The 1965 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1965 NCAA University Division football season. The season was Ray Graves's sixth year as the Florida Gators football team's head coach. The highlights of the season included an intersectional road victory over the Northwestern Wildcats of the Big Ten Conference, Southeastern Conference (SEC) wins over the LSU (14âÂÂ7), Ole Miss Rebels (17âÂÂ0), Georgia Bulldogs (14âÂÂ10) and Tulane Green Wave (51âÂÂ13), and a sound thumping of the in-state rival Florida State Seminoles (30âÂÂ17). The Gators also lost close matches against the Mississippi State Bulldogs (13âÂÂ18) and the Miami Hurricanes (13âÂÂ16). Graves' 1965 Florida Gators finished 7âÂÂ4 overall and 4âÂÂ2 in the SEC, tying for third in the 11-team conference.
At the end of the season, the Gators played the Missouri Tigers in the Gators' first-ever major bowl game, the Sugar Bowl, on January 1, 1966. Despite a three-touchdown second-half effort from the Gators, they lost to the Tigers 18âÂÂ20 after they failed to score on three consecutive two-point conversion attempts after each of their touchdowns. Following the game, Gators quarterback Steve Spurrier was recognized as the game's Most Valuable PlayerâÂÂthe only MVP selected from the losing team in the history of the Sugar Bowl.