1959 Florida Gators football team

1959 Florida Gators football
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 19
AP	No. 19
1959 record	5–4–1 (2–4 9th SEC)
Head coach	Bob Woodruff
Home stadium	Florida Field

1959 SEC football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#5 Georgia $	7	–	0	–	0			10	–	1	–	0
#3 LSU	5	–	1	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
#2 Ole Miss	5	–	1	–	0			10	–	1	–	0
#10 Alabama	4	–	1	–	2			7	–	2	–	2
Auburn	4	–	3	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
Vanderbilt	3	–	2	–	2			5	–	3	–	2
Georgia Tech	3	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Tennessee	3	–	4	–	1			5	–	4	–	1
#19 Florida	2	–	4	–	0			5	–	4	–	1
Kentucky	1	–	6	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Tulane	0	–	5	–	1			3	–	6	–	1
Mississippi State	0	–	7	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1959 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1959 college football season. The season was Bob Woodruff's tenth and last year as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team. The Gators celebrated a close conference win over the Mississippi State Bulldogs (14–13), and suffered close conference defeats to the Vanderbilt Commodores (6–13), the top-ranked LSU Tigers (0–9) and the eighth-ranked Auburn Tigers (0–6). Woodruff finished his tenure on a high note, with the Gators' victories over the Florida State Seminoles (18–8) and the twelfth-ranked Miami Hurricanes (23–14), their primary in-state rivals. Woodruff's 1959 Florida Gators finished with an overall record of 5–4–1 and a Southeastern Conference (SEC) record of 2–4, placing ninth among twelve SEC teams.^[1]

Schedule and results

Date	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	Result
9–18–1959	Tulane		Tulane Stadium • New Orleans, Louisiana	W 30–0
9–26–1959	Mississippi State	No. 19	Florida Field • Gainesville, Florida	W 14–13
10–3–1959	Virginia*	No. 19	Florida Field • Gainesville, Florida	W 55–10
10–10–1959	Rice*	No. 17	Rice Stadium • Houston, Texas	T 13–13
10–17–1959	Vanderbilt	No. 19	Dudley Field • Nashville, Tennessee	L 6–13
10–24–1959	No. 1 LSU		Florida Field • Gainesville, Florida (HC)	L 0–9
10–31–1959	No. 8 Auburn		Cliff Hare Stadium • Auburn, Alabama	L 0–6
11–7–1959	No. 11 Georgia		Gator Bowl Stadium • Jacksonville, Florida	L 10–21
11–21–1959	Florida State*		Florida Field • Gainesville, Florida	W 18–8
11–28–1959	No. 12 Miami*		Gator Bowl Stadium • Jacksonville, Florida	W 23–14
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game.

Primary source: 2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide.^[1]

Postseason

Despite having returned the Gators to competitive respectability within the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in his ten seasons as the Gators' coach and athletic director, University of Florida president J. Wayne Reitz declined to renew Woodruff's contract in 1959 after two previous contract extensions. Woodruff returned to the University of Tennessee, his alma mater, in 1963, where he became the long-time athletic director of the Tennessee Volunteers sports program. During the 1950s, the Gators compiled an overall record of 53–42–6 (.555) during the decade.

References

1. 2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, p. 107 (2015). Retrieved August 16, 2015.