1997 Florida Gators football team

1997 Florida Gators football
Florida Citrus Bowl champion
Florida Citrus Bowl, W 21–6 vs. Penn State
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
DivisionEastern Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 6
APNo. 4
Record10–2 (6–2 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorCarl Franks (3rd season)
Offensive schemeFun and gun
Defensive coordinatorBob Stoops (2nd season)
Base defense4–3
Home stadiumBen Hill Griffin Stadium
1997 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Eastern Division
No. 7 Tennessee x$   7 – 1     11 – 2  
No. 10 Georgia   6 – 2     10 – 2  
No. 4   6 – 2     10 – 2  
South Carolina   3 – 5     5 – 6  
Kentucky   2 – 6     5 – 6  
Vanderbilt   0 – 8     3 – 8  
Western Division
No. 11 Auburn xy   6 – 2     10 – 3  
No. 13 LSU x   6 – 2     9 – 3  
No. 22 Ole Miss   4 – 4     8 – 4  
Mississippi State   4 – 4     7 – 4  
Arkansas   2 – 6     4 – 7  
Alabama   2 – 6     4 – 7  
Championship: Tennessee 30, Auburn 29
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1997 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida as a member of the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by eighth-year head coach Steve Spurrier, the Gators compiled an overall record of 10–2 with mark of 6–2 in conference play, tying for second place among the six SEC Eastern Division teams. Florida was invited to the Florida Citrus Bowl, where the Gators defeated Penn State. The team played home games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida.

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
August 30Southern Miss*No. 2
ESPN2W 21–685,439[1]
September 6Central Michigan*No. 2
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL
PPVW 82–685,347[2]
September 20No. 4 TennesseeNo. 3
CBSW 33–2085,714[3]
September 27at KentuckyNo. 1
CBSW 55–2859,244[4]
October 4ArkansasNo. 1
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL
ESPN2W 56–785,253[5]
October 11at No. 14 LSUNo. 1
ESPNL 21–2880,677[6]
October 18at No. 6 AuburnNo. 7
CBSW 24–1085,244[7]
November 1vs. No. 14 GeorgiaNo. 6
CBSL 17–3784,297[8]
November 8VanderbiltNo. 13
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL
JPSW 20–785,305[9]
November 15at South CarolinaNo. 12
JPSW 48–2180,072[10]
November 22No. 2 Florida State*No. 10
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry, College GameDay)
CBSW 32–2985,677[11]
January 1, 1998vs. No. 11 Penn State*No. 6
ABCW 21–672,940[12]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[13]

Rankings

See also: 1997 NCAA Division I-A football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516Final
AP2 (12)2 (14)2 (14)2 (15)3 (14)1 (32)1 (36)1 (35)7661312107664
Coaches1 (19)1 (19)1 (25)1 (25)1 (25)1 (43)1 (45)1 (48)6661312108886

Game summaries

Southern Miss

Central Michigan

Tennessee

#4 Tennessee Volunteers (2–0) at #3 Florida Gators (2–0)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Tennessee 0 7 7620
Florida 14 6 6733

at Ben Hill Griffith Stadium, Gainesville, Florida

Game information

The Gators seemed poised for another title, never trailing Manning-led Tennessee at home to regain the top spot in the polls.Tony George memorably returned an interception 88 yards for a score.[14] Peyton Manning went on to be the first overall pick in the NFL draft and break numerous NFL records, but ended his career without a win against Florida.[15]

At Kentucky

Arkansas

At LSU

See also: 1997 LSU Tigers football team

They struggled midway through the schedule, however, first losing to LSU on the road. Humiliated by the previous season's 56–13 thrashing, LSU came into the 1997 game ready to play. Once again, the Gators were favored in this matchup in Baton Rouge. But it was LSU who jumped out to a big early lead, scoring two touchdowns in the first 8 minutes on runs by Herb Tyler and Tommy Banks. The Gators came right back with two TD runs by Fred Taylor, each of which capped off an 80-yard drive.

Then, Doug Johnson threw an ill-advised pass, and Cedric Donaldson picked it off and returned it for a touchdown to give LSU a 21–14 lead. The Gators' frustration mounted when another Johnson pass was picked off, this time by Mark Roman, and when Herb Tyler scored another touchdown to give LSU a 28–14 lead with 11:40 to go, the Gators appeared to be in big trouble.

Undaunted, Johnson tried to redeem himself with a 13-play, 78-yard drive that ended with Fred Taylor banging into the end zone to cut the Tigers' lead to 28–21. LSU could do nothing with their next possession, and Doug Johnson began moving the ball downfield again. He then faced a rush on a third and two and threw up a Hail Mary which was intercepted by Raion Hill. The Tigers held on for the 28–21 upset.

At Auburn

#7 Florida Gators (5–1) at #6 Auburn Tigers (6–0)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Florida 10 0 7724
Auburn 7 3 0010

at Jordan–Hare Stadium, Auburn, Alabama

  • Date: October 18
  • Game time: 2:30 p.m. CDT
  • Game weather: Partly cloudy, 65 °F (18 °C)
  • Game attendance: 85,244
  • Referee: A. Sizemore
  • Box Score
Game information

Vs. Georgia

#6 Florida Gators (6–1) vs. #17 Georgia Bulldogs (6–1)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Georgia 7 7 71637
Florida 0 3 14017

at Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida

Game information

First loss to Georgia since 1989.

Vanderbilt

At South Carolina

Florida State

#1 Florida State Seminoles at #10 Florida Gators
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Florida St 10 7 9329
Florida 6 12 7732

at Ben Hill Griffith Stadium • Gainesville, Florida

  • Date: November 22
  • Game attendance: 85,677
  • USA Today

Florida ended the regular season with a 32–29 upset of top-ranked FSU known as the "greatest game ever played in the Swamp."[16] The Seminoles were driving late in the fourth quarter when the Gator defense stopped them at the 5-yard line, and they settled for a Sebastian Janikowski field goal for a 29–25 lead. On first down of the next drive, quarterback Doug Johnson passed to consensus All-American receiver Jacquez Green from the Gator 20-yeard line for a 62-yard gain. Running back Fred Taylor completed the drive with a touchdown, and Florida took the lead for good 32–29. FSU's final comeback attempt was stymied when senior linebacker Dwayne Thomas intercepted a third-down pass from Thad Busby, costing the Seminoles a chance at the national championship.[17]

Florida Citrus Bowl (vs. Penn State)

See also: 1997 Penn State Nittany Lions football team

Roster

1997 Florida Gators football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
RB Ian Alestock
OL Cheston Blackshear
QB Noah Brindise
RB Bo Carroll
OL Mo Collins
TE Dwight Edge
FB Rod Frazier
WR 5 Jacquez Green Jr
WR Darrell Jackson
RB Terry Jackson
TE Erron Kinney
RB Eugene McCaslin
QB 7 Jesse Palmer Fr
QB 12 Doug Johnson So
OL Ryan Kalich
WR Nafis Karim
WR 3 Travis McGriff Jr
OL Zach Piller
WR Jamie Richardson
QB Larry Richart
OL Wyley Ritch
TE Taras Ross
WR Ian Skinner
RB 21 Fred Taylor Sr
WR Travis Taylor
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DL Tim Beauchamp
DB Teako Brown
DL Ed Chester
DL Willie Cohens
CB 1 Tony George Jr
DB Ron Graddy
DL Jevon Kearse
LB Keith Kelsey
DL Reggie McGrew
DL Mike Moten
LB Mike Peterson
DL Willie Rodgers
LB Johnny Rutledge
LB Dwayne Thomas
CB 24 Fred Weary Sr
DB Elijah Williams
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K Jeff Chandler
K 95 Collins Cooper
P Josh Korn
P Robby Stevenson
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt

References

  1. ^ "Gators crawl to win". Florida Today. August 31, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "No. 2 Florida airs it out in 82–6 rout". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. September 7, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Chokehold stymies Vols". Chicago Tribune. September 21, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Kentucky closes gap, but UF rolls". The Orlando Sentinel. September 28, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "No. 1 Gators butcher Hogs". The Bradenton Herald. October 5, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Motivated Tigers upset Gators". Albuquerque Journal. October 12, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Gators top Auburn with No. 3 QB". The Atlanta Journal. October 19, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "The party's over as Dawgs chomp on Gators". Tallahassee Democrat. November 2, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "To Gators, Vandy is handy". South Florida Sun Sentinel. November 9, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Florida pulls away from Gamecocks". The Times and Democrat. November 16, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Gator redemption: Rally shocks FSU". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. November 23, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Somber ending; Senior Nittany Lions melancholy after loss to Florida". The Times Leader. January 2, 1998. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ 2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide Archived 2015-12-08 at the Wayback Machine, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, p. 107 (2015). Retrieved August 16, 2015.
  14. ^ "No. 3 Gators Find Willing Volunteers". Los Angeles Times. September 21, 1997.
  15. ^ "Looking back on Peyton Manning's four losses to the Florida Gators, 1994-97 - OnlyGators.com".
  16. ^ Andy Hutchins (May 27, 2012). "Florida Football 2012 100 For 100, No. 97: Remember 1997, And The Greatest Game Ever Played In The Swamp". Alligator Army.
  17. ^ "Best Florida-Florida State game ever? 1997".
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