Wikipedia

1968 Florida Gators football team

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.[1]

1968 Florida Gators football
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Record6–3–1 (3–2–1 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorEd Kensler (4th season)
Defensive coordinatorGene Ellenson (5th season)
Home stadiumFlorida Field
Seasons
← 1967
1969 →
1968 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 8 Georgia $ 5 – 0 – 1 8 – 1 – 2
No. 13 Tennessee 4 – 1 – 1 8 – 2 – 1
No. 17 Alabama 4 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
No. 19 LSU 4 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
No. 16 Auburn 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Florida 3 – 2 – 1 6 – 3 – 1
Ole Miss 3 – 2 – 1 7 – 3 – 1
Vanderbilt 1 – 3 – 1 5 – 4 – 1
Mississippi State 0 – 4 – 1 0 – 8 – 2
Kentucky 0 – 7 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule edit

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 21vs. Air Force*No. 6
W 23–2052,626[2]
September 28at Florida State*No. 5
ABCW 9–345,256[3]
October 5Mississippi StateNo. 4
W 31–1454,921[4]
October 12Tulane*No. 7
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL
W 24–748,106[5]
October 19at North CarolinaNo. 7
L 7–2228,000[6]
October 26at VanderbiltNo. 15
T 14–1415,500[7]
November 2Auburn No. 20
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
L 13–2463,122[8]
November 9vs. No. 9 Georgia
L 0–5170,012[9]
November 16at Kentucky
W 16–1420,000[10]
November 30Miami (FL)*
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
W 14–1055,875[11]
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[1][12]

Personnel edit

1968 Florida Gators football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
OL Skip Amelung
RB Tom Christian
TE George Dean
G 77 Guy Dennis Sr
DL Bill Dorsey
QB Jackie Eckdahl
WR Don Gramling
OL Wayne Griffith
WR Ted Hager
OL Kim Helton
RB Brian Hipp
OL Jim Kiley
WR Paul Maliska
WR Guy McTheny
OL Terry Morris
QB Harold Peacock
WR Gene Peek
QB 10 Larry Rentz Sr
RB 33 Larry Smith Sr
OL Mac Steen
RB Jerry Vinesett
RB Garry Walker
OL Donnie Williams
TE Jim Yarbrough
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
LB Tom Abdelnour
DB Skip Albury
DB Jack Burns
DL Bob Coleman
DB Mark Ely
LB David Ghesquiere
DL Jim Hadley
DL Mike Healey
LB Mike Kelley
LB David Mann
LB Brad Powell
DL Britt Skrivanek
DB 22 Steve Tannen Jr
DE 74 Jack Youngblood So
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  •   Injured
  •   Redshirt

Team players in the NFL edit

Player Position Round Pick NFL club
Larry Smith Running back 1 8 Los Angeles Rams
Jim Yarbrough Tackle 2 47 Detroit Lions
Guy Dennis Guard 5 109 Cincinnati Bengals

References edit

  1. ^ a b 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. ^ "Gators squeak past Air Force". The Spokesman-Review. September 22, 1968. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Gators win battle of Tallahassee". The Bradenton Herald. September 29, 1968. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Christian sparks Gators to No. 3". The Tampa Tribune. October 6, 1968. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Late TD blitz saves Gators, 24–3". The Orlando Sentinel. October 13, 1968. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "North Carolina upsets seventh-ranked Florida, 22–7". The Danville Register. October 20, 1968. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Gators rebound to tie Vandy". The Tampa Tribune. October 27, 1968. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Auburn spoils UF homecoming 24–13". Tallahassee Democrat. November 3, 1968. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Soph quarterback leads Georgia win". The Spokesman-Review. November 10, 1968. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Florida nips UK, 16–14". The Cincinnati Enquirer. November 17, 1968. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Gators surprise Miami 14–10". The Palm Beach Post-Times. December 1, 1968. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Sports Publicity Department. "1969 University of Florida Football Brochure" (PDF). floridagators.com. University Athletic Association, Inc. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
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