1946 Florida Gators football
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Record0–9 (0–5 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive schemeDouble-wing
CaptainWilliam Raborn
Home stadiumFlorida Field
Seasons
← 1945
1947 →
1946 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 3 Georgia + 5 – 0 – 0 11 – 0 – 0
No. 7 Tennessee + 5 – 0 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
No. 8 LSU 5 – 1 – 0 9 – 1 – 1
No. 11 Georgia Tech 4 – 2 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
Mississippi State 3 – 2 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Alabama 4 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Vanderbilt 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Kentucky 2 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Tulane 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Auburn 1 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Ole Miss 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
Florida 0 – 5 – 0 0 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1946 Florida Gators football team was an American football team that represented the University of Florida in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1946 college football season. In their first season under head coach Raymond Wolf, the Gators compiled a 0–9 record (0–5 against SEC opponents), finished last in the SEC, and were outscored by a total of 264 to 104.[1]

The winless 0–9 season is the worst win–loss record in the history of Gators football to date, surpassing the winless 0–5 record of the 1916 Florida Gators football team.[2] Despite the poor overall showing, Broughton Williams led the nation with 490 receiving yards.[3][4] Harold Griffin led the nation in punt return average.[citation needed] Griffin had the longest punt return of the year, a 97-yard return against Miami (FL), and 92-yard return against Villanova.[5][6]

The 1946 season was at the center of a school record 13-game losing streak which stretched from the last game of the 1945 campaign until the fourth contest of 1947. The players on these squads dubbed their time at Florida the "Golden Era", and members of the "Golden Era Gang" regularly held reunions and raised funds for scholarships and facilities improvements at UF for many subsequent years.[7] Players on these teams included future Florida attorney general James W. Kynes and College Football Hall of Fame coach Marcelino Huerta.

Florida was ranked at No. 84 in the final Litkenhous Difference by Score System rankings for 1946.[8]

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 28vs. Ole Miss
L 7–1320,000[9]
October 5at Tulane
L 13–2730,000[10]
October 12at Vanderbilt
L 0–2020,000[11]
October 19Miami (FL)*dagger
L 13–20[12]
October 262:30 p.m.at No. 10 North Carolina*
L 19–4022,000[13]
November 9vs. No. 5 Georgia
  • Fairfield Stadium
  • Jacksonville, FL (rivalry)
L 14–3323,000[14]
November 16Villanova*
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL
L 20–2715,000[15]
November 23vs. NC State*
L 6–3714,500[16]
November 30Auburn
  • Florida Field
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
L 12–478,000[17]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[2]

References

  1. ^ "1946 Florida Gators Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  2. ^ a b 2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide Archived 2015-12-08 at the Wayback Machine, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 110–111 (2015). Retrieved August 14, 2015.
  3. ^ W.J. Bingham, ed. (1947). The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1947. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 83.
  4. ^ See ESPN College Football Encyclopedia.
  5. ^ Austin Bealmear (December 14, 1946). "Hal Griffin Credited With Longest Punt Return In 1946". The Tampa Tribune. p. 11.
  6. ^ Official NCAA Football Guide, p. 92.
  7. ^ "Great Teams and Eras: The Golden Era - GatorZone.com". Archived from the original on November 26, 2015. Retrieved July 13, 2016.
  8. ^ Dr. E. E. Litkenhous (December 15, 1946). "Rice Rated Fifth Best, Tennessee 12th by Lit". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. p. B4 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Pete Norton (September 29, 1946). "Ole Miss Scores 13-7 Win Over Gators: Rebels Hold Early Margin For Victory". The Tampa Tribune. p. 21 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Tulane turns back Florida". Durham Morning Herald. October 6, 1946. Retrieved April 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Raymond Johnson (October 13, 1946). "Moore' Brilliant Play Leads Vandy To Win: Hoover Suffers Fractured Leg; Out For Season; Commodore Stifle Gators' Air Attack In 20-0 SEC Triumph". The Nashville Tennessean. pp. C1, C2 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Guy Butler (October 20, 1946). "'Won By Turning On Power,' Harding Says; Praises Dunn". The Miami News. p. 2C – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Fred Flagler (October 27, 1946). "Carolina Slaughters Florida 40 to 19: Gators Frighten Tar Heels With Deadly Passing Attack; Charlie Justice Leads Scoring Pace With Two Brilliant Touchdown Runs". The Daily Tar Heel. pp. 1, 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Pete Norton (November 10, 1946). "Georgia Rallies To Trim Florida, 33-14: Gators Unable To Keep Lead Held at Half". The Tampa Tribune. pp. B1, B3 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Villanova's Wildcats Beat Florida Gators In Wild Game, 27-20: 15,000 Watch Floridians Go Down To Seventh Straight Defeat". Bradenton Herald. Associated Press. November 17, 1946. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Pete Norton (November 24, 1946). "Wolfpack Crushes Gators, 37 to 6: 14,500 Watch Florida Lose 8th Straight; Turner, Griffin Star for Rival Teams". The Tampa Times. pp. 1B, 2B.
  17. ^ Arthur Martin (December 1, 1946). "Auburn Smears Florida, 47-12: Tidwell Leads Plainsmen To SEC Victory As Gators Close Winless". The Miami News. p. 2C – via Newspapers.com.
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