Top victories were for what it meant for the program and thus 12 of the 15 spots were devoted to wins which secured championships.....this is reserved for those times when nobody expected the Gators to pull one out but they did.....included are many of the games people mentioned among the greatest Gator victories.

1) 1997 vs sow 32-29 A year after winning the national title against the sows, the Gators had struggled with talented but mistake prone sophomore QB Doug Johnson and the more experienced but much less talented senior Noah Brindise, dropping 2 games along the way.  Meanwhile 11-0 and #1 ranked fsu cruised into the game one win away from a certain national championship game berth.  The Gators opened the scoring with a 3 yard TD plunge by star Tailback Fred Taylor but fsu responded quickly when Taylor’s fumble on Florida’s next possession was returned 15 yards for an fsu TD.  Taylor fumbled again deep in Florida territory on Florida’s next possession which resulted in an fsu field goal and a 10-6 lead at the end of the first quarter.  The sows then tacked on another TD in the 2^nd quarter to take a 17-6 lead but the Gators utilizing both Johnson and Brindise rotating at QB on every play struck back with a long pass to WR Travis McGriff leading to a 5 yard scoring strike from Doug Johnson to McGriff to cut the fsu lead to 17-12.  After missing the first extra point, the Gators went for two but the conversion attempt failed.  On their next possession the Gators drove down the field and Taylor punched it in from 4 yards out to take an 18-17 lead.  The two point conversion attempt again failed.  The sows responded in the 3^rd quarter with another field goal to take a 20-17 lead but on the ensuing possession, Taylor ripped off a 61 yard TD run to give the Gators a 25-20 lead.  In the middle of the 3^rd quarter fsu again responded with an 18 yard TD run and went for two but the conversion attempt failed.  Entering the 4^th quarter the score stood at fsu 26-25.  Both Offenses exchanged punts but with 2:38 remaining fsu tacked on a field goal to take a 29-25 lead.  On the first play of the next possession however, Gator QB Doug Johnson found QR Jacquez Green wide open after the sows’ Samari Roll bit on the curl and go.  63 yards later the Gators were on the fsu 17 yard line.  The next play saw Taylor break loose down to the fsu 1 yard line.  From there he plowed into the endzone on the next play giving him 162 yards rushing and 4 TDs on the day.  The sows last desperation drive ended when Gator Linebacker Dwayne Thomas intercepted fsu QB Thad Busby to snuff out fsu’s last hope.

2) 1986 vs Auburn 18-17 Fifth ranked and 8-0 Auburn were huge favorites over struggling 3-4 Florida.  Using 7 Florida turnovers resulting from a miserable performance by the Gators backup QB, Auburn jumped out to a 17-0 lead before the Gators inserted injured star Quarterback Kerwin Bell back into the lineup late in the 2^nd quarter.  Bell had missed the two previous games after suffering a severe knee sprain against LSU and his mobility was still very limited as a result.  Bell who started out a bit cold got hot in the 4^th quarter and drove the Offense down the field setting up his 1 yard scoring plunge on a QB keeper to cut the Auburn lead to 17-7 with 12 minutes left.  On the Gators’ next possession, kicker Robert McGinty (an Auburn transfer) booted a 51 yard field goal to pull the Gators to within a single score with 7:51 left in the 4^th quarter.  Auburn then drove down the field behind the brilliant running of Brent Fullwood but as he had done several times that day, Fullwood fumbled the ball and this time the Gators recovered at their own 34 yard line with 1:41 remaining.  Bell then drove the Gators down the field with 3 completions and finally found WR Ricky Nattiel from 5 yards out to pull the score to within a single point with 36 seconds left in the game.  Gator Head Coach Galen Hall decided to go for two and the win.  Finding nobody open, Bell somehow eluded the pass rush of Auburn All-America Defensive Tackle Tracy Rocker and limped into the endzone to give the Gators a 1 point lead as the home crowd roared its approval.  Auburn’s desperation field goal attempt from 52 yards out fell short with one second remaining to cap one of the greatest comebacks in Gator history.

3) 2002 vs UGA 20-13 Steve Spurrier had coached the Gators to an 11-1 record against the Bulldogs, so his departure to the NFL following the 2001 season gave Georgia fans reason to cheer. Also encouraging was the perfect 8-0 record and #4 ranking that 2002 poodles brought to the annual grudge match in Jacksonville.  Florida, meanwhile, limped into the game at 5-3 and unranked for the first time in over a decade, struggling under new head coach Ron Zook. Unsurprisingly, Georgia entered the game as heavy favorites. Trailing 7-6, the Gators took the lead in this defensive struggle with a big play on defense. Poodle head coach Mark Richt had inserted freshman QB DJ Shockley to run the offense for a series or two each game during the season. Upon entering the contest in the 2nd quarter, Shockley was intercepted by Gator Safety Gus Scott, who ran it back for a touchdown, giving his team a 12-7 lead after a failed two point conversion. The poodles moved the ball but could not punch it into the endzone, settling for two field goals to take a 13-12 lead at halftime.  Defense continued to dominate the game in the 2nd half with the exception of an early 4th-quarter Gator drive that ended with a touchdown pass from QB Rex Grossman and gave the Gators a 20-13 advantage. There would be no more scoring on the day, as the poodle offense finished 0-13 in 3rd down conversions. The loss proved to be the only blemish on UGA's record that season. Although they finished 13-1 and went on to win the SEC Championship, the defeat at the hands of their hated rival almost certainly cost the poodles a shot to play for a national title.

4) 2003 vs LSU 19-7  The unranked and 3-3 Gators were not expected to put up much of a fight against undefeated and 6^th ranked LSU in Tiger Stadium.  Barely 3 minutes into the game, the LSU special teams turned in a big play as punt returner Skyler broke one 80 yards for a TD.  It would be LSU’s only points of the day as the LSU Offense led by Offensive Coordinator Jimbo Fisher was utterly dominated all game.  On 12 possessions, LSU punted eight times and had two interceptions, a fumble, and failed to pick up a first down on fourth-and-2.  Gator Freshman QB Chris Leak struggled early with the noise in a packed Tiger Stadium, frequently walking up and down his offensive line to change plays in the din. But he shook off the constant blitzing by LSU all day which resulted in Leak being sacked 6 times.  In the first quarter, Leak shook off the pressure to drive the Gators 80 yards for their first touchdown. With LSU blitzing, Leak found Ran Carthon all alone in the middle for a 22-yard touchdown strike to tie the score at 7-7. Florida cornerback Keiwan Ratliff's interception then set up a 29-yard field goal by Matt Leach that put the Gators up 10-7 with 3:17 left in the first quarter.  Just before halftime Gator Kicker Matt Leach hit the longest field goal of his career, a 50-yarder, putting the Gators ahead 13-7.  In the third quarter Leak hit Tailback Ciatrick Fason, who had seven catches for 92 yards, with a 35-yard touchdown pass. The 2-point conversion failed but Florida took a 19-7 lead and with the Gator Defense smothering the LSU Offense, that was the end of the scoring.  The setback to the Gators was LSU’s only loss of the season as they went on to win a national championship.

5) 1963 vs Bama 10-6 in Tuscaloosa After 6 straight seasons in which they won every home game, Bama under legendary coach Bear Bryant, was ranked 3^rd and were 17 point favorites over Florida.  Alabama got off to a shaky start with a fumbled opening kickoff resulting in them having to punt out of their own endzone.   The Gators used the short field to boot a 42 yard field goal taking an early 3-0 lead.  On their next possession, the Gators sprung seldom used Tailback Dick Kirk for a 42 yard TD run just seven minutes into the game, the Gators were to hold the lead for the rest of the afternoon.  Alabama finally managed to score with 1:45 left in the game when Bama QB Joe Namath snuck in from the one on a QB keeper.  His pass attempt for a two point conversion fell incomplete and the Gators recovered an Alabama onside kick to secure the victory.  The Gator Defense’s sterling effort included forcing and recovering 3 Alabama fumbles, intercepting Namath twice and holding Alabama to 107 yards rushing. 

6) 1930 vs Chicago 19-0 the Gators entered the game 3-0 and travelled up to Chicago to take on the Maroons coached by Amos Alonzo Stagg.  It was a cold wintry day and it took the Gators a quarter to get warmed up but in the second quarter Gator Tailback Leroy “Red” Bethea followed the blocking of star Gator Tackle Dale “Muddy” Waters near the goal line for a score, and broke another long run down to the 2 yard line on a fake reverse.  Gator Fullback Ed Sauls punched it in the next play for a second Gator Touchdown.  Finally in the 4^th quarter Bethea who Chicago had been unable to stop all day provided some real fireworks.   Running a toss sweep to the right, Bethea cut to the left and then weaved his way back to the center breaking loose for a 70 yard Touchdown run.  The Gator Defense shut down Chicago’s vaunted passing attack repeatedly breaking through and nailing the Maroon receivers on flanker screens and limiting them to 151 yards passing while racking up 3 interceptions.  Bethea finished the day with 209 yards rushing-a school record that was to stand for 57 years

7) 1923 vs Bama 16-6 The Gators took on Wallace Wade’s powerful Alabama squad which was leading the race for a Southern Conference Championship.  Despite having defeated Alabama in 1921, the Gators were decided underdogs.  Playing in ankle deep mud and driving rain in Birmingham, the game was a slopfest and the Gators trailed 6-0 at halftime as the Gators’ star Tailback Robert “Ark” Newton could not get untracked.  Head Coach James Van Fleet had his troops strip off their waterlogged socks and return to the field at the last possible moment. Alabama, encumbered by its soggy hosiery, could not keep up and the Gators rolled up 16 second half points and the victory.  "Coach Wade was so mad he never spoke to me again" Van Fleet said. "But, as I remember, he had his boys play bare-legged in the future in bad weather."

8) 1939 vs Boston College 7-0 Given only an outside chance at best against Frank Leahy’s powerful Boston College squad (Leahy went 20-2 in two seasons at BC before becoming head coach at Notre Dame), the Gators stunned the Boston crowed by scoring in the opening period with a surprise passing attack led by QB Bud Walton and End Leo Cahill culminating in a 25 yard scoring strike.  The Gator Defense then proceeded to stonewall Boston College all day.  The Eagles got inside the Gator 15 yard line 5 times but were thrown back every time as the Defense spearheaded by Sophomore DB Forest “Fergie” Ferguson (Ferguson had one of the greatest games any Gator Defender has ever had in this one) repeatedly broke through the BC line to stuff their ground game.  When BC QB Charlie O’Rourke attempted to pass, he found his receivers blanketed by Gator Defensive Backs.  His attempts to force the ball into coverage resulted in four Gator interceptions.

9) 1969 vs Houston 59-34 Following a very disappointing 6-3-1 campaign in 1968-a year in which they were picked in the preseason to win the SEC, nobody expect very much from the Gators in 1969 as they were picked to finish 6^th or 7^th in the conference.  With low expectations and 4 key skill positions on Offense in the hands of sophomore starters including QB John Reaves, Flanker Carlos Alvarez and Tailback Tommy Durrance, it therefore came as no surprise that the Gators were two touchdown underdogs to #7 Houston.  On the Gators’ 3^rd play from scrimmage Reaves heaved a 70 yard TD bomb to Carlos “the Cuban Comet” Alvarez who was streaking open behind the secondary.  That was just a taste of things to come as Reaves finished the day with 18 of 30 for 342 yards passing (a then school single game record) and the Gators bombed Houston 59-34 heralding the arrival of the “Super Sophs”

10) 1940 vs UGA 18-13.  The Gators entered the game –as usual against UGA-as decided underdogs.  A long pass play set up a Field goal in the first quarter but UGA recovered a fumbled punt at the UF 21 and quickly responded with a scoring strike.  Three plays later it was UGA which was punting but Forest “Fergie” Ferguson broke through to block the kick then raced down to block out a tackler and clear the path for his teammate John Piombo to scoop up the ball and cruise 31 yards for a Touchdown.  The Gators tacked on another Touchdown in the 4^th quarter on a 41 yard strike from QB Bud Walton to End Fondrell Mitchell.  UGA then added a TD and to cap an 80 yard drive.  The Gator Offense stalled but an excellent punt pinned the poodles back on their own 6 and Gator Lineman Floyd Konetsky broke through to sack the poodle QB for a Safety to end the last scoring threat for UGA..