In 1970 with former Tennessee head coach Doug Dickey taking over Graves' vacated position, there was turmoil among the players who felt they were deceived regarding the coaching change.  This, combined with media and player support for former Defensive Coordinator Gene Ellenson meant Dickey's transition was anything but smooth.  A rebuilt O-line in front of RB Tommy Durrance wasn't enough to keep the heat off of Reaves and after opening at 5-1, but losses to Auburn and Tennessee derailed any SEC title hopes.  The Gators closed the season against Georgia, Kentucky, and Miami.  Despite the All American play of DE Jack Youngblood the team limped in at 7-4 to close Dickey's inaugural season. 

Dickey's recruiting picked up as the State Of Florida altered the admissions rule and allowed 145 yearly admissions to in-state high school graduates that had a minimum of a C average but who otherwise did not score high enough on the admissions entrance exam finally bringing Florida in line with other states in the SEC area 37 years after the founding of the league. 

Injuries to receiver Carlos Alvarez made him ineffective during the 1971 season and the team which had been recruited to run Graves more wide open passing Offense was not well suited to Dickey’s much more conservative Offense.  RB Tommy Durrance had only guard Fred Abbott as a consistently outstanding O-lineman.  Consequently, the team endured a miserable 4-7 season except for beating fsu setting up the final game of the season vs scUM.  QB John Reaves came into the game with an outside chance of exceeding Jim Plunkett's NCAA marks. Reaves needed 344 yards to become the NCAA all-time career passing leader and the Gainsville boys came out throwing. Willie Jackson, Durrance, and a semi-healthy Alvarez caught everything thrown their way. It was Florida 17-0 at the half and they continued the air attack. Needing but thirteen yards for the record and little time left, Miami though behind, was playing keep-away and running out the clock, only to frustrate Reaves' record-breaking attempt. With 1:20 left and Miami at the Gator seven, the entire Florida defense dropped onto their bellies or their backs without being touched by a Hurricane so that Miami's QB could literally walk into the end zone on a roll-out. Florida took the kickoff and Reaves threw completions to wrap up the career passing yardage mark with a five-yard cushion, a total of 7,549 yards.   Completing 33 of 50 passes for 348 yards also completed Reaves great Gator career.  To celebrate Reaves’ record as well as the 45-16 crushing defeat inflicted on favored scUM, the entire team spontaneously charged toward the Orange Bowl end zone and dove into the pond and fountain that housed Miami Dolphin mascot Flipper.

In 1972, Dickey led the team to yet another subpar record at 5-5-1.  The offense had a new look.  QB Chan Gailey who had played in Reaves shadow started the season but gave way in the SMU opener to David Bowden. Even with Willie Jackson and 6'6" Hank Foldberg as willing targets, Dickey had a surprise find that was neither in the press guide nor in the opening day game program. Assistant Lindy Infante had insisted on recruiting Carlos Alvarez when few thought he looked like a big-time player, and he was successful. Now, after watching a pick-up basketball game in a Miami park, he pushed hard to bring in another obscure find, a former Miami Jackson H.S. football player who had gone to Tennessee-Martin to play basketball, dropped out, and was now delivering Kosher food in Miami Beach. Exploding as a runner and receiver in the first game of the season, Nat Moore was destined to be one of the most exciting and effective players the SEC had seen in decades. His 845 yards on the ground, 25 receptions, 13 TD's, and 20.8 yard kickoff return average earned him All SEC honors and some All American mention. Wins over Florida State and Miami, with the emergence of Moore at least gave Gators a feeling that Dickey might yet turn the corner with a team of his own recruits. 

Much was therefore expected in 1973 despite a "killer" schedule. Unfortunately, Nat Moore went down with a foot injury in the Mississippi State game which made for a four-game skid, all to SEC opponents. At 2-4, a press conference was held where Dickey stated he would not resign due to fan unrest, and he had the backing of the University President. The players pulled together and with new QB Don Gaffney they utilized All SEC WR Lee McGriff and TE Hank Foldberg, Jr. to catch enough passes to upset Auburn 12-8, upset Georgia 11-10, and terrorize fsu as Moore returned with a great 105 yards in 15 carries in a 49-0 drubbing of the sows.. LB's Glenn Cameron, Ralph Ortega, and Sammy Green contributed to the 7-4 season which ended with an awful and embarrassing Tangerine Bowl loss to Miami (Ohio), 16-7.

With FB Jimmy DuBose clearing the way, freshman RB Tony Green burst upon the scene in 1974 to break the single-season rushing record with 856 yards to augment the running-before-passing approach of QB Don Gaffney in the Florida Wishbone. The strength of the defense was in the linebackers, Glenn Cameron, Ralph Ortega, and Sammy Green. Wayne Fields did an effective job in the defensive backfield and the 8-3 record put them into the Sugar Bowl against powerful Nebraska where they lost 13-10.

The Wishbone clicked again in '75 with QB Gaffney, FB Jimmy DuBose who set a single-season school record with 1307 yards, and Tailback Green although Green was inconsistent and often played poorly. The 302.4 per game output was better than the vaunted Alabama attack but had a disturbing habit of not working in the biggest games.   WR Wes Chandler added his 457 yards in receptions to the overall yardage total with ends Derrick Gaffney and Lee McGriff lending support. LB Sammy Green was the defensive star, and the Gators beat everyone they were supposed to except Georgia, losing 10-7 in a game that cost them the SEC title. The season was completed in the Gator Bowl, dropping a horrible 13-0 contest to Maryland. The 9-3 record and third consecutive bowl game was an improvement but Dickey’s inability to win an SEC title or consistently beat Georgia and dismal bowl record were still causes of concern. 

Despite having standout receiver (and punt return man) Wes Chandler and Derrick Gaffney as the number two WR, Dickey stuck to his Wishbone attack under the direction of QB Terry LeCount with big Earl Carr at FB and Tony Green bouncing back for a big year in 1976. Chandler put up ten TD's on forty-four receptions and he had a twenty-two yard per catch average. Tall Scott Hutchinson and freshman Scott Brantley were outstanding LB's. The 7-4 record including a terrible loss to Georgia and a close win over fsu earned the Gators the right to face Texas A&M in the Sun Bowl where Dickey kept his “perfect” bowl game streak alive, dropping the game by 37-14.

The 6-4-1 season of 1977 was a clear sign that the Dickey regime had hit its high water mark, failed to win an SEC title and was in a downward spiral.  The senior talent never jelled as a unit and as QB LeCount stated, "we had too many chiefs and not enough Indians" leading to dispirited play at times with the seniors unable to work together. From 1967 until the game in '77, fsu had been unable to defeat Florida but like a number of things that went bad in this season, the sows Blotchy his first victory in the rivalry and the 37-9 contest wasn't close.  The Gators' season highlight may have been their 17-17 tie with mighty Pitt with LB Scott Brantley and Noseguard Scott Hutchinson leading the defensive charge.  Rumors of racial strife on the squad and the disappointing record had many  calling for Dickey's head once again.

Coach Dickey began the season in early January of 1978 by shaking up his staff and bringing in former Gators Steve Spurrier and Lee McGriff to revamp the offense to a pro style attack. With only rivals fsu and scUM left on the '78 schedule, the Gators limped to that point with an erratic 4-5 team that had electrifying wins against Mississippi State and Auburn and horrid losses to LSU, Alabama, and Georgia, the last a 24-22 heartbreaker.  QB John Brantley, LB Scott's brother, played well enough so that highly-touted soph QB/receiver and former high school track star "Cadillac" Cris Collinsworth was moved permanently to WR where he was All SEC with 745 yards on 39 receptions and an excellent kick return man. The rushing attack was the worst in the SEC however, with freshman Tailback Cal Davis the leading rusher with a paltry 186 yards.  The LB's once again led the defense with Scott Brantley polling 193 tackles and five interceptions. LB mate David Little, younger brother of Dolphin great Larry Little, was almost as good with 138 tackles and four INT's.  The fsu loss at 38-21 had Dickey fired before finishing his preparation for the final game against scUM. His contract was bought out and he coached the scUM game as a farewell, a bitter one that ended 22-21 loss.  The Gators’ 4-7 record that season marked the end of the Dickey regime

In 1979, new Coach Charley Pell brought in from Clemson had a gigantic mess left over from Dickey to clean up.  Under Dickey, UF’s facilities had fallen way behind other SEC programs, booster support was also lacking in comparison to other top tier programs in-state rivals had come to dominate on the recruiting trail and the team was lacking at several key positions such as Quarterback.  Pell admitted he had to devote more time and energy to courting well-heeled boosters such as Citrus magnate Ben Hill Griffin, Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas and NY Yankees owner George Steinbrenner to obtain the funding needed so that UF’s woeful facilities could be improved enough to give the team a chance to compete for the SEC title.  Furthermore, recruiting contacts throughout the state had to be cultivated in order to rebuild the program. Pell secured an agreement from the university to expand the stadium by enclosing the south endzone thus raising seating capacity to 75,000.  Given the massive cleanup job and the lack of talent on Offense, it is therefore not terribly surprising that Florida suffered through its worst season in history at 0-10-1.  The Gators finished the decade with a record of 58-53-3 (52.093% winning percentage).