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External videos
	1969 Gator Bowl, YouTube video.

1969 Florida Gators football
1969 Florida Gators football
Gator Bowl, W 14–13 vs. Tennessee
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 17
AP	No. 14
Record	9–1–1 (3–1–1 SEC)
Head coach	Ray Graves (10th season);
Offensive coordinator	Fred Pancoast (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Gene Ellenson (5th season)
Captain	Mac Steen
Home stadium	Florida Field
	Seasons ← 1968 1970 →

1969 Southeastern Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 15 Tennessee $	5	–	1	–	0	9	–	2	–	0
No. 10 LSU	4	–	1	–	0	9	–	1	–	0
No. 20 Auburn	5	–	2	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
No. 14 Florida	3	–	1	–	1	9	–	1	–	1
No. 8 Ole Miss	4	–	2	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
Georgia	2	–	3	–	1	5	–	5	–	1
Vanderbilt	2	–	3	–	0	4	–	6	–	0
Alabama	2	–	4	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Kentucky	1	–	6	–	0	2	–	8	–	0
Mississippi State	0	–	5	–	0	3	–	7	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1969 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1969 NCAA University Division football season. The season was the tenth, last, and arguably most successful season for Ray Graves as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team. Graves' 1969 Florida Gators finished their regular season with an overall record of 8–1–1 and an SEC record of 3–1–1, placing fourth among the ten SEC teams. Florida concluded the year with a Gator Bowl victory over SEC-champion Tennessee. Afterwards, Graves resigned from the head coaching position to become the university's athletic director, and was replaced by Tennessee head coach Doug Dickey.^[1]

Graves' final Gators squad was led by a surprising group of second-year offensive players known as the "Super Sophs", that included quarterback John Reaves, wide receiver Carlos Alvarez and tailback Tommy Durrance.

Before the season

The team was captained by Mac Steen.^[2]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 20	No. 7 Houston*		Florida Field Gainesville, FL		W 59–34	53,807	^[3]
September 27	at Mississippi State	No. 12	Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS		W 47–35	37,000	^[4]
October 4	Florida State*	No. 12	Florida Field Gainesville, FL (rivalry)		W 21–6	63,957	^[5]
October 11	vs. Tulane*	No. 12	Tampa Stadium Tampa, FL		W 18–17	43,102	^[6]
October 18	North Carolina*	No. 10	Florida Field Gainesville, FL		W 52–2	62,945	^[7]
October 25	Vanderbilt	No. 10	Florida Field Gainesville, FL		W 41–20	48,631	^[8]
November 1	at No. 17 Auburn	No. 7	Cliff Hare Stadium Auburn, AL (rivalry)		L 12–38	50,086	^[9]
November 8	vs. No. 16 Georgia	No. 13	Gator Bowl Stadium Jacksonville, FL (rivalry)	ABC	T 13–13	70,862	^[10]
November 15	Kentucky		Florida Field Gainesville, FL (rivalry)		W 31–6	55,279	^[11]
November 29	at Miami (FL)*		Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL (rivalry)		W 35–16	70,934	^[12]
December 27	vs. No. 11 Tennessee*	No. 15	Gator Bowl Stadium Jacksonville, FL (rivalry)	NBC	W 14–13	72,248	^[13]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[1]^[14]

Roster

1969 Florida Gators football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
WR		Carlos Alvarez	So
QB		John Reaves	So

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class

Head coach

Ray Graves

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

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

Injured
Redshirt

Season summary

Houston

In the opening game against the seventh-ranked Houston Cougars, the unranked Gators debuted a new passing offense which set the tone of success for the rest of the season and upset the Cougars 59–34. Carlos Alvarez had 6 catches and 182 yards receiving.^[1]

Mississippi State

In the second week of play, the Gators beat Mississippi State. 47–25. Alvarez had 12 catches and 180 yards receiving.^[1]

Florida State

	1	2	3	4	Total
FSU	0	6	0	0	6
• Florida	0	7	7	7	21

Date: October 4
Location: Florida Field, Gainesville, Florida
Game attendance: 63,957

The Gators won the matchup over Florida State 21–6 on the back of a defensive surge that was unparalleled in Gator history. The Gators defense, led by junior defensive lineman Jack Youngblood, and sophomore defensive lineman Robert Harrell, sacked FSU quarterback Bill Cappleman eleven times for 91 yards leaving FSU with a total of negative 18 yards rushing in the game. Youngblood had been shifted to defensive end, with Harrell at tackle.^[15] Harrell earned National Defensive Lineman of The Week honors.^[16]

In addition to the pass rush, the FSU offense fumbled the ball eight times, losing five. Two other Gator Sophomores starred in the game as well, All-American wide out Carlos Alvarez and quarterback John Reaves. Alvarez had seven catches for 134 yards.^[1]

Tulane

On "Super Saturday" in Tampa,^[17] the Gators came from behind and went for two to beat winless Tulane by an 18–17 score.^[16] Alvarez had 11 catches for 146 yards.^[1] "It was a damn poor victory, but it tasted a lost better than a defeat would have" wrote Jack Hairston.^[18]

North Carolina

The Gators defeated the North Carolina Tar Heels 52–2 and Alvarez caught 4 passes for 122 yards.^[1]

Vanderbilt

Florida won over the Vanderbilt Commodores 41–20. Reaves threw 5 touchdowns^[16] and Alvarez had 11 catches for 112 yards.^[1]

Auburn; Georgia

A Southeastern Conference (SEC) loss to the Auburn Tigers and a tie with the rival Georgia Bulldogs cost the Gators a share of their elusive first SEC football championship.

Kentucky

In a 31–6 victory over the Kentucky Wildcats 31–6. Alvarez had 10 catches for 105 receiving yards.^[1]

Miami

Florida beat the Miami Hurricanes 35–16 as Carlos Alvarez had a then-record 237 receiving yards on 15 receptions.^[1]

Postseason

Tennessee

Gator Bowl

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Florida	7	0	7	0	14
Tennessee	0	10	0	3	13

Date: December 27
Location: Gator Bowl

In a strange twist, the Gators were invited to play coach Doug Dickey's SEC champion Tennessee Volunteers in the December 1969 Gator Bowl.^[19] In a game dominated by a Gators defense led by linebacker Mike Kelley (the game's MVP), defensive back Steve Tannen and defensive end Jack Youngblood, the Gators upset the Volunteers 14–13 to cap their 9–1–1 season—the Gators' best ever single-season record to that time.^[19] After the Gator Bowl, Ray Graves resigned as the head coach of the Gators football team, but continued as the athletic director of the Florida Gators sports program until 1979.

During the 1960s, Graves compiled an overall record of 70–31–4 (.686) during the decade, making Graves the winningest coach in the history of the Gators football program until that time.

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j 2016 Florida Gators Football Media Guide, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, p. 110–111 (2015). Retrieved August 14, 2015.
^ Buddy Martin (December 18, 1969). "Mac Steen: HeIs Gators Answer To jerry Kramer". Ocala Star-Banner.
^ "Florida bombards Houston, 59 to 34". Pensacola News Journal. September 21, 1969. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Gators outscore Mississippi State in 47–35 slugfest". The Commercial Appeal. September 28, 1969. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Gator defenders muscle into act". St. Petersburg Times. October 5, 1969. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Gators bite off brash Tulane challenge 18–17". The Tampa Tribune. October 12, 1969. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "UNC killed by angry Gators, 52–2". The Charlotte Observer. October 19, 1969. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Gators smash Vandy, 41–20". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. October 26, 1969. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Auburn hands Florida first defeat of year". The Opelika-Auburn News. November 2, 1969. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Florida, Georgia tie, 13–13". The Bradenton Herald. November 9, 1969. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Bowl-hungry Gators nab 31–6 win over Kentucky". Tallahassee Democrat. November 16, 1969. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Florida beats Miami 35–16; Reaves No. 1". The Danville Register. November 30, 1969. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Florida upsets Vols in Gator". The El Paso Times. December 28, 1969. Retrieved October 21, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Sports Publicity Department. "1970 University of Florida Football Brochure" (PDF). floridagators.com. University Athletic Association, Inc. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
^ "Florida State Football - 1969 Year In Review".
^ ^a ^b ^c "Great Teams and Eras: The Super Sophs".
^ "Florida, Tulane Clash in Tampa". Sarasota Journal. October 10, 1969. p. 30.
^ "What Writers Said About Gators". Ocala Star-Banner. October 12, 1969. p. 2D.
^ ^a ^b Nash, The Gainesville Sun Presents, pp. 73–76.