American college football season
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 .
Date Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance Source August 30 Southern Miss * No. 2 ESPN2 W 21–685,439 [ 1] September 6 Central Michigan * No. 2 Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL PPV W 82–685,347 [ 2] September 20 No. 4 Tennessee No. 3 CBS W 33–2085,714 [ 3] September 27 at Kentucky No. 1 CBS W 55–2859,244 [ 4] October 4 Arkansas No. 1 Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL ESPN2 W 56–785,253 [ 5] October 11 at No. 14 LSU No. 1 ESPN L 21–2880,677 [ 6] October 18 at No. 6 Auburn No. 7 CBS W 24–1085,244 [ 7] November 1 vs. No. 14 Georgia No. 6 CBS L 17–3784,297 [ 8] November 8 Vanderbilt No. 13 Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL JPS W 20–785,305 [ 9] November 15 at South Carolina No. 12 JPS W 48–2180,072 [ 10] November 22 No. 2 Florida State * No. 10 Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL (rivalry , College GameDay ) CBS W 32–2985,677 [ 11] January 1, 1998 vs. No. 11 Penn State * No. 6 ABC W 21–672,940 [ 12] *Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
[ 13]
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking 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
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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 Top rushers UT – Mark Levine – 4 rushes, 27 yards
UF – Fred Taylor – 17 rushes, 134 yards Top receivers
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] NFL Draft and break numerous NFL records, but ended his career without a win against Florida.[ 15]
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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.
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 Top rushers UF – Fred Taylor – 34 rushes, 140 yards
AUB – Rusty Williams – 8 rushes, 22 yards Top receivers
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 Top rushers Top receivers UGA – Corey Allen – 5 receptions, 116 yards
UF – Jamie Richardson – 6 receptions, 97 yards
First loss to Georgia since 1989.
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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] 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
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1997 Florida Gators football team roster
Players
Coaches
Offense
Defense
Special teams
Head coach Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain(S) Suspended(I) Ineligible
^ "Gators crawl to win" . Florida Today . August 31, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .^ "No. 2 Florida airs it out in 82–6 rout" . Fort Worth Star-Telegram . September 7, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .^ "Chokehold stymies Vols" . Chicago Tribune . September 21, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .^ "Kentucky closes gap, but UF rolls" . The Orlando Sentinel . September 28, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .^ "No. 1 Gators butcher Hogs" . The Bradenton Herald . October 5, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .^ "Motivated Tigers upset Gators" . Albuquerque Journal . October 12, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .^ "Gators top Auburn with No. 3 QB" . The Atlanta Journal . October 19, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .^ "The party's over as Dawgs chomp on Gators" . Tallahassee Democrat . November 2, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .^ "To Gators, Vandy is handy" . South Florida Sun Sentinel . November 9, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .^ "Florida pulls away from Gamecocks" . The Times and Democrat . November 16, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .^ "Gator redemption: Rally shocks FSU" . The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . November 23, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .^ "Somber ending; Senior Nittany Lions melancholy after loss to Florida" . The Times Leader . January 2, 1998. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .^ 2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide Archived 2015-12-08 at the Wayback Machine ^ "No. 3 Gators Find Willing Volunteers" . Los Angeles Times ^ "Looking back on Peyton Manning's four losses to the Florida Gators, 1994-97 - OnlyGators.com" .^ 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 . ^ "Best Florida-Florida State game ever? 1997" .
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