| 1958Florida Gators football | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Southeastern Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 15 |
| AP | No. 14 |
| Record | 6–4–1 (2–3–1 SEC) |
| Head coach |
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| Home stadium | Florida Field |
Seasons | |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 1LSU $ | 6 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 11 | – | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 4Auburn | 6 | – | 0 | – | 1 | 9 | – | 0 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 11Ole Miss | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vanderbilt | 2 | – | 1 | – | 3 | 5 | – | 2 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tennessee | 4 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alabama | 3 | – | 4 | – | 1 | 5 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kentucky | 3 | – | 4 | – | 1 | 5 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 14Florida | 2 | – | 3 | – | 1 | 6 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Georgia Tech | 2 | – | 3 | – | 1 | 5 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Georgia | 2 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tulane | 1 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mississippi State | 1 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The1958 Florida Gators football team represented theUniversity of Florida during the1958 college football season. The season was the ninth of ten forBob Woodruff as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team. Woodruff's 1958 Florida Gators finished with an overall record of 6–4–1 and aSoutheastern Conference (SEC) record of 2–3–1, placing eighth in the twelve-member SEC.[1]
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 20 | Tulane | W 34–14 | 26,641 | [2] | ||
| September 27 | No. 11Mississippi State | No. 18 |
| L 7–14 | 31,102 | [3] |
| October 10 | atUCLA* | W 21–14 | 31,175 | [4] | ||
| October 18 | Vanderbilt | No. 18 |
| T 6–6 | 40,105 | [5] |
| October 25 | at No. 3LSU | L 7–10 | 62,000 | [6] | ||
| November 1 | No. 4Auburn |
| L 5–6 | 36,474 | [7] | |
| November 8 | vs.Georgia | No. 19 | W 7–6 | 38,234 | [8] | |
| November 15 | Arkansas State* | No. 18 |
| W 51–7 | 19,030 | [9] |
| November 22 | Florida State* | No. 12 |
| W 21–7 | 44,403 | [10] |
| November 29 | vs.Miami (FL)* | No. 14 |
| W 12–9 | 24,000–24,641 | [11] |
| December 27 | vs. No. 11Ole Miss* | No. 14 |
| L 3–7 | 41,312 | [12] |
| ||||||
The prospects for the 1958 season were devastated byBernie Parrish deciding to play baseball with theCincinnati Reds.[14] The Gators were led by quarterback Jimmy Dunn, defensive backDon Fleming, halfback and punterBobby Joe Green andAll-American tackleVel Heckman.
The season opened with a 34–14 a conference win over theTulane Green Wave
The first disappointment of the season came in the second week, when the Gators lost, 14–7, to the 11-rankedMississippi State Bulldogs.
In the third week of play, Florida had an intersectional victory over theUCLA Bruins team, 21–14, on the road inLos Angeles.
Florida tiedVanderbilt, 6–6.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| •No. 3 LSU | 0 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 10 |
The Gators lost to the eventual consensus national championLSU Tigers at the latter'shomecoming. The Tigers snapped a three-game losing streak to the Gators with a 10–7 defensive struggle that came down to the last three minutes of play.[17] The game featured one of the strongest rushing teams in the nation against one of the league's best run defenses. The Tigers, led by halfbacksBilly Cannon andJohnny Robinson, averaged 220 yards rushing per game. The Gators had held their previous opponents to an average of 65 yards rushing per game. LSU was favored by two touchdowns.[15] Bill Kastelz, the sports editor of theJacksonville Times-Union, wrote that Heckman's play reached All-American levels against No. 3-rankedLSU on October 25, 1958.[18]
In a 5–6 loss to fourth-rankedAuburn, an injury to a Florida tackles led Woodruff to employ the unorthodox strategy ofshifting Heckman between right and left tackle.[19] Bill Kastelz, the sports editor of theJacksonville Times-Union, wrote: "Big, fast and tough, he outshone all of Auburn's great linemen."[18] According to Auburn coachShug Jordan, "There should be a law to prevent things like that. We were supposed to run plays where Heckman wasn't, and he's there now."[20]
Coach Bob Woodruff's Gators and coach Shug Jordan's Tigers played nine games against each other between 1951 and 1959, only three of which were decided by more than ten points. However, none was closer than the game between the unranked Gators and the defending national champions and fourth-ranked Tigers in 1958, a game in which neither team scored more than six points.[21] Late in the fourth quarter, with the Tigers leading 6–3 on the strength of a single touchdown and a missed extra point, the stingy Gators defense pinned the Tigers offense behind their own three-yard-line.[22] Rather than risk a turnover, Jordan ordered Tigers quarterback Johnny Kern to kneel in their own end zone, intentionally scoring asafety for the Gators, but earning a free punt for the Tigers.[22] The Tigers kicked it away, and their defense held on to win 6–5.[23]
The Gators beat the rivalGeorgia Bulldogs, 7–6.
Florida beatArkansas State, 51–7.
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida State | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| •Florida | 7 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| 1 | 11:42 | FSU | Fred Pickard 1 yard run (Johnny Sheppard kick) | FSU 7-0 |
| 1 | 6:59 | FLA | recovered blocked punt in end zone (kick good) | Tie 7-7 |
| 2 | 3:38 | FLA | Jimmy Dunn 9 yard run (kick good) | FLA 14-7 |
| 2 | 0:57 | FLA | Jimmy Dunn 12 yard run (kick good) | FLA 21-7 |
The Gators had a 21–7 victory in their meeting wit the new in-state rivalFlorida State Seminoles.[24][25]
The season included a 12–9 upset of theMiami Hurricanes.
The Gators capped the year with a season-ending 3–7 loss to the 11th-rankedOle Miss Rebels in a defensive struggle in the December 1958Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida.