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.[2]
| 1968 Florida Gators football | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Southeastern Conference |
| 1968 record | 6–3–1 (3–2–1 SEC) |
| Head coach | Ray Graves (9th season) |
| Offensive coordinator | Ed Kensler (4th season) |
| Defensive coordinator | Gene Ellenson (5th season) |
| Home stadium | Florida Field (Capacity: 58,780)[1] |
| 1968 Southeastern Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 21 | vs. Air Force* | No. 6 | W 23–20 | 52,626 | ||
| September 28 | at Florida State* | No. 5 | ABC | W 9–3 | 45,256 | |
| October 5 | Mississippi State | No. 4 | W 31–14 | 54,921 | ||
| October 12 | Tulane | No. 7 |
| W 24–7 | 48,106 | |
| October 19 | at North Carolina | No. 7 | L 7–22 | 28,000 | ||
| October 26 | at Vanderbilt | No. 15 | T 14–14 | 15,500 | ||
| November 2 | Auburn | No. 20 |
| L 13–24 | 63,122 | |
| November 9 | vs. No. 9 Georgia | L 0–51 | 70,012 | |||
| November 16 | at Kentucky | W 16–14 | 20,000 | |||
| November 30 | Miami (FL)* |
| W 14–10 | 55,875 | ||
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Primary source: 2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide[2]
Attendance figures: 1968 University of Florida Football Brochure.[3]
Roster
| 1968 Florida Gators football team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
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Defense
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Special teams
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Team players in the NFL
| 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
- Department of Sports Publicity. "1968 University of Florida Football" (PDF). floridagators.com. University Athletic Association, Inc. Retrieved 15 March 2018.
- 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.
- Sports Publicity Department. "1969 University of Florida Football Brochure" (PDF). floridagators.com. University Athletic Association, Inc. Retrieved 15 March 2018.