1940 Florida Gators football
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Record5–5 (2–3 SEC)
Head coach
CaptainBud Walton
Home stadiumFlorida Field
Seasons
← 1939
1941 →
1940 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 4 Tennessee $ 5 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0
No. 9 Mississippi State 4 – 0 – 1 10 – 0 – 1
Ole Miss 3 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
Alabama 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
Auburn 3 – 2 – 1 6 – 4 – 1
LSU 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Georgia 2 – 3 – 1 5 – 4 – 1
Florida 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Kentucky 1 – 2 – 2 5 – 3 – 2
Tulane 1 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Vanderbilt 1 – 5 – 1 3 – 6 – 1
Georgia Tech 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Sewanee 0 – 1 – 0 3 – 5 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1940 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1940 college football season. The season was the first of four for Tom Lieb as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team. Lieb was the former coach of the Loyola Lions, and had previously served as Knute Rockne's primary assistant and on-the-field replacement while Rockne was in the hospital during most of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish's 1930 national championship season. The highlights of the Gators' 1940 season included victories over the Maryland Terrapins (19–0), the Georgia Bulldogs (18–13), the Miami Hurricanes (46–6) and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (16–7). Lieb's 1940 Florida Gators finished with a 5–5 overall record and a 2–3 record in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), placing eighth among thirteen SEC teams.[1]

Florida was ranked at No. 64 (out of 697 college football teams) in the final rankings under the Litkenhous Difference by Score system for 1940.[2]

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 28Mississippi State
L 7–2512,000[3]
October 5at Tampa*
W 23–0[4]
October 11at Villanova*
L 0–2822,000[5]
October 19Maryland*dagger
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL
W 19–010,000[6]
October 26at No. 5 Tennessee
L 0–1415,000[7]
November 9vs. Georgia
W 18–1319,000[8]
November 168:30 p.m.at Miami (FL)*
W 46–617,365[9][10]
November 23at Georgia Tech
W 16–712,000[11]
November 30vs. Auburn
L 7–207,500[12]
December 7Texas*
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL
L 0–2612,000[13]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

[1]

References

  1. ^ a b 2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide Archived December 8, 2015, at the Wayback Machine, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, p. 111 (2015). Retrieved August 17, 2015.
  2. ^ Dr. E. E. Litkenhous (December 19, 1940). "Final 1940 Litkenhous Ratings". The Boston Globe. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Mississippi State overpowers Florida and wins 25 to 7". Fort Myers News-Press. September 29, 1940. Retrieved September 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Gators whip Tampa, 23–0". Tampa Sunday Tribune. October 6, 1940. Retrieved September 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Villanova jolts Florida, 28 to 0". Lancaster Daily Intelligencer Journal. October 12, 1940. Retrieved September 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Florida Eleven Passes Its Way To 19-To-O Victory Over Maryland". The Baltimore Sun. October 20, 1940. p. Sports 5 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Gators hold mighty Vols to two touchdowns". St. Petersburg Times. October 27, 1940. Retrieved August 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Gators sprout wings to win 18–13 game". The Miami Herald. November 10, 1940. Retrieved February 19, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "20,000 to see Florida, Miami". St. Petersburg Times. Associated Press. November 16, 1940. p. 13.
  10. ^ "Florida survives Miami Hurricanes, scres 46–6 win". Fort Myers News-Press. November 17, 1940. Retrieved September 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Gators complete conquest of Georgia, defeat Tech". Monroe Morning World. November 24, 1940. Retrieved September 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Auburn upsets Dope Bucket with 20–7 easy win over Florida Gators". The Selma Times-Journal. December 1, 1940. Retrieved September 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Texas hands Gators 26–0 loss in finale". The Palm Beach Post-Times. December 8, 1940. Retrieved April 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
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