1997 Florida Gators football team
American college football season
1997 Florida Gators football | |
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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 |
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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 |
| Conf | Overall | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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
Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Source |
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August 30 | Southern Miss* | No. 2 | ESPN2 | W 21–6 | 85,439 | [3] | |
September 6 | Central Michigan* | No. 2 |
| PPV | W 82–6 | 85,347 | [4] |
September 20 | No. 4 Tennessee | No. 3 |
| CBS | W 33–20 | 85,714 | [5] |
September 27 | at Kentucky | No. 1 | CBS | W 55–28 | 59,244 | [6] | |
October 4 | Arkansas | No. 1 |
| ESPN2 | W 56–7 | 85,253 | [7] |
October 11 | at No. 14 LSU | No. 1 |
| ESPN | L 21–28 | 80,677 | [8] |
October 18 | at No. 6 Auburn | No. 7 |
| CBS | W 24–10 | 85,244 | [9] |
November 1 | vs. No. 14 Georgia | No. 6 | CBS | L 17–37 | 84,297 | [10] | |
November 8 | Vanderbilt | No. 13 |
| JPS | W 20–7 | 85,305 | [11] |
November 15 | at South Carolina | No. 12 | JPS | W 48–21 | 80,072 | [12] | |
November 22 | No. 2 Florida State* | No. 10 |
| CBS | W 32–29 | 85,677 | [13] |
January 1, 1998 | vs. No. 11 Penn State* | No. 6 | ABC | W 21–6 | 72,940 | [14] | |
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[2]
Rankings
Week | ||||||||||||||||||
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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
1997 Florida Gators football team roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
| Defense
| Special teams
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References
- ^ University of Florida Sports Information Department. "Florida 1997 Football Guide" (PDF). floridagators.com. University Athletic Association, Inc. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "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.