CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1997 Florida

10–⁠2 (6–⁠2 Southeastern Conference), coached by Steve Spurrier, finished No. 4 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Florida in 1997, game by game: won vs. Southern Miss 21–6; won vs. Central Michigan 82–6; won vs. No. 4 Tennessee 33–20; won at Kentucky 55–28; won vs. Arkansas 56–7; lost at No. 14 LSU 21–28; won at No. 6 Auburn 24–10; lost vs. No. 14 Georgia 17–37; won vs. Vanderbilt 20–7; won at South Carolina 48–21; won vs. No. 2 Florida State 32–29; won vs. No. 11 Penn State 21–6+76−20Won 21–6 vs. Southern Miss+15Southern MissWon 82–6 vs. Central Michigan+76Central MichiganWon 33–20 vs. No. 4 Tennessee+13No. 4 TennesseeWon 55–28 at Kentucky+27KentuckyWon 56–7 vs. Arkansas+49ArkansasLost 21–28 at No. 14 LSU-7No. 14 LSUWon 24–10 at No. 6 Auburn+14No. 6 AuburnLost 17–37 vs. No. 14 Georgia-20No. 14 GeorgiaWon 20–7 vs. Vanderbilt+13VanderbiltWon 48–21 at South Carolina+27South CarolinaWon 32–29 vs. No. 2 Florida State+3No. 2 Florida StateWon 21–6 vs. No. 11 Penn State+15No. 11 Penn State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsSouthern MissW 21–⁠678%
Sep 6vsCentral MichiganW 82–⁠687%
Sep 20vs4TennesseeW 33–⁠2065%
Sep 27atKentuckyW 55–⁠2878%
Oct 4vsArkansasW 56–⁠790%
Oct 11at14LSUL 21–⁠2866%
Oct 18at6AuburnW 24–⁠1054%
Nov 1vs14GeorgiaL 17–⁠3774%
Nov 8vsVanderbiltW 20–⁠792%
Nov 15atSouth CarolinaW 48–⁠2169%
Nov 22vs2Florida StateW 32–⁠2950%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs11Penn StateCitrus BowlW 21–⁠662%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Penn State 21–⁠6 in the Citrus Bowl; No. 4 in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 5th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 116 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 2
  2. Wk 2: 2
  3. Wk 3: 2
  4. Wk 4: 2
  5. Wk 5: 3
  6. Wk 6: 1
  7. Wk 7: 1
  8. Wk 8: 1
  9. Wk 9: 7
  10. Wk 10: 6
  11. Wk 11: 6
  12. Wk 12: 13
  13. Wk 13: 12
  14. Wk 14: 10
  15. Wk 15: 7
  16. Wk 16: 6
  17. Wk 17: 6
  18. Final: 4

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1997.

2 consensus All-AmericansJacquez Green, WR; Fred Weary, DB

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 4 peak No. 1
Points
430–⁠205
Coach
Steve Spurrier
Elo
1803 +62 this season
SP+ rating
29.1 No. 4 of 112; offense No. 7, defense No. 7
SRS
23.9 No. 3 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Carl Franks
Defensive coordinator
Bob Stoops
Offense
Fun and gun
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1998

The 1998 draft
Rd 1Fred Taylor RBJacksonville Jaguars
Rd 1Mo Collins OTOakland Raiders
Rd 2Jacquez Green WRTampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 4Fred Weary DBNew Orleans Saints
Rd 6Elijah Williams DBAtlanta Falcons

All-SEC

6 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1997 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1997 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Tennessee7–⁠111–⁠27
Florida6–⁠210–⁠24
Georgia6–⁠210–⁠210
Auburn6–⁠210–⁠311
LSU6–⁠29–⁠313
Ole Miss4–⁠48–⁠422
Mississippi State4–⁠47–⁠4
South Carolina3–⁠55–⁠6
Kentucky2–⁠65–⁠6
Alabama2–⁠64–⁠7
Arkansas2–⁠64–⁠7
Vanderbilt0–⁠83–⁠8

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.