1950 Florida Gators football team

American college football season

1950 Florida Gators football

The 1950 Gators practice under the lights before the first night game at Florida Field.

Conference| Southeastern Conference
Record| 5–5 (2–4 SEC)
Head coach|

* Bob Woodruff (1st season)

Captain| Angus Williams
Home stadium| Florida Field

Seasons

<- 1949

1951 ->

1950 Southeastern Conference football standings

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| Conf. |  |  | Overall

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Team | W |  | L |  | T |  |  | W |  | L |  | T
No. 7 Kentucky $  | 5  | - | 1  | - | 0 |  |  | 11  | - | 1  | - | 0
No. 4 Tennessee | 4  | - | 1  | - | 0 |  |  | 11  | - | 1  | - | 0
No. 16 Alabama | 6  | - | 2  | - | 0 |  |  | 9  | - | 2  | - | 0
No. 20 Tulane | 3  | - | 1  | - | 1 |  |  | 6  | - | 2  | - | 1
Georgia Tech | 4  | - | 2  | - | 0 |  |  | 5  | - | 6  | - | 0
Georgia | 3  | - | 2  | - | 1 |  |  | 6  | - | 3  | - | 3
Mississippi State | 3  | - | 4  | - | 0 |  |  | 4  | - | 5  | - | 0
Vanderbilt | 3  | - | 4  | - | 0 |  |  | 7  | - | 4  | - | 0
LSU | 2  | - | 3  | - | 2 |  |  | 4  | - | 5  | - | 2
Florida | 2  | - | 4  | - | 0 |  |  | 5  | - | 5  | - | 0
Ole Miss | 1  | - | 5  | - | 0 |  |  | 5  | - | 5  | - | 0
Auburn | 0  | - | 7  | - | 0 |  |  | 0  | - | 10  | - | 0

* $ - Conference champion

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1950 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1950 college football season. The season was Bob Woodruff's first of ten as the new head coach of the Florida Gators football team. Woodruff was a former college football player and assistant for coach Robert Neyland's Tennessee Volunteers, who made his name as an up-and-coming young head coach leading the Baylor Bears for three seasons in the late 1940s. Like Neyland, Woodruff emphasized stout defense, the kicking game and a ball control offense. In Woodruff's first season of 1950, the Gators offense, led by quarterback Haywood Sullivan and offensive coordinator Frank Broyles, posted record numbers. Sullivan was the first sophomore in SEC history to throw for more than 1,000 yards in a season. He set nine school records.[note 1] The highlights of the season included two Southeastern Conference (SEC) victories over the Auburn Tigers (27–7) and the No. 13-ranked Vanderbilt Commodores (31–27)—the first season since 1940 in which the Gators won two or more SEC games. The Gators' No. 20 ranking after the Vanderbilt game marked their first-ever appearance in the top twenty of the weekly Associated Press Poll. Woodruff's 1950 Florida Gators finished 5–5 overall and 2–4 in the SEC, placing tenth among twelve conference teams.[2]

Also of note, lights were installed at Florida Field during the summer of 1950, and the Gators opened the season with their first home night game, a 7–3 win over The Citadel.[3]

## Schedule

[edit]

Date| Opponent| Rank| Site| Result| Attendance| Source

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September 23| The Citadel*| |

* Florida Field
* Gainesville, FL

| W 7–3| 25,000| [4]
September 30| Duquesne*| |

* Florida Field
* Gainesville, FL

| W 27–14| 18,500| [5]
October 7| at Georgia Tech| |

* Grant Field
* Atlanta, GA

| L 13–16| 21,000| [6]
October 14| Auburn| |

* Florida Field
* Gainesville, FL (rivalry)

| W 27–7| 30,000| [7]
October 21| at No. 13 Vanderbilt| |

* Dudley Field
* Nashville, TN

| W 31–27| 24,000| [8]
October 28| Furman*| No. 20|

* Florida Field
* Gainesville, FL

| W 19–7| | [9]
November 4| at No. 5 Kentucky| No. 17|

* McLean Stadium
* Lexington, KY (rivalry)

| L 6–40| 33,000| [10]
November 11| vs. Georgia| |

* Gator Bowl Stadium
* Jacksonville, FL (rivalry)

| L 0–6| 36,132| [11]
November 18| No. 17 Miami (FL)*| |

* Florida Field
* Gainesville, FL (rivalry)

| L 14–20| 40,000| [12]
November 25| vs. No. 17 Alabama| |

* Gator Bowl Stadium
* Jacksonville, FL (rivalry)

| L 13–41| 16,000| [13]

* *Non-conference game
* Homecoming
* Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[2]

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ These included average (50.3%), yardage (1,170), and average for a single game (7 for 7 against Kentucky).[1]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ see Golenbock, Go Gators!, p. 58
2. ^ a b 2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide Archived 2015-12-08 at the Wayback Machine, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 109–110 (2015). Retrieved August 15, 2015.
3. ^ Florida Field timeline at FloridaGators.com
4. ^ "Florida defeats Citadel on 78 yard punt return". Tallahassee Democrat. September 24, 1950. Retrieved February 11, 2022 - via Newspapers.com.
5. ^ "Florida storms past Duquesne for 27–14 victory". The Orlando Sentinel-Sun. October 1, 1950. Retrieved February 11, 2022 - via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ "Red Patton's field goal brings Tech win". The Knoxville Journal. October 8, 1950. Retrieved February 11, 2022 - via Newspapers.com.
7. ^ "Record crowd sees Florida win by 27–7 over Auburn Tigers". The Tampa Tribune. October 15, 1950. Retrieved February 11, 2022 - via Newspapers.com.
8. ^ "Underdog Florida strikes first to stun Vanderbilt with 31–27 upset". The Huntsville Times. October 22, 1950. Retrieved February 11, 2022 - via Newspapers.com.
9. ^ "Florida beats inspired Furman eleven by 19–7". The Tampa Tribune. October 29, 1950. Retrieved August 21, 2021 - via Newspapers.com.
10. ^ "Kentucky whips Florida 40–6 before 33,000 at homecoming". The Owensboro Messenger. November 5, 1950. Retrieved February 11, 2022 - via Newspapers.com.
11. ^ "Georgia grinds out 6–0 win over Florida". News-Press. November 12, 1950. Retrieved February 11, 2022 - via Newspapers.com.
12. ^ "Miami defeats stubborn Gators 20 to 14". The Palm Beach Post. November 19, 1950. Retrieved February 11, 2022 - via Newspapers.com.
13. ^ "Tide puts freeze on Florida, 41–13". The Birmingham News. November 26, 1950. Retrieved February 11, 2022 - via Newspapers.com.

* v
* t
* e

Florida Gators football

Venues|

* The Baseball Park (1906–1910)
* University Athletic Field / Fleming Field (1911–1930)
* Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (1930–present)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Bowl games
* Alabama
* Auburn
* Florida State (Florida Cup)
* Georgia
* Kentucky
* LSU
* Miami (Florida Cup)
* Tennessee

Culture & lore|

* History
* The Pride of the Sunshine
* Gator Chomp
* Mr. Two Bits
* Gatorade
* I Won't Back Down
* 1961 gambling scandal

People|

* Head coaches
* Ring of Honor
* All-Americans
* UF Athletic Hall of Fame
* Starting quarterbacks
* Statistical leaders
* NFL draftees

Seasons|

* 1906
* 1907
* 1908
* 1909
* 1910
* 1911
* 1912
* 1913
* 1914
* 1915
* 1916
* 1917
* 1918
* 1919
* 1920
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* 1950
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National championship seasons in bold

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*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf.]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[No.]: Number