1950 Florida Gators football team

Last updated

1950 Florida Gators football
FloridaFieldatnight.jpg
The 1950 Gators practice under the lights before the first night game at Florida Field.
Conference Southeastern Conference
Record5–5 (2–4 SEC)
Head coach
Captain Angus Williams
Home stadium Florida Field
(capacity: 39,453)
Seasons
←  1949
1951  →
1950 Southeastern Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 7 Kentucky $ 5 –1 –011 –1 –0
No. 4 Tennessee 4 –1 –011 –1 –0
No. 16 Alabama 6 –2 –09 –2 –0
No. 20 Tulane 3 –1 –16 –2 –1
Georgia Tech 4 –2 –05 –6 –0
Georgia 3 –2 –16 –3 –3
Mississippi State 3 –4 –04 –5 –0
Vanderbilt 3 –4 –07 –4 –0
LSU 2 –3 –24 –5 –2
Florida 2 –4 –05 –5 –0
Ole Miss 1 –5 –05 –5 –0
Auburn 0 –7 –00 –10 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1950 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1950 college football season. The season was Bob Woodruff's first of ten as the new head coach of the Florida Gators football team. Woodruff was a former college football player and assistant for coach Robert Neyland's Tennessee Volunteers, who made his name as an up-and-coming young head coach leading the Baylor Bears for three seasons in the late 1940s. Like Neyland, Woodruff emphasized stout defense, the kicking game and a ball control offense. In Woodruff's first season of 1950, the Gators offense, led by quarterback Haywood Sullivan and offensive coordinator Frank Broyles, posted record numbers. Sullivan was the first sophomore in SEC history to throw for more than 1,000 yards in a season. He set nine school records. [note 1] The highlights of the season included two Southeastern Conference (SEC) victories over the Auburn Tigers (27–7) and the No. 13-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores (31–27)—the first season since 1940 in which the Gators won two or more SEC games. The Gators' No. 20 ranking after the Vanderbilt game marked their first-ever appearance in the top twenty of the weekly Associated Press Poll. Woodruff's 1950 Florida Gators finished 5–5 overall and 2–4 in the SEC, placing tenth among twelve conference teams. [2]

Contents

Also of note, lights were installed at Florida Field during the summer of 1950, and the Gators opened the season with their first home night game, a 7–3 win over The Citadel. [3]

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 23 The Citadel *
W 7–325,000 [4]
September 30 Duquesne *
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL
W 27–1418,500 [5]
October 7at Georgia Tech
L 13–1621,000 [6]
October 14 Auburn Dagger-14-plain.png
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
W 27–730,000 [7]
October 21at No. 13 Vanderbilt
W 31–2724,000 [8]
October 28 Furman *No. 20
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL
W 19–7 [9]
November 4at No. 5 Kentucky No. 17
L 6–4033,000 [10]
November 11vs. Georgia
L 0–636,132 [11]
November 18No. 17 Miami (FL) *
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
L 14–2040,000 [12]
November 25vs. No. 17 Alabama
  • Gator Bowl Stadium
  • Jacksonville, FL (rivalry)
L 13–4116,000 [13]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Dagger-14-plain.pngHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[2]

Notes

  1. ↑ These included average (50.3%), yardage (1,170), and average for a single game (7 for 7 against Kentucky). [1]

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References

  1. ↑ see Golenbock, Go Gators!, p. 58
  2. 1 2 2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide Archived 2015-12-08 at the Wayback Machine , University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 109–110 (2015). Retrieved August 15, 2015.
  3. ↑ Florida Field timeline at FloridaGators.com
  4. ↑ "Florida defeats Citadel on 78 yard punt return". Tallahassee Democrat. September 24, 1950. Retrieved February 11, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Florida storms past Duquesne for 27–14 victory". The Orlando Sentinel-Sun. October 1, 1950. Retrieved February 11, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Red Patton's field goal brings Tech win". The Knoxville Journal. October 8, 1950. Retrieved February 11, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Record crowd sees Florida win by 27–7 over Auburn Tigers". The Tampa Tribune. October 15, 1950. Retrieved February 11, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Underdog Florida strikes first to stun Vanderbilt with 31–27 upset". The Huntsville Times. October 22, 1950. Retrieved February 11, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Florida beats inspired Furman eleven by 19–7". The Tampa Tribune. October 29, 1950. Retrieved August 21, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Kentucky whips Florida 40–6 before 33,000 at homecoming". The Owensboro Messenger. November 5, 1950. Retrieved February 11, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Georgia grinds out 6–0 win over Florida". News-Press. November 12, 1950. Retrieved February 11, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Miami defeats stubborn Gators 20 to 14". The Palm Beach Post. November 19, 1950. Retrieved February 11, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Tide puts freeze on Florida, 41–13". The Birmingham News. November 26, 1950. Retrieved February 11, 2022– via Newspapers.com.


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