We all know that Florida has dominated the SEC and become one of the top powers in alll of the NCAA over the course of the 80's, but what about before then, where did they come from? Well, that is a question now answered.

Before 1906, UF was called the Florida Agricultural College in Lake City (FAC). FAC first fielded a team in 1889, but there was no competition to be found for the tiny college. After playing many tiny games against small teams in scrimages, they finally got a break in 1901and played it's first game against a "real" team. On Nov. 22 FAC took on Stetson University in a hard fought game. The game was contested on a tiny fairground lot in Jacksonville. Trailing late in the game FAC had marched all the way down to the Stetson 8 yard line when a stump on the playing field , so the ball was carried over to the side to the advantage of the Stetson team. The drive stalled there and Stetson went on to win. This kind of frustration has followed the Gators along the years as you will see.

In 1905 the college was moved to Gainesville where the name was changed from FAC to the University of Florida (UF). There Florida finally fielded it's first official team in the fall of 1906. Jack Forsythe coached the first team to a 5-3-0 record, the first of those wins against Rollins 6-0 on a small baseball field in Gainesville, just north of where the illustrious Ben Hill Griffen Stadium now stands. In 1907 Forsythe coached his team to a 4-1-1 record and in 1908 a 5-2-1 record. As our first coach he compiled a 14-6-2 record(.681) ranking 6th best in UF history.

In 1909 UF hired one of the best coaches in UF history in G.E. Pyle. In Pyle's first year as coach he coached the team to a 6-1-1 record. In 1910 a 6-1-0 record and in 1911 gave UF it's first and only undefeated season. In 1912 following a 5-2-1 season, the gators traveled to Havana for a postseason exhibitioni game. Pyle thought the officials were cheating and handing the game to the Cuban team, so he withdrew his team and forfeited the game. The Cuban justice department decided that forfeiting in front of payin customers was against the law, so the players and Pyle were arrested. Before the day they were to arrive in court they fled back to the US and until this day are still fugitives from Cuban justice. Pyle decided it was time for more competition and stacked the schedules with Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association teams including Auburn, Georgia Tech, and South Carolina. In 1912 these new teams finally showed up on the schedule, and while they beat South Carolina 10-6, they lost to the other two big namers Auburn (27-13) and Georgia Tech (14-7) on their way to a 5-2-1 record. In 1913, UF, under the guidance of Pyle beat Southern University 144-0, this win still stands as the largest win in UF history. But unfortunately, this was the only highlight of the season for UF as they went on to lose to South Carolina, Auburn, and Georgia Tech, thus ending the Pyle era. In his 5 years Pyle compiled a 26-7-3 record (.763) giving him the 2nd best winning percentage by a coach at UF, 2nd only two Steve Spurrier.

The years following the Pyle era marked a small decline during the rest of the 1910's. The newest member of the UF coaching club was Charles McCoy. McCoy's first couple years weren't bad, but they weren't great either. 1914 the team went 5-2-0, losing their only game against a good team to Auburn 20-0. McCoy's next year (1915) marked the first year of the Georgia rivalry. In the two schools first game the bulldogs took the win 39-0, and so the rivalry begins on a bad note for the Gators. The only other decent team on the schedule that year was Auburn who the gators lost two in a hard fought tight 7-0 game. The gators went on to fiinigh the year 4-3-0. The gator team hit rock bottom in 1916 under McCoy's last year as coach, as the team went 0-5, only scoring 3 points on a field goal against Indiana in their last game. Tennessee and Alabama had finally been added to the schedule that year, the gators losing their first meeting against the two teams 24-0 and 16-0 respectfully. The winless season marked one of the lowest points in gator history. Thus ending the McCoy era at 9-10-0 (.474).

The three year stint by the next UF coach was not any better. A.L. Busser became the 4th UF coach in 1917. The next year started out well when the gators beat South Carolina in Gainesville 21-13, but 3 weeks later hit rock bottom again when they lost to Auburn 68-0, followed by drubbings by Clemson 55-7 and Kentucky 52-0. Because of World War I 1918 was cut short with the gators only playing one game against Camp Johnson of the US Army which of course they lost 14-2, giving them an 0-1 record that year. Florida faired slightly better in 1919 going 5-3-0 sparked by another win over South Carolina, but dipping to a low point with their 3rd straight loss to Georgia 16-0. The Busser era ended on a high note with there 5-3-0 record, but moral was still floundering, with his final coaching record amounting to an 8-9-0 (.467) record.

From the low point of the 1910s to the high point of the 1920's the Gators went. The first coach of the 20's was William Kline. His first year put up a 6-3-0 record despite the continuing futility against Georgia who they fell to 56-0. In 1921 the gators would play an 11 game schedule for the first time. The schedule including powers such as Tennessee, South Carolina, Alabama, and North Carolina. Florida though, only went 1-2-1 in those games, showing that they hadn't quite reached a power status. The lone win against those 4 came against Alabama in Tuscaloosa. They finnished off trhe season 6-3-2 for their 3rd straight winning season. The 1922 season was another good one going 7-2 in their 9 games including a 47-14 beating of Clemson in Jacksonville. In his three years as coach of Florida Kline compiled a 19-8 record (.690) starting of the 20's with a good note.

In 1923 the Gators hired a hard nosed Major in the US Army by the name of VanFleet. VanFleet lead his team to national prominence for the first time. in his first year of 6-1-2 he brought UF their first All-Southern Players, three of them in fact, by the names of OT-Robbie Robinson(1923), HB-Ark Newton(1923), and OG-Goldy Goldstein (1923, 1924, 1925 all-southern selection). In that year the gators tied Georgia Tech, beat Wake Forest, beat Alabama, and tied Misissippi State. The Alabama upset stands as one of the biggest in Gators history over the Wallace Wade lead Crimson Tide in 1923. With the gators trailing 6-0 at halftime and a heavy rain driving, the VanFleet ordered his troops to remove their soaked socks, the Crimson Tide on the other hand continued to play in their soggy socks, with the new speed advantage, the gators went on to score 16 unanswered points and take down the Tide on their home field in Tuscaloosa. Later in life VanFleet reminisced "Coach Wade was so mad he never spoke to me again, but as I remember, his boys played bare-legged in the future in bad weather." The 1924 season was almost as good the Gators posted a 6-2-2 record with wins against Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, and Mississippi State, and tying powers Georgia Tech and Texas, and a close call loss against Army in West Point 14-7. Unfortunately VanFleet left Florida to search for a new coach following the 1924 season, ending the Vanfleet era after only 19 games, though he did post a 12-3-4 (.684) record over that span.

The next year in 1925 under new head coach H.L. Sebring, the gators posted their first ever 8 win season going 8-2 that year. The year included wins over Wake Forest (24-3), Clemson (42-0), and Mississippi State (12-0), though Alabama got their vengeance for the 1923 upset, beating the gators 34-0. In 1926 the gators had their only losing season in the 20's going 2-6-2 beating only Clemson (33-0), and Southern (16-0), and one tie to Hampden-Sydney (0-0). Sebring fought back in 1927 though to regain national respect going 7-3-0. The season saw UF gaining their first win over Auburn (33-6) along with wins over Alabama, Maryland, and Kentucky, but UF ramained winless in the border war losing 28-0 to Georgia. Sebring went 17-11-3 (.600) in his 3 year span as coach of the Gators.

The next coach for the Gators was Charles Bachman. His first year was one of the greatest in Gator history. The Gators started off in 1928 winning their first 8 games, before coming to play the Volunteers of Tennessee who stood at 7-1-1 and a game behind the Gators for the SIAA title. The vols took the win 13-12 as the Gators missed both extra point attempts. That year UF got it's first all-american in Dale Van Sickel. The team was also lead by the powerfull double-quadruple option with QB Clyde "Cannonball" Crabtree at the helm, also an all-southern selection. Among the wins in 1928 were 26-6 win at Georgia, a 27-0 blitz of Auburn, and a solid 27-6 win against Clemson. This team also lead the nation in scoring and total offense. In 1929 the gators once again had success under Bachman, grinding out wins against Clemson, Georgia, Auburn, and South Carolina, though falling hard to Georgia Tech and Harvard. This marked the beginning of a long decline in UF football, as it would be another 23 years before UF would see 7 or more wins on the record. The 1930 season would put forth some up and down moments. The Gators took games against NC State, Auburn, and Clemson, though dissapointment came when the Gators fell 20-0 to Alabama and in one of the greatest defensive games in UF history a 0-0 tie against Georgia in Gainesville. In 1931 the gators hit rock bottom posting a 2-6-2 record with the only wins coming against NC State, and of all peolpe, Auburn. 1932 would be the last season with Bachman as the helm when he pushed and dragged the team to an embarassing 3-6-0 record, though they did surprise when they took out UCLA in G-ville. Bachman would finish 27-8-3, after going 16-3-0 his first two years.

The next coach the gators would hire is DK Stanley. Hist first year in 1933 was a little better than the last year, as the gators posted a 5-3-1 with wins over Maryland and Auburn highlighting the season. The gators showed signs of rising back into power in 34' posting a 6-3-1 record, including wins over Auburn,Georgia Tech, and NC State. But then once again the top fell in on the gators again when they went 3-7-0 in 1935 with only wins coming against Stetson, Sewanee, and South Carolina thus officially ending the Stanley tenure at 14-13-2