Five most memorable opening day wins in Florida Football history

Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, opening day for Florida Football was almost always a snoozefest. The Gators almost exclusively had someone from the 1AA/FCS level or from the Group of Five make the trek to The Swamp. Often, the games were blowouts, and they weren't compelling.

But recently, the Gators have been trying to boost their opening day opponent and square off against Miami this year on August 31. And once upon a time, the Gators did face some interesting opening-day opponents.

The following are the five most memorable opening-day wins for the Gators.

1969 - Houston

In terms of pure excitement, Florida's 1968 win over Air Force was the more exciting game. Florida won that game 17-14 on a late touchdown to come from behind.

However, the 1969 win over Houston sent a message that Florida was going to be a problem for the nation. The Gators were unranked, coming off a 6-3-1 season and welcomed 7th-ranked Houston to town, who had tied Texas and Georgia the previous season.

John Reaves and Carlos Alvarez teamed up for a passing attack the Cougars had zero answer for as the Gators blew out Houston 59-34.

Alvarez had six catches on the day for 182 yards and it acted as a springboard for Florida's 9-1-1 season, which stood as Florida's best winning percentage in school history until the 1995 season.