1954 Florida Gators football team

Last updated

1954 Florida Gators football
Conference Southeastern Conference
Record5–5 (5–2 SEC)
Head coach
Home stadium Florida Field
(capacity: 39,453)
Seasons
←  1953
1955  →
1954 Southeastern Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 6 Ole Miss $ 5 –0 –09 –2 –0
Georgia Tech 6 –2 –08 –3 –0
Florida 5 –2 –05 –5 –0
Kentucky 5 –2 –07 –3 –0
Georgia 3 –2 –16 –3 –1
No. 13 Auburn 3 –3 –08 –3 –0
Mississippi State 3 –3 –06 –4 –0
Alabama 3 –3 –24 –5 –2
LSU 2 –5 –05 –6 –0
Tulane 1 –6 –11 –6 –3
Vanderbilt 1 –5 –02 –7 –0
Tennessee 1 –5 –04 –6 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1954 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1954 college football season. The season was the fifth for Bob Woodruff as the Florida Gators football team's head coach. The Gators' standout players included running back Mal Hammack. The season was one of mixed results for the Gators: their best-ever Southeastern Conference (SEC) win–loss record, balanced by five overall losses. The highlights of the season were five SEC wins over the fifth-ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (13–12), Auburn Tigers (19–13), Kentucky Wildcats (21–7), Mississippi State Maroons (7–0) and Tennessee Volunteers (14–0). Woodruff's 1954 Florida Gators finished 5–5 overall and 5–2 in the SEC, placing third in the twelve-team conference [1] —their best SEC showing to date.

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 18at No. 16 Rice *
L 14–3444,000 [2]
September 25at No. 5 Georgia Tech
W 13–1230,000 [3]
October 2 Auburn No. 20
W 19–13 [4]
October 9vs. Clemson *No. 14
L 7–1428,000 [5]
October 16 Kentucky
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
W 21–732,000 [6]
October 23at LSU No. 18
L 7–2025,000 [7]
October 30 Mississippi State Dagger-14-plain.png
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL
W 7–0 [8]
November 6vs. Georgia
  • Gator Bowl Stadium
  • Jacksonville, FL (rivalry)
L 13–1439,000 [9]
November 13at Tennessee
W 14–020,000 [10]
November 27No. 11 Miami (FL) *
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
L 0–1438,000 [11]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Dagger-14-plain.pngHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[1]

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The 1939 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1939 college football season. The season was the fourth and final year for Josh Cody as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team. Cody's 1939 Florida Gators finished with a 5–5–1 overall record, but with a winless 0–3–1 record in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), placing twelfth of thirteen teams in the SEC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1950 Florida Gators football team</span> American college football season

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. 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.

The 1952 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1952 college football season. The season was Bob Woodruff's third and most successful as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team. Woodruff's 1952 Florida Gators finished with an overall record of 8–3 and a Southeastern Conference (SEC) record of 3–3, placing sixth among twelve SEC teams.

The 1953 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1953 college football season. The season was the fourth for Bob Woodruff as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team. The 1953 season was a year of rebuilding and backsliding after the graduation of All-American Charlie LaPradd and the loss of fullback Rick Casares to the U.S. Army. The highlight of the season was the Gators' second consecutive victory over the Georgia Bulldogs, but the Gators began a pattern of agonizingly close losses to the Rice Owls (16–20), Auburn Tigers (7–16), Tennessee Volunteers (7–9) and Miami Hurricanes (10–14), as well as two ties with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (0–0) and LSU Tigers (21–21). Woodruff's 1953 Florida Gators finished with a 3–5–2 overall record and a 1–3–2 record in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), placing ninth of twelve SEC teams.

The 1955 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1955 college football season. The season was Bob Woodruff's sixth as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team. The Gators played their only eight-game Southeastern Conference schedule before the 1990s, and probably the most difficult of the 1950s. The standout Gator players included offensive and defensive tackle John Barrow, halfback and punter Don Chandler, two-way halfback Jackie Simpson and defensive back John Symank. The highlights of the 1955 season included three conference victories over the Mississippi State Maroons (20–14), LSU Tigers (18–14), and Georgia Bulldogs (19–13). The Gators closed out the season with a knife's edge 7–6 road loss to the Miami Hurricanes in their home stadium in Miami, Florida. Woodruff's 1955 Florida Gators finished 4–6 overall and 3–5 in the SEC, placing tenth of twelve teams in the conference.

The 1956 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1956 NCAA University Division football season. The season was the seventh for Bob Woodruff as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team. The Gators were led by All-American tackle John Barrow, quarterback Jimmy Dunn, two-way halfbacks Joe Brodsky, Bernie Parrish, Jim Rountree and Jackie Simpson, and defensive back John Symank. The highlights of the season included conference road wins over the Mississippi State Maroons (26–0) in Starkville, Mississippi, the Vanderbilt Commodores 21–7 in Nashville, Tennessee, and the LSU Tigers 21–6 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, a shutout homecoming victory over the Auburn Tigers (20–0), and a second consecutive win over the Georgia Bulldogs (28–0). Woodruff's 1956 Florida Gators started a promising 6–1–1, but lost their final two games to finish 6–3–1 overall and 5–2 in the Southeastern Conference, placing third in the SEC among twelve teams.

The 1957 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1957 NCAA University Division football season. The season was Bob Woodruff's eighth as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team. Woodruff's 1957 Florida Gators finished their abbreviated season with an overall record of 6–2–1 and a Southeastern Conference (SEC) record of 4–2–1, tying for third place among the twelve SEC teams.

The 1958 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1958 NCAA University Division football season. The season was the ninth of ten for Bob Woodruff as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team. Woodruff's 1958 Florida Gators finished with an overall record of 6–4–1 and a Southeastern Conference (SEC) record of 2–3–1, placing eighth in the twelve-member SEC.

The 1959 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1959 NCAA University Division football season. The season was Bob Woodruff's tenth and last year as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team. The Gators celebrated a close conference win over the Mississippi State Maroons (14–13), and suffered close conference defeats to the Vanderbilt Commodores (6–13), the top-ranked LSU Tigers (0–9) and the eighth-ranked Auburn Tigers (0–6). Woodruff finished his tenure on a high note, with the Gators' victories over the Florida State Seminoles (18–8) and the twelfth-ranked Miami Hurricanes (23–14), their primary in-state rivals. Woodruff's 1959 Florida Gators finished with an overall record of 5–4–1 and a Southeastern Conference (SEC) record of 2–4, placing ninth among twelve SEC teams.

The 1962 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1962 NCAA University Division football season. The season was the third of Ray Graves' ten seasons as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team. Graves' 1962 Florida Gators posted a 7–4 overall record and a 4–2 record in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), placing fifth in twelve-team SEC. The Gators won the Gator Bowl again in 1962, upsetting ninth-ranked Penn State. They wore the Confederate Battle Flag on the side of their helmets to pump up the southern team facing a favored northern school.

The 1964 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1964 NCAA University Division football season. The season was the fifth for Ray Graves as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team. Graves' 1964 Florida Gators posted an overall record of 7–3 and a 4–2 Southeastern Conference (SEC) record, tying for second among the eleven SEC teams.

The 1965 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1965 NCAA University Division football season. The season was Ray Graves's sixth year as the Florida Gators football team's head coach. The highlights of the season included an intersectional road victory over the Northwestern Wildcats of the Big Ten Conference, Southeastern Conference (SEC) wins over the LSU (14–7), Ole Miss Rebels (17–0), Georgia Bulldogs (14–10) and Tulane Green Wave (51–13), and a sound thumping of the in-state rival Florida State Seminoles (30–17). The Gators also lost close matches against the Mississippi State Bulldogs (13–18) and the Miami Hurricanes (13–16). Graves' 1965 Florida Gators finished 7–4 overall and 4–2 in the SEC, placing third in the eleven-team conference.

The 1968 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1968 NCAA University Division football season. The season was Ray Graves' ninth of ten years as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team. The Gators offense was led by senior tailback Larry Smith, a first-team All-American. Among the season's highlights were the Gators' conference wins over the Mississippi State Bulldogs (31–14), Tulane Green Wave (24–7) and Kentucky Wildcats (16–14), and victories over the in-state rival Florida State Seminoles (9–3) and Miami Hurricanes (14–10). The Gators also suffered their worst loss since 1942—a 51–0 blowout by the Georgia Bulldogs. Graves' 1968 Florida Gators finished 6–3–1 overall and 3–2–1 in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), tying for sixth among the ten teams of the SEC.

The 1969 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1969 NCAA University Division football season. The season was the tenth, last, and arguably most successful season for Ray Graves as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team. Graves' 1969 Florida Gators finished their regular season with an overall record of 8–1–1 and an SEC record of 3–1–1, placing fourth among the ten SEC teams. Florida concluded the year with a Gator Bowl victory over SEC-champion Tennessee. Afterwards, Graves resigned from the head coaching position to become the university's athletic director, and was replaced by Tennessee head coach Doug Dickey.

The 1977 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. The season was Doug Dickey's eighth as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team. Dickey's 1977 Florida Gators finished with a 6–4–1 overall record and a 3–3 Southeastern Conference (SEC) record, placing fifth among ten SEC teams.

The 1990 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1990 NCAA Division I-A football season. The season marked the return of the Gators' Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Steve Spurrier to his alma mater as the new head coach of the Florida Gators football team.

The 1992 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1992 NCAA Division I-A football season. The season was Steve Spurrier's third as the Florida Gators football team's head coach, and the wins were harder to come by as the star-studded senior classes from 1990 and 1991 had graduated. The Gators racked up six tough Southeastern Conference (SEC) wins over the Kentucky Wildcats (35–19), LSU Tigers (28–21), Auburn Tigers (24–9), seventh-ranked Georgia Bulldogs (26–24), South Carolina Gamecocks (14–9), and Vanderbilt Commodores (41–21). They also suffered two crushing SEC losses to the fourteenth-ranked Tennessee Volunteers (14–31) in Knoxville, Tennessee, and the twenty-fourth-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs (6–30) on a Thursday night in Starkville, Mississippi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1954 Auburn Tigers football team</span> American college football season

The 1954 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University in the 1954 college football season. It was the Tigers' 63rd overall and 22nd season as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The team was led by head coach Ralph "Shug" Jordan, in his fourth year, and played their home games at Cliff Hare Stadium in Auburn and Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. They finished with a record of eight wins and three losses and with a victory over Baylor in the Gator Bowl.

References

  1. 1 2 2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide Archived 2015-12-08 at the Wayback Machine , University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, p. 107 (2015). Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  2. ↑ "Rice buckles Gators in last half, 34–14". The Miami Herald. September 19, 1954. Retrieved October 6, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "Savage Gators stun might Tech 13–12". St. Petersburg Times. September 26, 1954. Retrieved October 6, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Florida upsets Auburn in SEC game, 19–13". Tallahassee Democrat. October 3, 1954. Retrieved October 6, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "Clemson scores stunning upset 14–7 victory". The State. October 10, 1954. Retrieved October 6, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Florida clips Kentucky in important game". Evansville Courier and Press. October 17, 1954. Retrieved October 6, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "LSU's long passes sink Florida, 20–7". Fort Lauderdale News. October 24, 1954. Retrieved October 6, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Florida edges past Maroons". The Charlotte Observer. October 31, 1954. Retrieved October 6, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "Bulldogs trip Florida, 14–13". The Birmingham News. November 7, 1954. Retrieved October 6, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Florida wins on passes, 14–0". Tallahassee Democrat. November 14, 1954. Retrieved March 29, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "'Cane magic' fools Gators in finale 14–0". The Palm Beach Post-Times. November 28, 1954. Retrieved October 6, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
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