coach ray graves' 1966 florida gators and coach shug jordan's auburn tigers repeatedly traded the lead as they battled back and forth all day. in the fourth quarter with the game tied at 27, gators quarterback steve spurrier was engineering a late drive for the win, but was stopped at auburn's 39-yard-line following an intentional grounding penalty. the distance was outside the usual range of the gators regular placekicker, but spurrier had kicked 40-yard field goals in practice. with 2:12 left in the game, he kicked the 40-yard field goal to give the gators a 30–27 lead, and the gators defense held on to win. he completed twenty-seven passes on forty attempts for 259 yards, one touchdown pass and no interceptions, and also rushed for a touchdown. another gators standout, tailback larry smith, finished the day with 102 rushing yards and a touchdown on twenty-two carries, including a 53-yard run. at the conclusion of the 1966 season, spurrier was awarded the heisman trophy.