1997 Florida Gators football team American college football season
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 August 30 Southern Miss * No. 2 ESPN2 W 21–685,439 [ 3]
September 6 Central Michigan * No. 2 Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL PPV W 82–685,347 [ 4]
September 20 No. 4 Tennessee No. 3 CBS W 33–2085,714 [ 5]
September 27 at Kentucky No. 1 CBS W 55–2859,244 [ 6]
October 4 Arkansas No. 1 Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL ESPN2 W 56–785,253 [ 7]
October 11 at No. 14 LSU No. 1 ESPN L 21–2880,677 [ 8]
October 18 at No. 6 Auburn No. 7 CBS W 24–1085,244 [ 9]
November 1 vs. No. 14 Georgia No. 6 CBS L 17–3784,297 [ 10]
November 8 Vanderbilt No. 13 Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL JPS W 20–785,305 [ 11]
November 15 at South Carolina No. 12 JPS W 48–2180,072 [ 12]
November 22 No. 2 Florida State * No. 10 Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL (rivalry , College GameDay ) CBS W 32–2985,677 [ 13]
January 1, 1998 vs. No. 11 Penn State * No. 6 ABC W 21–672,940 [ 14]
*Non-conference game HomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
[ 2]
Rankings
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ 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
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
Injured
Redshirt
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 .
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold