1968 Florida Gators football team

1968 Florida Gators football
1968 Florida Gators football
Conference	Southeastern Conference
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
	Seasons ← 1967 1969 →

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 Southeastern Conference football standings
v t e	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

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 21	vs. Air Force*	No. 6	Tampa Stadium Tampa, FL		W 23–20	52,626	^[2]
September 28	at Florida State*	No. 5	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL (rivalry)	ABC	W 9–3	45,256	^[3]
October 5	Mississippi State	No. 4	Florida Field Gainesville, FL		W 31–14	54,921	^[4]
October 12	Tulane*	No. 7	Florida Field Gainesville, FL		W 24–7	48,106	^[5]
October 19	at North Carolina	No. 7	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC		L 7–22	28,000	^[6]
October 26	at Vanderbilt	No. 15	Dudley Field Nashville, TN		T 14–14	15,500	^[7]
November 2	Auburn	No. 20	Florida Field Gainesville, FL (rivalry)		L 13–24	63,122	^[8]
November 9	vs. No. 9 Georgia		Gator Bowl Stadium Jacksonville, FL (rivalry)		L 0–51	70,012	^[9]
November 16	at Kentucky		McLean Stadium Lexington, KY (rivalry)		W 16–14	20,000	^[10]
November 30	Miami (FL)*		Florida Field Gainesville, FL (rivalry)		W 14–10	55,875	^[11]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[1]^[12]

Personnel

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

Ray Graves

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Gene Ellenson
Ed Kensler

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

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

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

[ufmediaguide-1] 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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