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1997 Florida Gators football team

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1997 Florida Gators football
Florida Citrus Bowl champion
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
(Capacity: 83,000)[1]
Seasons
← 1996
1998 →
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 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]
DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
August 30Southern Miss*No. 2
ESPN2W 21–685,439[3]
September 6Central Michigan*No. 2
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL
PPVW 82–685,347[4]
September 20No. 4 TennesseeNo. 3
CBSW 33–2085,714[5]
September 27at KentuckyNo. 1
CBSW 55–2859,244[6]
October 4ArkansasNo. 1
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL
ESPN2W 56–785,253[7]
October 11at No. 14 LSUNo. 1
ESPNL 21–2880,677[8]
October 18at No. 6 AuburnNo. 7
CBSW 24–1085,244[9]
November 1vs. No. 14 GeorgiaNo. 6
CBSL 17–3784,297[10]
November 8VanderbiltdaggerNo. 13
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL
JPSW 20–785,305[11]
November 15at South CarolinaNo. 12
JPSW 48–2180,072[12]
November 22No. 2 Florida State*No. 10
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry, College GameDay)
CBSW 32–2985,677[13]
January 1, 1998vs. No. 11 Penn State*No. 6
ABCW 21–672,940[14]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • 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
PollPre12345678910111213141516Final
AP2 (12)2 (14)2 (14)2 (15)3 (14)1 (32)1 (36)1 (35)7661312107664
Coaches Poll1 (19)1 (19)1 (25)1 (25)1 (25)1 (43)1 (45)1 (48)6661312108886

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
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt 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.
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