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1997 Sugar Bowl

Field	Value
image	Louisiana Superdome - Unbranded - 26 July 2021.jpg
caption	The Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, hosted the Sugar Bowl.
year_game_played	1997
title_sponsor	Nokia
game_name	Sugar Bowl
subheader	Bowl Alliance National Championship Game
63rd Sugar Bowl
football_season	1996
visitor_name_short	Florida
visitor_nickname	Gators
visitor_school	University of Florida
home_name_short	Florida State
home_nickname	Seminoles
home_school	Florida State University
visitor_record	11–1
visitor_conference	SEC
home_record	11–0
home_conference	ACC
visitor_coach	Steve Spurrier
home_coach	Bobby Bowden
visitor_rank_AP	3
visitor_rank_coaches	3
visitor_rank_bowlalliance	3
home_rank_AP	1
home_rank_coaches	1
home_rank_bowlalliance	1
visitor_1q	10
visitor_2q	14
visitor_3q	14
visitor_4q	14
home_1q	3
home_2q	14
home_3q	3
home_4q	0
date_game_played	January 2
stadium	Louisiana Superdome
city	New Orleans, Louisiana
MVP	Danny Wuerffel (QB, Florida)
odds	Florida by 3.5 points (54.5)
referee	Randy Christal (Big 12)
attendance	78,344
us_network	ABC
us_announcers_link	List of announcers of major college bowl games
us_announcers	Keith Jackson (play-by-play)
Bob Griese (analyst)
Lynn Swann (sideline)
different_previous	[1995 (Dec)](1995-sugar-bowl-december)
navigation_2	College football championship game
different_previous_2	[1996](1996-fiesta-bowl)
different_next_2	[1998](1998-orange-bowl)

63rd Sugar Bowl Bob Griese (analyst) Lynn Swann (sideline) The 1997 Nokia Sugar Bowl was the 63rd edition to the annual Sugar Bowl game and served as the Bowl Alliance's designated national championship game for the 1996 season. It matched No. 1 Florida State of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) against No. 3 Florida of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in an all-Florida national championship game. Florida defeated Florida State in convincing fashion, with a final score of 52–20, and with the victory earned its first-ever consensus national championship. This remains the only national championship game to feature two teams from the same state.

This was the last time a team won their first national championship until Indiana in 2025.

Teams

The game was a bowl rematch of a regular season game, as Florida State had defeated Florida, 24–21, in a game played in Tallahassee on November 30.

Third-ranked Florida was invited to the designated national championship game because the Pac-10 champion was contractually obligated to play in the Rose Bowl Game, and unavailable to participate in the Bowl Alliance national championship game. As a result, second-ranked Arizona State, the Pac-10 champion, played the Big Ten champion, fourth-ranked Ohio State, in the 1997 Rose Bowl. When Ohio State defeated Arizona State in the Rose Bowl on January 1, the Sugar Bowl winner was all but assured of being named the consensus national champion.

Florida Gators

Main article: 1996 Florida Gators football team

The Gators were led by their Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback, Danny Wuerffel. They completed their regular season schedule with a 10–1 record, then defeated No. 11 Alabama in the 1996 SEC Championship Game.

Florida State Seminoles

Main article: 1996 Florida State Seminoles football team

Top-ranked Florida State entered the bowl with an undefeated 11–0 record, led by quarterback Thad Busby and running back Warrick Dunn.

Game summary

After a halftime score of 24–17 in favor of Florida, Florida State closed to 24–20 with a third quarter field goal. Florida then outscored Florida State 28–0 for the remainder of the game, for a 52–20 final. Gator quarterback Danny Wuerffel threw three touchdown passes to Ike Hilliard in the game, and ran for another score. Wuerffel became the second Heisman Trophy winner in four years to win a national championship, following Charlie Ward of the 1993 Florida State team.

Scoring summary

;First quarter :Florida: TD Ike Hilliard 9 pass from Danny Wuerffel (Bart Edmiston kick) 9:48

:FSU: FG Scott Bentley 43 7:49 ::Florida 7–3 :Florida: FG Bart Edmiston 32 2:44 ::Florida 10–3 ;Second quarter :Florida: TD Fred Taylor 2 run (Bart Edmiston kick) 11:28 ::Florida 17–3 :FSU: TD E.G. Green 29 pass from Thad Busby (Bentley kick) 7:28 ::Florida 17–10 :Florida: TD Ike Hilliard 31 pass from Danny Wuerffel (Bart Edmiston kick) 5:18 ::Florida 24–10 :FSU: TD Warrick Dunn 12 run (Scott Bentley kick) 0:40 ::Florida 24–17 ;Third quarter :FSU: FG Scott Bentley 45 10:24 ::Florida 24–20 :Florida: TD Ike Hilliard 7 pass from Danny Wuerffel (Bart Edmiston kick) 5:43 ::Florida 31–20 :Florida: TD Danny Wuerffel 16 run (Bart Edmiston kick) 0:13 ::Florida 38–20 ;Fourth quarter :Florida: TD Terry Jackson 42 run (Bart Edmiston kick) 8:52 ::Florida 45–20 :Florida: TD Terry Jackson 1 run (Bart Edmiston kick) 2:12 ::**Florida 52–20** Source: ## References ## References 1. ["Orange Bowl Odds"](https://www.vegasinsider.com/college-football/history/bowls/orange/). 2. ["Betting line"](https://www.vegasinsider.com/college-football/history/bowls/orange/). *Orange Bowl Odds*. 3. Rosenblatt, Richard. (December 8, 1997). ["Bowl Alliance hopes for best: Without Michigan, Orange Bowl cheers for Washington State"](https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112323088/bowl-alliance-hopes-for-best-without/). *The Daily News–Journal*. 4. ["1997 Game Recap / Allstate Sugar Bowl"](https://www.allstatesugarbowl.org/site94.php). ::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_Sugar_Bowl) and is available under the [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the [article history page](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_Sugar_Bowl?action=history). ::

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