had in 12 years under Spurrier.[253] On January 9, 2004, the Gators signed Zook to a two-year contract extension.[254][255]

After two consecutive five-loss seasons, the 2004 season was a make-or-break year for Zook. He got into a heated argument with members of a campus fraternity after he was called in to defuse a dispute between the fraternity and his players. Following a 38–31 road loss to the 1–5 Mississippi State Bulldogs, Zook was fired but allowed to finish the regular season.[250] In his final game, the Gators defeated the Seminoles for their first win on FSU's field since 1986. Zook accepted the head-coaching position at Illinois. Defensive coordinator Charlie Strong was interim head coach for the Peach Bowl against Miami,[256] the first African-American head coach at Florida[257] and the second in SEC history.[258]

Urban Meyer era (2005–2010)

Urban Meyer, standing on the field with his arms folded
Urban Meyer and the Gators celebrated 100 years of Florida football with a BCS Championship in 2006.

Athletic director Jeremy Foley targeted a higher-profile replacement for Zook: 2004

Sporting News Coach of the Year Urban Meyer, head coach at Utah.[259] Meyer chose Florida over competing Notre Dame,[260] and he was announced as Florida's new head coach in December 2004.[261] When he was hired by the Gators, Meyer signed a seven-year contract worth about $2 million annually excluding incentives.[262]

His first season (

2007 BCS Championship Game and, led by quarterback Chris Leak, defeated the #1-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes 41–14 for their second national championship.[265]

Tim Tebow being congratulated by young fans
Tim Tebow

Tim Tebow became the full-time starting quarterback for the 2007 season. Although the Gators began with a 4–0 record and were ranked as high as third in media polls, a mid-season slump in which they lost three of four games to conference foes ended their hopes for another national championship. They finished with a 9–4 record[263] and a # 13 final ranking, but Tebow's record-setting season earned him the Heisman Trophy; he was the first sophomore to receive the honor.[266]

The 2008 Gators responded as a vastly improved team. Florida won its fourth consecutive game against Tennessee, 30–6, followed by a 31–30 upset by Ole Miss. In an emotional press conference after the game, Tebow promised that no team would play harder than Florida for the rest of the season.[267] The Gators then earned their second national-championship berth in three years. They beat defending national champion LSU 51–21, got revenge against Georgia, handed Steve Spurrier (now back in the college ranks at South Carolina[268]) the worst loss of his career, and defeated FSU 45–15. Florida earned the second spot in the BCS poll, beating previously undefeated Alabama 31–20 in the SEC Championship, and won the BCS National Championship Game against Oklahoma 24–14.[269] After the 2008 season, Meyer lost his offensive coordinator Dan Mullen, who took the Mississippi State head coaching job.[270][271] On August 3, 2009, Meyer signed a new six-year contract worth $4 million annually excluding incentives.[272]

2009 BCS Championship Game

The 2009 Gators were ranked first in the preseason AP and Coaches Polls. Although they had the second undefeated regular season in program history, the departures of All-American Percy Harvin and offensive coordinator Dan Mullen decreased production. Florida defeated Georgia 41–17 for the 17th time in 20 seasons, and Tebow broke the SEC career rushing touchdown record held by Herschel Walker.[273] The Gators were ranked number one when they entered the SEC Championship against undefeated number-two Alabama. The Crimson Tide dominated the game, 32–13, and went on to win the national championship. Florida ended its season by defeating the fourth-ranked Cincinnati Bearcats 51–24 in the Sugar Bowl. In the last game of his college career, Tebow broke the Sugar Bowl record for passing yards (482) and set a BCS bowl record for total offense (533).[274] With the Sugar Bowl victory, the Gators became the first Division I team with consecutive 13-win seasons. The 2008 and 2009 teams included consensus All-American linebacker Brandon Spikes.[275] After the 2009 season, Meyer lost his defensive coordinator Charlie Strong, who took the Louisville head coaching job.[276][277][278][279]

The Swamp during a sold-out 2006 game
The Swamp in 2006

On December 26, 2009, Meyer announced he would resign as the Gators' head coach after their bowl game due to health and family concerns.[280][281] However, the next day he said he would not resign but instead take an indefinite leave of absence.[282][283] Despite uncertainty about Meyer, the Gators signed the nation's consensus number-one recruiting class in February 2010.[284] In Meyer's absence, offensive coordinator Steve Addazio served as acting head coach.[285][286] Meyer returned from his leave of absence on March 18, 2010.[287][288] The 2010 Gators struggled in the fall, especially on offense, and their final record (8–5) was the worst of Meyer's head-coaching career.[263] Florida finished the season unranked for the first time since 1989. On December 8, 2010, Meyer again announced his resignation, citing many of the concerns he had a year earlier.[289][290] His final game was an Outback Bowl victory against Penn State.[291] Meyer finished his six years at Florida with two BCS national championships, two SEC championships, a 5–1 bowl record (.8333), and an overall win–loss record of 65–15 (.8125).[292] Additionally, offensive coordinator Steve Addazio left Gainesville to take the Temple head coaching job on December 23, 2010.[293][294][295]

Will Muschamp era (2011–2014)

Will Muschamp

On December 11, 2010, Florida named Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp as the Gators' new head coach.[296][297] Muschamp, a veteran defensive coordinator with stints at both LSU and Auburn, was also the Longhorns' designated "head coach-in-waiting".[297] Muschamp arrived in Gainesville with no prior head coaching experience.[298] Partly because of this, Charlie Weis, a four-time Super Bowl champion offensive coordinator and a former head coach at Notre Dame, was hired as associate head coach and offensive coordinator.[299] When he was hired, Muschamp signed a five-year contract worth $2.7 million annually excluding incentives.[300][301]

In spite of preseason optimism, Weis's offense struggled throughout the 2011 season.[302][303] Combined with an inexperienced defense, the Gators finished with a 3–5 record in the SEC, a 7–6 overall record, and a Gator Bowl victory over Ohio State.[304] After the 2011 season, Weis left to become head coach at Kansas.[305] The 2012 defense was much improved. Behind a defense which had grown into one of the nation's best and a ball-control offense, Florida outscored their opponents 115–30 in the fourth quarter, posted an 11–1 regular-season record and earned their first top-five ranking since 2009. The offense, under new offensive coordinator Brent Pease,[306][307][308] remained unimpressive, however, finishing 116th in the NCAA in passing with less than 2,000 yards.[309] The sole regular-season loss was to Georgia, 17–9.[310][311] Although the Gator season ended with an upset by Louisville,[312] Florida finished with a top-10 ranking.[313] The 2013 season was the Gators' worst since 1979.[314] They lost their last seven games (including their first defeat by an FCS team, Georgia Southern),[315] as well as losing to Vanderbilt for the first time in 23 meetings.[316][317] Muschamp's 2013 Gators finished with a 4–8 record and missed a bowl game for the first time since 1990.[318][319] After the lackluster 2013 season, Muschamp fired Brent Pease[320][321][322] and replaced him with Kurt Roper.[323][324] Despite the offseason assistant coaching changes, the Gators 2014 season was another disappointment.[325][326] Late in the 2014 season, Muschamp was dismissed as the Florida head coach after a loss to South Carolina.[327][328] His overall record as head coach was 28–21.[329]

Jim McElwain era (2015–2017)

Coach McElwain

On December 4, 2014, former

2017 season, McElwain led the Gators to a 3–4 (3–3 SEC) record through the end of October. He came under fire after claiming to have been targeted with death threats against himself and his players, a claim that university officials were unable to substantiate.[334] On October 29–less than 24 hours after his Gators were drilled 42-7 by Georgia–McElwain and school officials mutually agreed to part ways.[335][336] His 34-game tenure was the shortest for a non-interim coach in over 80 years.[337]

Despite winning two division titles, McElwain came under fire for his teams' lackluster offensive performance. He had been tasked with reviving an offense that had become moribund under Muschamp. However, in his two full seasons in Gainesville, the Gators were 111th and 116th, respectively, in total offense–among the worst rankings for a team in a power conference, and actually lower than where they had ranked in the latter years of Muschamp's tenure. At the time of his ouster, the Gators were 112th in total offense. They only scored 30 or more points seven times, a marked turnabout from the "Fun and Gun" days.[337] Off the field, McElwain rankled administrators with his criticisms of the state of the program. According to ESPN, McElwain's comments about the alleged death threats convinced UF officials that "this was not going to work".[335] Defensive coordinator Randy Shannon was named interim coach for the remainder of the season, and led the Gators to a 1-3 record. Overall, the Gators finished 4-7, only their second losing record in 38 years.

Dan Mullen era (2018–2021)

On November 26, 2017, Mississippi State head coach Dan Mullen signed a deal to become the 27th head coach of the Florida Gators football team.[338][339] Prior to a successful run at MSU, Mullen had served as Urban Meyer's offensive coordinator for the Gators from 2005 to 2008.[340]

In each of his first two seasons as the Florida's head coach, the Gators won double-digit games, including their bowl berths, and finished the season ranked in the AP's Top 10. In 2020, the Gators would lose 3 consecutive games to end the season, including their SEC Championship berth against

Alabama. The following season, the Gators struggled and Mullen was fired prior to the team's final regular season game.[341] Greg Knox
was named interim head coach.

Billy Napier era (2022–present)

On November 28, 2021, the Florida Gators hired Louisiana head coach Billy Napier to be their new head football coach.[342][343]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The University of Florida would not accept its first black student until 1958, and would not become fully integrated racially until the 1960s.[1]
  2. ^ It was Mike Donahue's first season at Auburn and John Heisman's first season at Georgia Tech.[10]
  3. ^ In 1903, Bridges at Cumberland and Forsythe at Clemson tied in the first organized Southern championship game.[11] Forsythe was the only one on Heisman's Clemson teams to spend every minute of his career on the field.[11]
  4. ^ The team picture is captioned "Champions of Florida '07".
  5. ^ 1909 is the last season in which Stetson claims a state championship.[21]
  6. ^ The first game was played under the so-called "old rules" that existed before the American football reforms of 1906. In that game, Florida defeated the Vedado Tennis Club, 28–0.[28] Five days later Florida played the Cuban Athletic Club of Havana, ostensibly under new rules.[29]
  7. ^ Rex Farrior became a name partner in a prominent Tampa law firm with 1910 quarterback Bob Shackleford, and remained one of the biggest boosters of the Gators sports program until his death.[39]
  8. ^ Namely end Ferdinand H. Duncan, halfback Ark Newton, tackle Arthur Doty, fullback Ray C. Dickson, and end Lloyd Hockenstadt.[46]
  9. ^ According to the F Club, the university's lettermen's association.[49] Perry is also the namesake of the university's baseball stadium: Perry Field.[50]
  10. Warren Harding in Washington, D. C.[55]
  11. George Patton. During the Korean War, Van Fleet commanded the U.S. Eighth Army, following Douglas MacArthur and Matthew Ridgway. He retired as a four-star general in 1953.[63]
  12. ^ Vanderbilt, where Wade had coach previously, thus won the conference.[26] It is the most-recent conference title for Vanderbilt football.[68]
  13. ^ Newton, captain and tackle Robbie Robinson, and guard Goldy Goldstein were the first Gators to make the composite All-Southern team.[70] Newton, Goldstein, and lineman Cy Williams were among the first Gators to play professional football, as teammates with the Newark Bears of the fledgling American Football League.[71]
  14. ^ Jones played a nine-game season, and the record stood until 1969, an eleven-game season.[77]
  15. Florida Supreme Court.[81]
  16. ^ Just before Rockne died in a plane crash, he vacationed in Florida and spoke with Bachman.[82]
  17. ^ John McEwan coached Oregon, who had been Army's coach during the Van Fleet era.[91]
  18. ^ Tigert was All-Southern in 1903.[98]
  19. NFL Draft,[106] though he never played professionally.[107]
  20. 1945 NFL Draft, the highest a Gator has ever been taken.[118]
  21. ^ LaPradd became a football coach at FSU and then president of St. John's River Community College in Palatka.[137]
  22. ^ The NCAA embraced a set of new rules requiring the use of the one-platoon system, primarily due to financial reasons. The system allowed only one player to be substituted between plays, which effectively put an end to the use of separate specialized units. Tennessee's coach Neyland praised the change as the end of "chickenshit football"[138]
  23. ^ Steve Spurrier led the Gators to seventy-three wins from 1990 to 1996, and ultimately won a total of 122 games as the Gators' head coach from 1990 to 2001.[150]
  24. ^ Coach Ray Graves' Gators football teams of the 1960s produced fifteen first-team All-Americans. From 1906 to 1959, the Gators only had five players who received first-team All-American honors.[33]
  25. ^ Including Red Bethea's single-game yardage record in a 23–14 upset of Alabama in 1987.[202]
  26. NFL Draft and break numerous NFL records, but ended his career without a win against Florida.[233]

Endnotes

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  2. ^ "A History of Stetson Football" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016.
  3. ^ a b Kabat 1991, pp. 23–33
  4. ^ e. g. "Pinakidias". Florida Agricultural College. 1901. p. 73.
  5. ^ Jones 1973, p. vi
  6. ^ a b c d e McEwen 1974, pp. 20–30
  7. ^ Chastain 2002, p. 23
  8. ^ "America's Lost Colleges". lost-colleges. Retrieved December 7, 2023.
  9. ^ McEwen 1974, pp. 30–34
  10. ^ Umphlett 1992, pp. 83–84
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  12. ^ University Athletic Association / IMG College copyright 2015. "Gator Memories – Henry Buckman Starts UF". gatorzone.com.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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  14. ^ a b c McEwen 1974, pp. 36–37
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