1974 Florida Gators football team

The 1974 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1974 NCAA Division I football season. The season was Doug Dickey's fifth as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team. Dickey's 1974 Florida Gators finished with an 8–4 overall record and a 3–3 record in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), tying for fourth among ten SEC teams.^[1]

1974 Florida Gators football
Sugar Bowl, L 10–13 vs. Nebraska
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 12
AP	No. 15
Record	8–4 (3–3 SEC)
Head coach	Doug Dickey (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Jimmy Dunn (5th season)
Offensive scheme	Wishbone
Defensive coordinator	Doug Knotts (5th season)
Captains	Lee McGriff Ralph Ortega
Home stadium	Florida Field
Seasons ← 1973 1975 →

1974 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 5 Alabama $	6	–	0	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
No. 8 Auburn	4	–	2	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
Georgia	4	–	2	–	0			6	–	6	–	0
No. 17 Mississippi State	3	–	3	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
No. 15 Florida	3	–	3	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Kentucky	3	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
No. 20 Tennessee	2	–	3	–	1			7	–	3	–	2
Vanderbilt	2	–	3	–	1			7	–	3	–	2
LSU	2	–	4	–	0			5	–	5	–	1
Ole Miss	0	–	6	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Powered by a strong backfield that included Tony Green and Jimmy DuBose, Dickey employed the wishbone offense for the first season in the Gators' history.^[2]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 14	California*		Florida Field Gainesville, FL		W 21–17	39,521	[3]
September 21	vs. No. 14 Maryland*		Tampa Stadium Tampa, FL		W 17–10	41,140	[4]
September 28	Mississippi State		Florida Field Gainesville, FL		W 29–13	48,843	[5]
October 5	LSU	No. 13	Florida Field Gainesville, FL (rivalry)		W 24–14	56,590	[6]
October 12	at Vanderbilt	No. 8	Dudley Field Nashville, TN		L 10–24	25,800	[7]
October 19	at Florida State*	No. 14	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL (rivalry)		W 24–14	42,541	[8]
October 26	Duke*	No. 12	Florida Field Gainesville, FL		W 30–13	56,251	[9]
November 2	No. 5 Auburn	No. 11	Florida Field Gainesville, FL (rivalry)	ABC	W 25–14	64,912	[10]
November 9	vs. Georgia	No. 6	Gator Bowl Stadium Jacksonville, FL (rivalry)		L 16–17	70,716	[11]
November 16	at Kentucky	No. 9	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY (rivalry)	ABC	L 24–41	45,000	[12]
November 30	Miami (FL)*		Florida Field Gainesville, FL (rivalry)		W 31–7	48,563	[13]
December 31	vs. No. 8 Nebraska*	No. 18	Tulane Stadium New Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl)	ABC	L 10–13	67,890	[14]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[1][15]

Roster

1974 Florida Gators football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB Don Gaffney	Defense Pos. # Name Class	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K David Posey	Head coach Doug Dickey Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt