1965 Florida Gators football team

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.[2]

1965 Florida Gators football
Sugar Bowl, L 18–20 vs. Missouri
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 12
Record7–4 (4–2 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorEd Kensler (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorGene Ellenson (2nd season)
Home stadiumFlorida Field
(capacity: 47,800)[1]
1965 Southeastern Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 1 Alabama $ 6 –1 –19 –1 –1
Auburn 4 –1 –15 –5 –1
Florida 4 –2 –07 –4 –0
No. 7 Tennessee 2 –1 –28 –1 –2
Ole Miss 5 –3 –07 –4 –0
No. 8 LSU 3 –3 –08 –3 –0
Kentucky 3 –3 –06 –4 –0
Georgia 2 –3 –06 –4 –0
Vanderbilt 1 –5 –02 –7 –1
Tulane 1 –5 –02 –8 –0
Mississippi State 1 –5 –04 –6 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule
DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 18at Northwestern*
W 24–1433,918[3]
September 25Mississippi StateNo. 8
L 13–1842,612[4]
October 2No. 5 LSU
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
W 14–748,210[5]
October 9at Ole MissNo. 10
W 17–027,500–30,006[6]
October 16NC State*daggerNo. 9
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL
W 28–648,010[7]
October 30at AuburnNo. 7
ABCL 17–2846,313[8]
November 6vs. Georgia
W 14–1061,211[9]
November 13Tulane
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL
W 51–1339,616[10]
November 20at Miami (FL)*No. 10
L 13–1667,762[11]
November 27Florida State*
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
W 30–1748,626–49,513[12]
January 1, 1966vs. No. 6 Missouri*
NBCL 18–2067,421[13]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[2][14]

Roster
1965 Florida Gators football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
  Charles Casey
QB 11 Steve Spurrier Jr
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
    Legend
    • (C) Team captain
    • (S) Suspended
    • (I) Ineligible
    • Injured Injured
    • Redshirt Redshirt

    Postseason

    At the end of the season, the Gators played the Missouri Tigers in the Gators' first-ever major bowl game, the Sugar Bowl, on January 1, 1966. Despite a three-touchdown second-half effort from the Gators, they lost to the Tigers 18–20 after they failed to score on three consecutive two-point conversion attempts after each of their touchdowns. Following the game, Gators quarterback Steve Spurrier was recognized as the game's Most Valuable Player—the only MVP selected from the losing team in the history of the Sugar Bowl.

    References
    1. Department of Sports Publicity. "University of Florida 1965 Football Brochure" (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. 110–111 (2015). Retrieved August 14, 2015.
    3. "Wildcats lose, 24–14". Chicago Tribune. September 19, 1965. Retrieved October 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
    4. "Miss. Staters stun Gators; Saget stars". The Shreveport Times. September 26, 1965. Retrieved October 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
    5. "Gators upset LSU". Pensacola News Journal. October 3, 1965. Retrieved October 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
    6. "Gators blank Ole Miss". Pensacola News Journal. October 10, 1965. Retrieved October 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
    7. "9th ranked Gators bop N.C. State". The Bradenton Herald. October 17, 1965. Retrieved October 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
    8. "Fired-up Auburn scores 28–17 win over fifth-ranked Florida". Johnson City Press-Chronicle. October 31, 1965. Retrieved October 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
    9. "Florida shocks Georgia". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. November 7, 1965. Retrieved October 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
    10. "Gators bowl over Greenies, 51–13". The Tampa Tribune. November 14, 1965. Retrieved October 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
    11. "Gators sink 16–13". Tallahassee Democrat. November 21, 1965. Retrieved October 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
    12. "Spurrier rallies Florida Gartors for 30–17 victory". The Selma Times-Journal. November 28, 1965. Retrieved October 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
    13. "Mizzou withstands 4th period assault to post Sugar victory". The Shreveport Times. January 2, 1966. Retrieved October 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
    14. Department of Sports Publicity. "Meet the Gators: 1966 University of Florida Football Brochure" (PDF). floridagators.com. University Athletic Association, Inc. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
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