1953 Gator Bowl

The 1953 Gator Bowl was a post-season college football bowl game between the Tulsa Golden Hurricane of the Missouri Valley Conference and the Florida Gators representing the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Florida defeated Tulsa, 14–13. This was the Gators' first appearance in an NCAA-sanctioned bowl game.

Game summary
An extra point by Rick Casares proved the difference. Florida outrushed the Golden Hurricane 233 to 182, while Tulsa outpassed the Gators 132 to 101. The Golden Hurricane turned the ball over twice, while Florida turned it over five times. This was the first Gator Bowl where more than one player was awarded MVP honors, which was done until 2011.

The attendance for the game was 30,015.

Scoring summary

 * Florida - Rick Casares, 2-yard touchdown run (Casares kick)
 * Florida - J. Hall, 37-yard touchdown pass from Fred Robinson (Casares kick)
 * Tulsa - J. C. Roberts. 3-yard touchdown run (Tom Miner kick)
 * Tulsa - Howard Waugh, 2-yard touchdown run (kick failed)