1953 Florida Gators football team

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.[2]

1953 Florida Gators football
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Record3–5–2 (1–3–2 SEC)
Head coach
Home stadiumFlorida Field
(capacity: 39,453)[1]
1953 Southeastern Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 13 Alabama $ 4 –0 –36 –3 –3
No. 8 Georgia Tech 4 –1 –19 –2 –1
No. 16 Kentucky 4 –1 –17 –2 –1
Ole Miss 4 –1 –17 –2 –1
No. 17 Auburn 4 –2 –17 –3 –1
Mississippi State 3 –1 –35 –2 –3
Tennessee 3 –2 –16 –4 –1
LSU 2 –3 –35 –3 –3
Florida 1 –3 –23 –5 –2
Vanderbilt 1 –5 –03 –7 –0
Georgia 1 –5 –03 –8 –0
Tulane 0 –7 –01 –8 –1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule
DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 19at No. 12 Rice*No. 15
L 16–2055,000[3]
September 26No. 3 Georgia Tech
T 0–041,000[4]
October 3at Kentucky
L 13–26[5]
October 10Stetson*
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL
W 45–018,000[6]
October 17vs. The Citadel*
W 60–015,000[7]
October 24No. 14 LSUdagger
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
T 21–2139,000[8]
October 31at Auburn
L 7–1625,500[9]
November 7vs. Georgia
  • Gator Bowl Stadium
  • Jacksonville, FL (rivalry)
W 21–736,000[10]
November 14No. 18 Tennessee
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
L 7–929,000[11]
November 28at Miami (FL)*
L 10–1465,000[12]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[2]

References
  1. The Department of Publicity and The Department of Intercollegiate Athletics. "1953 Florida Football Facts 'n Figures" (PDF). floridagators.com. University Athletic Association, Inc. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  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.
  3. "Gator rally fails as Rice wins, 20–16". Fort Lauderdale News. September 20, 1953. Retrieved October 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Georgia Tech tied by 'Gators". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. September 27, 1953. Retrieved October 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Kentucky stops Florida Gators in 26–13 clash". The Selma Times-Journal. October 4, 1953. Retrieved October 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Gator underclassmen overpower Stetson, 45–0". St. Petersburg Times. October 11, 1953. Retrieved October 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Florida rips wildly over Citadel, 60–0". The Greenville News. October 18, 1953. Retrieved October 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Florida wrestles LSU to tie, 21–21". Tallahassee Democrat. October 25, 1953. Retrieved October 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Auburn Plainsmen trample Gators 16–7". Fort Myers News-Press. November 1, 1953. Retrieved October 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Florida Gators wallop Georgia in 21–7 game". Panama City News-Herald. November 8, 1953. Retrieved October 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Late Tennessee field goal nips Florida, 9–7". The Tampa Tribune. November 15, 1953. Retrieved March 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Late Miami score sinks Florida, 14–10". Pensacola News Journal. November 29, 1953. Retrieved October 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
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