1997 Florida Gators football team

Schedule

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Rankings

Game summaries

Southern Miss

Central Michigan

Tennessee

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
• UT – Peyton Manning – 29/51, 353 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT
• UF – Doug Johnson – 14/32, 261 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT ;Top rushers
• UT – Mark Levine – 4 rushes, 27 yards
• UF – Fred Taylor – 17 rushes, 134 yards ;Top receivers
• UT – Andy McCullough – 5 receptions, 105 yards
• UF – Jacquez Green – 8 receptions, 185 yards, TD

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. Peyton Manning went on to be the first overall pick in the NFL draft and break numerous NFL records, but ended his career without a win against Florida.

At Kentucky

Arkansas

At LSU

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.

At Auburn

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
• UF – Jesse Palmer – 8/14, 92 yards, 2 INT
• AUB – Dameyune Craig – 18/34, 187 yards, TD, INT ;Top rushers
• UF – Fred Taylor – 34 rushes, 140 yards
• AUB – Rusty Williams – 8 rushes, 22 yards ;Top receivers
• UF – Travis McGriff – 3 receptions, 44 yards
• AUB – Karsten Bailey – 4 receptions, 56 yards

Vs. Georgia

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
• UGA – Mike Bobo – 16/27, 260 yards, 3 INT
• UF – Doug Johnson – 12/25, 115 yards, 2 INT ;Top rushers
• UGA – Robert Edwards – 26 rushes, 124 yards, 4 TD
• UF – Fred Taylor – 18 rushes, 85 yards ;Top receivers
• UGA – Corey Allen – 5 receptions, 116 yards
• UF – Jamie Richardson – 6 receptions, 97 yards First loss to Georgia since 1989.

Vanderbilt

At South Carolina

Florida State

;Florida St

• Thad Busby 23/39, 219 Yds, TD, 2 INT
• Travis Minor 21 Rush, 142 Yds, TD
• E.G. Green 7 Rec, 83 Yds ;Florida
• Doug Johnson 13/25, 218 Yds, TD
• Fred Taylor 22 Rush, 162 Yds, 4 TD
• Jacquez Green 7 Rec, 145 Yds

Florida ended the regular season with a 32–29 upset of top-ranked FSU known as the "greatest game ever played in the Swamp." The Seminoles were driving late in the fourth quarter when the Gator defense stopped them at the 5-yard line, and they settled for a 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.

Florida Citrus Bowl (vs. Penn State)

Roster

• Steve Spurrier
• Bob Stoops
• Rod Broadway Defensive line
• Carl Franks Offensive coordinator/Running backs
• Sammy McCorkle Graduate assistant

References

References

1. (August 31, 1997). "Gators crawl to win". Florida Today.
2. (September 7, 1997). "No. 2 Florida airs it out in 82–6 rout". Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
3. (September 21, 1997). "Chokehold stymies Vols". Chicago Tribune.
4. (September 28, 1997). "Kentucky closes gap, but UF rolls". The Orlando Sentinel.
5. (October 5, 1997). "No. 1 Gators butcher Hogs". The Bradenton Herald.
6. (October 12, 1997). "Motivated Tigers upset Gators". Albuquerque Journal.
7. (October 19, 1997). "Gators top Auburn with No. 3 QB". The Atlanta Journal.
8. (November 2, 1997). "The party's over as Dawgs chomp on Gators". Tallahassee Democrat.
9. (November 9, 1997). "To Gators, Vandy is handy". South Florida Sun Sentinel.
10. (November 16, 1997). "Florida pulls away from Gamecocks". The Times and Democrat.
11. (November 23, 1997). "Gator redemption: Rally shocks FSU". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
12. (January 2, 1998). "Somber ending; Senior Nittany Lions melancholy after loss to Florida". The Times Leader.
13. ''[http://web.gatorzone.com/football/media/2015/media_guide.pdf 2015 Florida Gators Football Media Guide] {{webarchive. link. (2015-12-08 '', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, p. 107 (2015). Retrieved August 16, 2015.)
14. (September 21, 1997). "No. 3 Gators Find Willing Volunteers". [[Los Angeles Times]].
15. "Looking back on Peyton Manning's four losses to the Florida Gators, 1994-97 - OnlyGators.com".
16. Andy Hutchins. (27 May 2012). "Florida Football 2012 100 For 100, No. 97: Remember 1997, And The Greatest Game Ever Played In The Swamp". Alligator Army.
17. "Best Florida-Florida State game ever? 1997".