page_title: History of Florida Gators football
section_title: Urban Meyer era (2005–2010)
hierarchical_section_title: History of Florida Gators football / Overview / Urban Meyer era (2005–2010)
caption_attribution_description: English: The 2008 Florida Gators football team celebrates in Florida Field
context_page_description: The history of Florida Gators football began in 1906, when the newly established "University of the State of Florida" fielded a football team during its first full academic year of existence. The school's name was shortened to the University of Florida in 1908, and the football team gained the nickname "Gators" in 1911. The program started small, usually playing six to eight games per season against small colleges and local athletic club teams in north Florida and south Georgia, and developed an early rivalry with the Hatters of Stetson University in nearby Deland and Mercer in Macon.
  During the 1910s, Florida began playing a wider range of opponents from larger universities across the southeastern United States and faced off against several future rivals - such as Georgia, Georgia Tech, South Carolina, and Auburn - for the first time. The program first rose to national prominence in the 1920s, when coach Charlie Bachman's 1928 team led the nation in scoring and were kept from a perfect season and a possible invitation to play in the Rose Bowl by a season-ending one point loss to Tennessee in Knoxville.
context_section_description: Athletic director Jeremy Foley targeted a higher-profile replacement for Zook: 2004 Sporting News Coach of the Year Urban Meyer, head coach at Utah. Meyer chose Florida over competing Notre Dame, and he was announced as Florida's new head coach in December 2004.
  His first season (2005) was an improvement with a 9–3 record, including an Outback Bowl win against the Iowa Hawkeyes.  The Gators defeated their three biggest rivals (Tennessee, Georgia, and FSU) for only the fourth time in school history. In 2006 Florida had a 13–1 season, with its sole loss to Auburn (27–17). In their final regular-season SEC game, the Gators managed a slender 17–16 victory when Jarvis Moss blocked a fourth-quarter field-goal attempt by South Carolina. Florida defeated the Arkansas Razorbacks for the SEC championship, their first since 2000. The Gators played in the 2007 BCS Championship Game and, led by quarterback Chris Leak, defeated the #1-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes 41–14 for their second national championship.
  Tim Tebow became the full-time starting quarterback for the 2007 season. Although the Gators began with a 4–0 record and were ranked as high as third in media polls, a mid-season slump in which they lost three of four games to conference foes ended their hopes for another national championship. They finished with a 9–4 record and a # 13 final ranking, but Tebow's record-setting season earned him the Heisman Trophy; he was the first sophomore to receive the honor.
  The 2008 Gators responded as a vastly improved team.  Florida won its fourth consecutive game against Tennessee, 30–6, followed by a 31–30 upset by Ole Miss. In an emotional press conference after the game, Tebow promised that no team would play harder than Florida for the rest of the season. The Gators then earned their second national-championship berth in three years. They beat defending national champion LSU 51–21, got revenge against Georgia, handed Steve Spurrier (now back in the college ranks at South Carolina) the worst loss of his career, and defeated FSU 45–15. Florida earned the second spot in the BCS poll, beating previously undefeated Alabama 31–20 in the SEC Championship, and won the BCS National Championship Game against Oklahoma 24–14.
  The 2009 Gators were ranked first in the preseason AP and Coaches Polls. Although they had the second undefeated regular season in program history, the departures of All-American Percy Harvin and offensive coordinator Dan Mullen decreased production. Florida defeated Georgia 41–17 for the 17th time in 20 seasons, and Tebow broke the SEC career rushing touchdown record held by Herschel Walker. The Gators were ranked number one when they entered the SEC Championship against undefeated number-two Alabama. The Crimson Tide dominated the game, 32–13, and went on to win the national championship. Florida ended its season by defeating the fourth-ranked Cincinnati Bearcats 51–24 in the Sugar Bowl. In the last game of his college career, Tebow broke the Sugar Bowl record for passing yards (482) and set a BCS bowl record for total offense (533).  With the Sugar Bowl victory, the Gators became the first Division I team with consecutive 13-win seasons. The 2008 and 2009 teams included consensus All-American linebacker Brandon Spikes.
  On December 26, 2009, Meyer announced he would resign as the Gators' head coach after their bowl game due to health and family concerns. However, the next day he said he would not resign but instead take an indefinite leave of absence. Despite uncertainty about Meyer, the Gators signed the nation's consensus number-one recruiting class in February 2010. Meyer resumed coaching in time for Florida's spring practice in March 2010.   The 2010 Gators struggled in the fall, especially on offense, and their final record (8–5) was the worst of Meyer's head-coaching career. Florida finished the season unranked for the first time since 1989. On December 8, 2010 Meyer again announced his resignation, citing many of the concerns he had a year earlier. His final game was an Outback Bowl victory against Penn State.  Meyer 
caption: Celebration after the 2009 BCS Championship Game
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