Marshall The season opened at night in the Swamp on September 1 with a 49–14 triumph over quarterback
Byron Leftwich and the
Marshall Thundering Herd.
Rex Grossman had a career-high in passing yards by halftime, including a 64-yard touchdown reception by
Taylor Jacobs.
Louisiana–Monroe In the second week of play, the Gators overwhelmed the
Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks 55–6. Grossman passed for 331 yards and three touchdowns, including two thrown to
Jabar Gaffney. "It was just an awkward start." said Grossman. Grossman passed for 302 yards and four touchdowns. The Gators struggled early and led just 16–3 at the half, but eventually thrashed the Wildcats with four touchdowns in the second half. After Kentucky made a touchdown,
Earnest Graham sprung lose for a 50-yard touchdown run in the third period to go up 30–10. Grossman had 317 yards passing in just the first half. Grossman passed for 393 yards and five touchdowns in total, becoming the first Florida quarterback to throw for 300 yards in four straight games. Andra Davis, who missed last year's game, excelled on the defensive side of the ball from his linebacker position with eight tackles and a fumble recovery. Grossman threw for 319 yards and four touchdowns in just the first half, and by game's end had a school-record 464 yards. Florida finished with 632 yards of total offense. Gators quarterback
Rex Grossman completed twenty-five of forty-two passes for 364 yards and two touchdowns, but also threw four interceptions. The Gators dominated statistically, but the Tigers' bend-but-don't-break defense held the Gators rushing game to negative yardage.
Georgia Florida defeated
Georgia 24–10 in the annual rivalry game, overcoming four turnovers and twelve penalties. Grossman passed for 407 yards. The Gators never punted, and forced five turnovers. They were up 71–0 in the fourth quarter and still tossing passes, amassing 571 total yards in all. Eleven Gators got receptions, and
Taylor Jacobs had a breakout game. The game started shaky for the Gators as
Lito Sheppard fumbled the opening kickoff, leading to an easy Gamecock score. Grossman had his ninth-consecutive 300-yard passing game, and exceeded 5,000 yards passing for his career.
Florida State Florida easily defeated the rival
Florida State Seminoles 37–13. However, the Gators' starting running back
Earnest Graham had been controversially injured in Florida's win and was unable the next week to play against Tennessee. Graham and coach Spurrier accused
Darnell Dockett of deliberately twisting Graham's knee, as well as stomping on Grossman's hand. Graham even considered a lawsuit. Dockett denied these charges.
Tennessee As the season progressed, the postponed game with Tennessee took on greater and greater importance. Each squad suffered only one close loss and entered the contest with Tennessee ranked No. 6 and Florida ranked No. 2. The winner was to represent the SEC East and face
LSU in the SEC Championship. With a win in that game, the Gators or Vols were likely to receive an invitation to the
Rose Bowl to face the undefeated
Miami Hurricanes with a national title on the line. Despite the teams' identical records and much to the chagrin of the Vols, the Gators were 17-and-a-half point favorites at kickoff. {{external media The Volunteers went on to dash the Gators' national title hopes with a 34–32 upset, ending a 30-year winless drought against Florida in Gainesville. The star of the game was Volunteer running back
Travis Stephens, who rushed for 226 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries to lead the Vols' attack. Without Graham, Florida managed only 36 total yards on the ground. Gator quarterback
Rex Grossman threw 51 times for 362 yards and two touchdowns, but his pass on a potentially game-tying two-point conversion attempt with just over a minute left in the 4th quarter fell incomplete.
Orange Bowl (vs. Maryland) Florida was invited to the
Orange Bowl, where they beat
Maryland, 56–23.
Taylor Jacobs was named the game's MVP. ==Roster==