1997 Florida Gators football team

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.

1997 Florida Gators football
Florida Citrus Bowl champion
Florida Citrus Bowl, W 21–6 vs. Penn State
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Eastern Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 6
AP	No. 4
Record	10–2 (6–2 SEC)
Head coach	Steve Spurrier (8th season)
Offensive coordinator	Carl Franks (3rd season)
Offensive scheme	Fun and gun
Defensive coordinator	Bob Stoops (2nd season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
Seasons ← 1996 1998 →

1997 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	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 Florida		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

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 30	Southern Miss*	No. 2	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL	ESPN2	W 21–6	85,439	[1]
September 6	Central Michigan*	No. 2	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL	PPV	W 82–6	85,347	[2]
September 20	No. 4 Tennessee	No. 3	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL (rivalry, College GameDay)	CBS	W 33–20	85,714	[3]
September 27	at Kentucky	No. 1	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY (rivalry)	CBS	W 55–28	59,244	[4]
October 4	Arkansas	No. 1	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL	ESPN2	W 56–7	85,253	[5]
October 11	at No. 14 LSU	No. 1	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry, College GameDay)	ESPN	L 21–28	80,677	[6]
October 18	at No. 6 Auburn	No. 7	Jordan-Hare Stadium Auburn, AL (rivalry, College GameDay)	CBS	W 24–10	85,244	[7]
November 1	vs. No. 14 Georgia	No. 6	Alltel Stadium Jacksonville, FL (rivalry)	CBS	L 17–37	84,297	[8]
November 8	Vanderbilt	No. 13	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL	JPS	W 20–7	85,305	[9]
November 15	at South Carolina	No. 12	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	JPS	W 48–21	80,072	[10]
November 22	No. 2 Florida State*	No. 10	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL (rivalry, College GameDay)	CBS	W 32–29	85,677	[11]
January 1, 1998	vs. No. 11 Penn State*	No. 6	Florida Citrus Bowl Orlando, FL (Florida Citrus Bowl)	ABC	W 21–6	72,940	[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
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AP	2 (12)	2 (14)	2 (14)	2 (15)	3 (14)	1 (32)	1 (36)	1 (35)	7	6	6	13	12	10	7	6	6	4
Coaches	1 (19)	1 (19)	1 (25)	1 (25)	1 (25)	1 (43)	1 (45)	1 (48)	6	6	6	13	12	10	8	8	8	6

Game summaries

Southern Miss

Central Michigan

Tennessee

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Tennessee	0	7	7	6	20
Florida	14	6	6	7	33

Game information

First quarter UF – Jamie Richardson 11-yard pass from Doug Johnson (Collins Cooper kick), 9:43. Florida 7–0. UF – Tony George 88-yard interception return (Collins Cooper kick), 0:15. Florida 14–0. Second quarter UT – Jermaine Copeland 22-yard pass from Peyton Manning (Jeff Hall kick), 1:33. Florida 14–7. UF – Jacquez Green 19-yard pass from Doug Johnson (kick failed), 0:45. Florida 20–7. Third quarter UF – Collins Cooper 37-yard field goal, 8:33. Florida 23–7. UF – Collins Cooper 40-yard field goal, 3:44. Florida 26–7. UT – Jermaine Copeland 8-yard pass from Peyton Manning (Jeff Hall kick), 2:32. Florida 26–14. Fourth quarter UF – Taran Ross 30-yard pass from Doug Johnson (Collins Cooper kick), 6:23. Florida 33–14. UT – Cedrick Wilson 16-yard pass from Peyton Manning (pass failed), 2:21. Florida 33–20. Top passers UT – Peyton Manning – 29/51, 353 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT UF – Doug Johnson – 14/32, 261 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT Top rushers UT – Mark Levine – 4 rushes, 27 yards UF – Fred Taylor – 17 rushes, 134 yards Top receivers UT – Andy McCullough – 5 receptions, 105 yards UF – Jacquez Green – 8 receptions, 185 yards, TD

#4 Tennessee Volunteers (2–0) at #3 Florida Gators (2–0)

at Ben Hill Griffith Stadium, Gainesville, Florida

• Date: September 20
• Game time: 3:30 p.m. EDT
• Game weather: Sunny, 95 °F (35 °C)
• Game attendance: 85,714
• Box Score, Box Score/Recap

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

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Florida	10	0	7	7	24
Auburn	7	3	0	0	10

Game information

First quarter UF – Jamie Richardson 12-yard pass from Jacquez Green (Collins Cooper kick), 11:00. Florida 7–0. Drive: 4 plays, 43 yards, 1:41. UF – Collins Cooper 22-yard field goal, 5:49. Florida 10–0. Drive: 8 plays, 19 yards, 4:03. AUB – Tyrone Dillard 15-yard pass from Dameyune Craig (Jaret Holmes kick), 0:16. Florida 10–7. Drive: 5 plays, 49 yards, 1:56. Second quarter AUB – Jaret Holmes 20-yard field goal, 0:00. Tie 10–10. Drive: 11 plays, 81 yards, 2:28. Third quarter UF – Jacquez Green 10-yard pass from Noah Brindise (Collins Cooper kick), 7:50. Florida 17–10. Drive: 14 plays, 97 yards, 5:20. Fourth quarter UF – Jacquez Green 5-yard run (Collins Cooper kick), 4:27. Florida 24–10. Drive: 2 plays, 6 yards, 0:49. Top passers UF – Jesse Palmer – 8/14, 92 yards, 2 INT AUB – Dameyune Craig – 18/34, 187 yards, TD, INT Top rushers UF – Fred Taylor – 34 rushes, 140 yards AUB – Rusty Williams – 8 rushes, 22 yards Top receivers UF – Travis McGriff – 3 receptions, 44 yards AUB – Karsten Bailey – 4 receptions, 56 yards

#7 Florida Gators (5–1) at #6 Auburn Tigers (6–0)

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

Vs. Georgia

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Georgia	7	7	7	16	37
Florida	0	3	14	0	17

Game information

First quarter UGA – Robert Edwards 27-yard run (Hap Hines kick), 10:16. Georgia 7–0. Second quarter UF – Collins Cooper 36-yard field goal, 6:03. Georgia 7–3. UGA – Robert Edwards 1-yard run (Hap Hines kick), 3:23. Georgia 14–3. Third quarter UF – Noah Brindise 1-yard run (Collins Cooper kick), 11:23. Georgia 14–10. UF – Rod Frazier 3-yard run (Collins Cooper kick), 6:32. Florida 17–14. UGA – Robert Edwards 1-yard run (Hap Hines kick), 1:30. Georgia 21–17. Fourth quarter UGA – Dax Langley 27-yard field goal, 9:02. Georgia 24–17. UGA – Robert Edwards 37-yard run (kick failed), 5:58. Georgia 30–17. UGA – Olandis Gary 7-yard run (Hap Hines kick), 2:44. Georgia 37–17. Top passers UGA – Mike Bobo – 16/27, 260 yards, 3 INT UF – Doug Johnson – 12/25, 115 yards, 2 INT Top rushers UGA – Robert Edwards – 26 rushes, 124 yards, 4 TD UF – Fred Taylor – 18 rushes, 85 yards Top receivers UGA – Corey Allen – 5 receptions, 116 yards UF – Jamie Richardson – 6 receptions, 97 yards

#6 Florida Gators (6–1) vs. #17 Georgia Bulldogs (6–1)

at Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida

• Date: November 1
• Game attendance: 84,297
• TV: CBS
• Box Score/Recap

First loss to Georgia since 1989.

Vanderbilt

At South Carolina

Florida State

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Florida St	10	7	9	3	29
Florida	6	12	7	7	32

#1 Florida State Seminoles at #10 Florida Gators

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]

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP FSU FLA 1 10:45 Florida Fred Taylor 3-yard touchdown run, Collins Cooper kick no good 0 6 1 4:32 Florida St Fumble recovery returned 15 yards for touchdown by Sam Cowart, Sebastian Janikowski kick good 7 6 1 1:51 Florida St 28-yard field goal by Sebastian Janikowski 10 6 2 6:49 Florida St Melvin Pearsall 5-yard touchdown reception from Thad Busby, Sebastian Janikowski kick good 17 6 2 7:10 Florida Travis McGriff 6-yard touchdown reception from Doug Johnson, 2-point pass failed 17 12 2 4:13 Florida Fred Taylor 4-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass failed 17 18 3 10:32 Florida St 31-yard field goal by Sebastian Janikowski 20 18 3 9:25 Florida Fred Taylor 61-yard touchdown run, Collins Cooper kick good 20 25 3 5:24 8 74 Florida St Travis Minor 18-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass incomplete 26 25 4 2:38 Florida St 20-yard field goal by Sebastian Janikowski 29 25 4 1:50 3 80 Florida Fred Taylor 1-yard touchdown run, Collins Cooper kick good 29 32 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 29 32

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 Steve Spurrier Coordinators/assistant coaches Bob Stoops Rod Broadway Defensive line Carl Franks Offensive coordinator/Running backs Sammy McCorkle Graduate assistant Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt