Florida

There was excitement on campus and among members of the staff as soph QB Steve Spurrier took the reins of the Gators and took them to a 7-3 season that included upset wins over LSU who was Sugar Bowl-bound, Auburn, and Miami. Spurrier and his colleagues donned a new helmet, similar to the previous blue shell that Graves introduced in '61 with the one-inch orange center stripe, one-inch gap, and one-inch white flanking stripes. Graves however replaced the player numerals with an orange "F" logo that was trimmed with a blue border, placed within a white oval that was trimmed with an orange border. With FB Larry Dupree missing time due to injury, the big contest was against Alabama, both undefeated going into the season's fourth game. With the Tide victorious at 17-14, the Gators at least knew they could play with anyone. Losses to primary rivals Georgia (14-7) and Florida State (17-6) hurt but the attempted psychological boost of having "Go For Seven" sewn to the front of the jerseys proved embarrassing while losing to Florida State. Spurrier at times had senior QB Tom Shannon filling in for him and Charley Casey was a reliable receiver for both. Spurrier finished the season ranked third in the SEC in total offense in a preview of more to come.

It was clearly Spurrier's team in '65 with soph Harmon Wages backing him up. Offensive coach Pepper Rodgers had taken the head coaching job at UCLA and Graves was now inclined to allow Spurrier to throw almost at will. With receivers Richard Trapp and Charley Casey who led the SEC in receiving, the strategy was sound. The payback wins over Georgia by 14-10 and Florida State in a 30-17 finale, were offset by upset losses to Mississippi State and Miami. Rushing was sound with tailback Jack Harper but back-up QB Harmon Wages had too much talent to sit and was moved to HB where he was a multi-talented threat and dangerous returner. Safety Bruce Bennett was the hub of the defense. The Gators 7-3 mark put them into the Sugar Bowl against Big 8 champ Missouri where they lost in a furious comeback attempt, 20-18.