Florida Gators football , 1920 – 1929 The Florida Gators football team represents the University of Florida in the sport of American football . The University of Florida fielded its first official varsity football team in the fall of 1906 , and has fielded a team every season since then , with the exception of 1943 . During the 1920s , the Gators competed in the National Collegiate Athletic Association ( NCAA ) , the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association ( SIAA ) until 1921 , and the Southern Conference after 1921 . The Gators played their home games on University Field , later renamed Fleming Field , located on the university ' s Gainesville , Florida campus . This article includes a game - by - game list of the Florida Gators ' ten football seasons from 1920 to 1929 . During the 1920s , the Gators were coached by William G . Kline ( 1920 – 1923 ) , James Van Fleet ( 1923 – 1924 ) , Harold L . " Tom " Sebring ( 1925 – 1927 ) and Charles W . " Charlie " Bachman ( 1928 – 1932 ) . Kline , Van Fleet , Sebring and Bachman compiled an overall record of 64 – 25 – 14 ( . 689 ) during the decade . 1920 . Season overview . The 1920 college football season was law professor William G . Kline ' s first of three as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team . Kline was a former halfback for the Illinois Fighting Illini , and had previously coached the Nebraska Cornhuskers . While the Gators improved their series records against traditional in - state opponents like the Florida Southern Moccasins and the Stetson Hatters , they also suffered a shutout defeat by the Tulane Green Wave and lost their fourth consecutive game to the Georgia Bulldogs . Kline ' s 1920 Florida Gators compiled a marginally better 6 – 3 overall record than the 1919 Gators , but a lesser 1 – 3 conference record against Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association ( SIAA ) competition . 1921 . Season overview . The 1921 college football season was the second for William Kline as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team . The Gators split a pair of games against football teams from two U . S . Army training bases , and improved their record against major collegiate competition by edging the Alabama Crimson Tide 9 – 2 in Tuscaloosa , Alabama ; the Gators ' two losses against the Tennessee Volunteers ( 0 – 9 ) and the North Carolina Tar Heels ( 10 – 14 ) were competitive and close . Kline ' s 1921 Florida Gators produced a marginally improved 6 – 3 – 2 overall record compared to the 1920 Gators , and a much better 4 – 1 – 2 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association ( SIAA ) conference record . 1922 . Season overview . The 1922 college football season was law professor William Kline ' s third and last year as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team . Kline ' s 1922 Florida Gators finished 7 – 2 overall , and 2 – 0 in their first year as members of the new Southern Conference , placing fifth of twenty - one teams in the conference standings . After the 1922 – 1923 school year , Kline returned to the University of Nebraska , where he was the head coach of the Nebraska Cornhuskers basketball and Cornuhuskers baseball teams , and later became a published author of books on coaching football , basketball and baseball . 1923 . Season overview . The 1923 college football season was Major James Van Fleet ' s first of two as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team . Van Fleet was a serving officer in the U . S . Army and a professor of military tactics in the university ' s Reserve Officer Training Corps ( ROTC ) program , and had been a standout fullback on the undefeated West Point Cadets team of 1914 . Notably , Florida alumni and students celebrated their first - ever Homecoming with a 19 – 7 victory over the Mercer Bears . The highlight of the 1923 season was a 16 – 6 upset of coach Wallace Wade ' s previously undefeated Alabama Crimson Tide on a muddy , rain - soaked field in Birmingham , Alabama in the final game of the year . Van Fleet ' s 1923 Florida Gators finished 6 – 1 – 2 overall , and 1 – 0 – 2 in the Southern Conference , placing third of twenty - one teams in the conference standings . 1924 . Season overview . The 1924 college football season was Major James Van Fleet ' s second and final year as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team . The Gators traveled further during the 1924 season than any other college football team in the country , and received national recognition for their ties against the powerhouse Texas Longhorns and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets . Van Fleet ' s 1924 Florida Gators finished 6 – 2 – 2 overall , and 2 – 0 – 1 in the Southern Conference , placing second of twenty - two teams in the conference standings . The U . S . Army transferred Van Fleet to the Panama Canal Zone after the 1924 season , and he would later become a regimental , divisional and corps commander during World War II and the commander of all United States and United Nations armed forces during the Korean War . 1925 . Season overview . The 1925 college football season was law student Harold L . " Tom " Sebring ' s first of three as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team . The Gators compiled their best win - loss record to date , losing only to the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 7 – 23 in Atlanta , Georgia and coach Wallace Wade ' s undefeated Alabama Crimson Tide 0 – 34 in Montgomery , Alabama . The highlights of the season included conference victories over the Wake Forest Demon Deacons , Clemson Tigers , Mississippi State Bulldogs and Washington & Lee Generals . Sebring ' s 1925 Florida Gators finished 8 – 2 overall , and 3 – 2 in the Southern Conference , placing eighth of twenty - two teams in the conference standings . 1926 . Season overview . The 1926 college football season was Tom Sebring ' s second and least successful campaign as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team . The highlights of the season were the Gators ' two victories home field over the Florida Southern Moccasins and Clemson Tigers , which were interspersed among four close losses to the Chicago Maroons ( 6 – 12 ) , the Ole Miss Rebels ( 7 – 12 ) , the Mercer Bears ( 3 – 7 ) and the Kentucky Wildcats ( 13 – 18 ) , crushing defeats by the Georgia Bulldogs ( 9 – 32 ) and coach Wallace Wade ' s undefeated Alabama Crimson Tide ( 0 – 49 ) , and two low - scoring ties with the Hampden - Sydney Tigers ( 0 – 0 ) and the Washington & Lee Generals . Sebring ' s 1926 Florida Gators finished 2 – 6 – 2 overall , and 1 – 4 – 1 in the Southern Conference , placing nineteenth of twenty - two teams in the conference standings . 1927 . Season overview . The 1927 college football season was Tom Sebring ' s third and last as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team . After suffering an 0 – 12 upset loss at the hands of the Davidson College Wildcats , the Gators rallied to defeat the Auburn Tigers 33 – 6 in Auburn , Alabama ( for the first time , ending a six - game losing streak ) and to upset coach Wallace Wade ' s Alabama 13 – 6 in Montgomery , Alabama . Sebring ' s 1927 Florida Gators finished 7 – 3 overall , and 5 – 2 in the Southern Conference , placing sixth of twenty - two teams in the conference standings . Sebring graduated from the university ' s College of Law in 1928 , and later became a circuit court judge and chief justice of the Florida Supreme Court . Many sports commentators believe that the team that Sebring recruited for 1928 would become the greatest Gators football squad until at least the 1960s . 1928 . Season overview . The 1928 college football season was future Hall - of - Famer Charles W . " Charlie " Bachman ' s first of five as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team . Among the many football highlights of 1928 was the Gators ' 26 – 6 victory over the Georgia Bulldogs , which ended an eight - game losing streak versus the Bulldogs . The Gators played their final game against coach Robert Neyland ' s 8 – 0 – 1 Tennessee Volunteers on their home field in Knoxville , Tennessee . The game was played after a hard rain , and both teams scored two touchdown s on the muddy field . The Volunteers missed one extra point conversion , but the Gators missed two and lost the game by a single point , 12 – 13 . In what would become a trend in the series , controversy swirled around the contest . By all accounts , the playing surface had been a muddy mess . Some Gators claimed that the home team had watered down the field in an effort to slow down the speedy Gator stars , including halfback s Leroy " Red " Bethea , Carl Brumbaugh and Royce Goodbread , fullback Rainey Cawthon , quarterback Clyde Crabtree , end Dutch Stanley , and Florida ' s first - ever first - team All - American , end Dale Van Sickel . The Vols protested that the sloppy conditions were simply the result of heavy rain the night before the game . The Gators finished 8 – 1 overall , and 6 – 1 in the Southern Conference , placing third of twenty - three teams in the conference , behind the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets ( 7 – 0 ) and the Volunteers ( 6 – 0 – 1 ) . Bachman ' s 1928 Florida Gators scored more points than any other college football team in the country , and the 1928 Gators were remembered by many sports commentators as the best Florida football team until at least the 1960s . 1929 . Season overview . The 1929 college football season was Charlie Bachman ' s second as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team . The highlights of the year included Southern Conference victories over the Virginia Military Institute Keydets , Auburn Tigers , Georgia Bulldogs , Clemson Tigers , South Carolina Gamecocks and Washington & Lee Generals , and a 20 – 6 intersectional upset over coach John McEwan ' s Oregon Ducks in a neutral site game played in the old Madison Square Garden stadium in Miami , Florida . Bachman ' s 1929 Florida Gators finished with an overall record of 8 – 2 , and a conference record of 6 – 1 , placing fourth of twenty - three conference teams .