2006 Florida Gators football team

2006 Florida Gators football
Consensus national champion
SEC champion
SEC Eastern Division champion
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
DivisionEastern Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 1
APNo. 1
Record13–1 (7–1 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorDan Mullen (2nd season)
Offensive schemeSpread option
Co-defensive coordinatorCharlie Strong (4th season)
Co-defensive coordinatorGreg Mattison (2nd season)
Base defense4–3
CaptainDallas Baker
Jemalle Cornelius
Earl Everett
Billy Latsko
Chris Leak
Ray McDonald
Home stadiumBen Hill Griffin Stadium[1]
Seasons
← 2005
2007 →
2006 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Eastern Division
No. 1 Florida x$#   7 1     13 1  
No. 25 Tennessee   5 3     9 4  
Kentucky   4 4     8 5  
No. 23 Georgia   4 4     9 4  
South Carolina   3 5     8 5  
Vanderbilt   1 7     4 8  
Western Division
No. 15 Arkansas x   7 1     10 4  
No. 9 Auburn   6 2     11 2  
No. 3 LSU  %   6 2     11 2  
Alabama   2 6     6 7  
Ole Miss   2 6     4 8  
Mississippi State   1 7     3 9  
Championship: Florida 38, Arkansas 28
  • # – BCS National Champion
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • % – BCS at-large representative
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • Alabama had all victories vacated by the NCAA in 2010. As such, the official record for Alabama is 0–7 (0–6).
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2006 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2006 college football season. The Gators competed in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and played their home games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus. The season was the second for head coach Urban Meyer, who led the Gators to an SEC Championship, a BCS National Championship, and an overall win–loss record of 13–1 (.929). Their one loss coming from an upset by the Auburn Tigers.

Florida overcame the toughest schedule in the nation by opponent winning percentage[2][3][4][5] to become national champions. The Gators won their seventh SEC title by defeating the Arkansas Razorbacks 38–28 in the SEC Championship Game on December 2, 2006,[6] then defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes 41–14 in the BCS National Championship Game on January 8, 2007, beginning the SEC's streak of seven consecutive national championships.

During the 2006 season, the Gators also celebrated two milestones in their history: the tenth anniversary of their first national football championship in 1996, and 100 years of Florida football dating to their first season in 1906.[7]

In addition, with the men's basketball team winning the 2006 and 2007 NCAA men's basketball national championships, the University of Florida became the first Division I school to ever win the football and men's basketball titles during the same year.[8] Coincidentally, the Gators again faced and defeated Ohio State in the 2007 NCAA basketball championship game, also marking the first time in college sports history that identical matchups and results have occurred in both football and basketball championships.

  1. ^ University of Florida Sports Information Department. "Florida 2006 Media Guide" (PDF). floridagators.com. University Athletic Association, Inc. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  2. ^ "NCAA Official Stats, 2006 Toughest Schedule, Sorted on Cumulative Opposition" (PDF). January 10, 2007. Retrieved January 16, 2009.
  3. ^ Florida Gators, NCAA Football, Michigan Wolverines, Ohio State Buckeyes - CBSSports.com
  4. ^ NCAA Football - Arkansas Razorbacks/Florida Gators Preview Saturday December 2, 2006 - Yahoo! Sports
  5. ^ President Bush Welcomes the 2006 NCAA Football Champion Florida Gators to the White House
  6. ^ "Gators win 2006 SEC Championship Game". Archived from the original on October 13, 2007. Retrieved January 20, 2008.
  7. ^ "Gators celebrate 100 years of football". Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved April 20, 2019.
  8. ^ Gators hold football and basketball titles