1997 Florida Gators football team

American college football season

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
(Capacity: 83,000)[1]

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

The 1997 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. The season was the eighth for Steve Spurrier as the head coach of the Florida Gators football team. Spurrier's 1997 Florida Gators finished with a 10–2 overall record and a 6–2 record in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), tying for second place among the six SEC Eastern Division teams.[2]

## Schedule

[edit]

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| [3]
September 6| Central Michigan*| No. 2|

* Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
* Gainesville, FL

| PPV| W 82–6| 85,347| [4]
September 20| No. 4 Tennessee| No. 3|

* Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
* Gainesville, FL (rivalry, College GameDay)

| CBS| W 33–20| 85,714| [5]
September 27| at Kentucky| No. 1|

* Commonwealth Stadium
* Lexington, KY (rivalry)

| CBS| W 55–28| 59,244| [6]
October 4| Arkansas| No. 1|

* Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
* Gainesville, FL

| ESPN2| W 56–7| 85,253| [7]
October 11| at No. 14 LSU| No. 1|

* Tiger Stadium
* Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry, College GameDay)

| ESPN| L 21–28| 80,677| [8]
October 18| at No. 6 Auburn| No. 7|

* Jordan-Hare Stadium
* Auburn, AL (rivalry, College GameDay)

| CBS| W 24–10| 85,244| [9]
November 1| vs. No. 14 Georgia| No. 6|

* Alltel Stadium
* Jacksonville, FL (rivalry)

| CBS| L 17–37| 84,297| [10]
November 8| Vanderbilt| No. 13|

* Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
* Gainesville, FL

| JPS| W 20–7| 85,305| [11]
November 15| at South Carolina| No. 12|

* Williams–Brice Stadium
* Columbia, SC

| JPS| W 48–21| 80,072| [12]
November 22| No. 2 Florida State*| No. 10|

* Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
* Gainesville, FL (rivalry, College GameDay)

| CBS| W 32–29| 85,677| [13]
January 1, 1998| vs. No. 11 Penn State*| No. 6|

* Florida Citrus Bowl
* Orlando, FL (Florida Citrus Bowl)

| ABC| W 21–6| 72,940| [14]

* *Non-conference game
* Homecoming
* Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[2]

## Rankings

[edit]

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 Poll| 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

## Personnel

[edit]

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

## References

[edit]

1. ^ University of Florida Sports Information Department. "Florida 1997 Football Guide" (PDF). floridagators.com. University Athletic Association, Inc. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
2. ^ a b 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.
3. ^ "Gators crawl to win". Florida Today. August 31, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
4. ^ "No. 2 Florida airs it out in 82–6 rout". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. September 7, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
5. ^ "Chokehold stymies Vols". Chicago Tribune. September 21, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ "Kentucky closes gap, but UF rolls". The Orlando Sentinel. September 28, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
7. ^ "No. 1 Gators butcher Hogs". The Bradenton Herald. October 5, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
8. ^ "Motivated Tigers upset Gators". Albuquerque Journal. October 12, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
9. ^ "Gators top Auburn with No. 3 QB". The Atlanta Journal. October 19, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
10. ^ "The party's over as Dawgs chomp on Gators". Tallahassee Democrat. November 2, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
11. ^ "To Gators, Vandy is handy". South Florida Sun Sentinel. November 9, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
12. ^ "Florida pulls away from Gamecocks". The Times and Democrat. November 16, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
13. ^ "Gator redemption: Rally shocks FSU". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. November 23, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
14. ^ "Somber ending; Senior Nittany Lions melancholy after loss to Florida". The Times Leader. January 2, 1998. Retrieved July 27, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.

* v
* t
* e

Florida Gators football

Venues|

* The Baseball Park (1906–1910)
* University Athletic Field / Fleming Field (1911–1930)
* Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (1930–present)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Bowl games
* Alabama
* Auburn
* Florida State (Florida Cup)
* Georgia
* Kentucky
* LSU
* Miami (Florida Cup)
* Tennessee

Culture & lore|

* History
* The Pride of the Sunshine
* Gator Chomp
* Mr. Two Bits
* Gatorade
* 1961 gambling scandal
* 1992 SEC Championship Game
* 2009 SEC Championship Game

People|

* Head coaches
* Ring of Honor
* All-Americans
* UF Athletic Hall of Fame
* Starting quarterbacks
* Statistical leaders
* NFL draftees

Seasons|

* 1906
* 1907
* 1908
* 1909
* 1910
* 1911
* 1912
* 1913
* 1914
* 1915
* 1916
* 1917
* 1918
* 1919
* 1920
* 1921
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* 1926
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* 1928
* 1929
* 1930
* 1931
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* 1933
* 1934
* 1935
* 1936
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* 1939
* 1940
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* 1942
* 1943
* 1944
* 1945
* 1946
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* 1955
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* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
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* 2024

National championship seasons in bold
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[No.]: Number