Graves would have two more nine-win seasons and four more postseason trips in his 10 years. With the assistance of offensive coach Pepper Rodgers, he opened up the Florida attack, which proved vital in recruiting the greatest Gator, in 1963. Pro scouts would credit Steve Spurrier with "the arm of Sammy Baugh, the poise of Johnny Unitas, the leadership of Norm Van Brocklin and the quickness of Joe Namath." Most important, he had the amazing ability to maintain his head in desperate situations: On eight occasions, with his passing, his running and often his kicking, Spurrier guided Florida to fourth-quarter wins.

Over three years Spurrier established eight SEC passing records, and he won the 1966 Heisman Trophy in a landslide. Spurrier went out with a 27-12 triumph over Georgia Tech in the 1967 Orange Bowl, though he was upstaged by his teammate, All-America running back Larry Smith, whose narrow hips failed to keep his pants up during a 94-yard scoring dash.

The disappointing season of '68 hastened Graves's move to the athletic director's chair in 1970. After four straight wins to open 1968, Florida stumbled with two losses and a tie in its next three games, and to shake things up, Graves flopped his offensive and defensive coordinators' roles for the showdown against Georgia. The Gators lost 51-0 and finished the season 6-3-1, tied for fourth in the SEC and out of a bowl. But before stepping down as coach in favor of ex-Florida quarterback Doug Dickey, Graves presided over the integration of the team with the arrival of halfback Leonard George and receiver Willie Jackson in 1969. A crop of young players-"the Super Sophs"-handed Graves a going-away present that year: a 9-1-1 record wrapped up with a 14-13 conquest of Tennessee in the Gator Bowl.

Chief among those kids was a home-state pass-and-catch combo: quarterback John Reaves and wide receiver Carlos Alvarez. But Dickey couldn't parlay their skills into many victories, going 11-11 over two years, and their last season together ended on a somewhat sour note. With 1:20 left in the '71 finale and the Gators well ahead, Dickey ordered his defense to let Miami score so that Reaves could get the ball back and supplant Jim Plunkett atop the alltime list for career college passing yardage. After Miami waltzed into the end zone, Reaves hit Alvarez on a 15-yard slant to reach 7,549 yards and break the mark. Some still believe the record was cheapened because of the so-called Florida Flop.

Dickey had more luck with his own recruiting classes, which included halfback Nat Moore, linebacker Ralph Ortega, fullback Jimmy Dubose and wide receiver Wes Chandler. But Georgia derailed the team's best national title shot in the 1976 showdown. Leading 27-20, Dickey gambled on a fourth-and-one from his own 29. The Dawgs made the stop, roared in for a score and went on to win 41-27. Two years later Dickey was fired.