1996 Florida Gators football team

The 1996 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 1996 NCAA Division I-A football season. The 1996 season was the team's seventh under head coach Steve Spurrier. The Gators competed in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and played their home games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus.

1996 Florida Gators football
Consensus national champion SEC champion SEC Eastern Division champion Sugar Bowl champion
SEC Championship Game, W 45–30 vs. Alabama
Sugar Bowl, W 52–20 vs. Florida State
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Eastern Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 1
Record	12–1 (8–0 SEC)
Head coach	Steve Spurrier (7th season)
Offensive scheme	Fun and gun
Defensive coordinator	Bob Stoops (1st season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (Capacity: 83,000)^[1]
Seasons ← 1995 1997 →

1996 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Eastern Division
No. 1 Florida x$		8	–	0					12	–	1
No. 9 Tennessee		7	–	1					10	–	2
South Carolina		4	–	4					6	–	5
Kentucky		3	–	5					4	–	7
Georgia		3	–	5					5	–	6
Vanderbilt		0	–	8					2	–	9
Western Division
No. 11 Alabama xy		6	–	2					10	–	3
No. 12 LSU x		6	–	2					10	–	2
No. 24 Auburn		4	–	4					8	–	4
Mississippi State		3	–	5					5	–	6
Ole Miss		2	–	6					5	–	6
Arkansas		2	–	6					4	–	7
Championship: Florida 45, Alabama 30
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

The Gators posted a 12–1 record and won their fifth consecutive SEC Eastern Division title, their fourth straight SEC Championship Game, and their first national championship in team history, with a 52–20 Sugar Bowl rout of their in-state rivals, the Florida State Seminoles.

The Gators used coach Spurrier's pass-heavy "fun 'n gun" offense".^[2] Quarterback Danny Wuerffel won the Heisman Trophy. Wuerffel as well as his wide receivers Ike Hilliard and Reidel Anthony were consensus All-Americans.

The Gators outscored their opponents 612–228.

Before the season

The Gators started the season ranked fourth^[3] as they aimed for a fourth consecutive SEC title.^[4]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 31	Southwestern Louisiana*	No. 4	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL		W 55–21	85,050
September 7	No. 14 (I-AA) Georgia Southern*	No. 4	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL	SS	W 62–14	84,962
September 21	at No. 2 Tennessee	No. 4	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry / College GameDay)	CBS	W 35–29	107,608
September 28	Kentucky	No. 1	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL	CBS	W 65–0	85,422
October 5	at Arkansas	No. 1	Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR	JPS	W 42–7	52,318
October 12	No. 12 LSU	No. 1	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL (rivalry)	CBS	W 56–13	85,567
October 19	No. 16 Auburn	No. 1	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL (rivalry)	CBS	W 51–10	85,697
November 2	vs. Georgia	No. 1	Jacksonville Municipal Stadium Jacksonville, FL (rivalry)	CBS	W 47–7	84,103
November 9	at Vanderbilt	No. 1	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN	JPS	W 28–21	40,249
November 16	South Carolina	No. 1	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL	ESPN	W 52–25	85,701
November 30	at No. 2 Florida State*	No. 1	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL (rivalry / College GameDay)	ABC	L 21–24	80,932
December 7	vs. No. 11 Alabama	No. 4	Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA (SEC Championship, rivalry)	ABC	W 45–30	74,132
January 2, 1997	vs. No. 1 Florida State*	No. 3	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl / College GameDay)	ABC	W 52–20	78,344
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Season summary

Southwestern Louisiana

1 2 3 4 Total SW Louisiana 0 0 14 7 21 • Florida 7 28 7 13 55 Date: August 31 Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida Game attendance: 85,050

Scoring summary 1 13:34 FLA Terry Jackson run (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 7-0 2 14:40 FLA Lawrence Wright fumble return (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 14-0 2 8:51 FLA Ike Hilliard pass from Brian Schottenheimer (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 21-0 2 8:29 FLA Ike Hilliard pass from Danny Wuerffel (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 28-0 2 6:16 FLA Fred Weary fumble return (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 35-0 3 9:32 SWL Buford pass from Delhomme (Deach kick) FLA 35-7 3 7:13 FLA Brown interception return (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 42-7 3 3:18 SWL Jackson fumble return (Deach kick) FLA 42-14 4 14:22 SWL Richard pass from Delhomme (Deach kick) FLA 42-21 4 9:54 FLA Bart Edmiston field goal FLA 45-21 4 7:28 FLA Fred Weary interception return (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 52-21 4 2:03 FLA Bart Edmiston field goal FLA 55-21

In the season opener at the Swamp, Florida beat Southwestern Louisiana 55–21.^[5]

Bob Stoops's Gator defense held the Cajuns scoreless in the first half, and scored four touchdowns (as much as the offense).^[5] Cornerback Fred Weary himself accounted for two touchdowns.^[5]

Georgia Southern

1 2 3 4 Total Ga. Southern 7 0 7 0 14 • Florida 14 21 20 7 62 Date: September 7 Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida Game attendance: 84,962

Scoring summary 1 12:09 FLA Reidel Anthony pass from Danny Wuerffel (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 7-0 1 4:35 GSU Russell run (Stalnaker kick) 7-7 1 2:26 FLA Terry Jackson run (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 14-7 2 10:38 FLA Terry Jackson run (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 21-7 2 9:57 FLA Davis fumble return (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 28-7 2 4:52 FLA Elijah Williams run (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 35-7 3 13:26 FLA Jacquez Green pass from Danny Wuerffel (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 42-7 3 7:02 GSU Cunningham run (Stalnaker kick) FLA 42-14 3 5:17 FLA McCaslin run (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 49-14 3 0:01 FLA Brian Schottenheimer run (kick failed) FLA 55-14 4 3:36 FLA McCaslin run (Cooper kick) FLA 62-14

In the second week of play, the Gators romped with a 62–14 defeat of Georgia Southern.^[6] The offense was back after misfiring in the opener as Danny Wuerffel had a near perfect game, completing 15 of 16 passes for and two touchdowns.^[6]

The defense underperformed, giving up 311 yards to Georgia Southern's flexbone attack.^[6]

Tennessee

1 2 3 4 Total • Florida 14 21 0 0 35 Tennessee 0 6 10 13 29 Date: September 21 Location: Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tennessee Game attendance: 107,608 TV announcers (CBS): Jim Nantz & Terry Donahue

Scoring summary 1 12:00 FLA Reidel Anthony pass from Danny Wuerffel (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 7-0 1 10:34 FLA Terry Jackson pass from Danny Wuerffel (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 14-0 2 11:57 FLA Ike Hilliard pass from Danny Wuerffel (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 21-0 2 11:03 FLA Jacquez Green pass from Danny Wuerffel (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 28-0 2 10:06 FLA Anthone Lott fumble return (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 35-0 2 9:47 TEN Peerless Price pass from Peyton Manning (two-point conversion failed) FLA 35-6 3 11:14 TEN Jeff Hall field goal FLA 35-9 3 2:21 TEN Andy McCullough pass from Peyton Manning (Jeff Hall kick) FLA 35-16 4 8:01 TEN Eric Lane pass from Peyton Manning (two-point conversion failed) FLA 35-22 4 0:10 TEN Andy McCullough pass from Peyton Manning (Jeff Hall kick) FLA 35-29

The third game was a showdown between No. 4 Florida and No. 2 Tennessee. Volunteers quarterback Peyton Manning had not beaten the Gators in two previous attempts, and after a second-half meltdown a year earlier in Gainesville, the Volunteers were looking to exact revenge on their SEC East rival in Knoxville. The game featured two of the top quarterbacks in college football, Manning and Florida's Danny Wuerffel. Both teams featured strong aerial attacks, but Florida's Fred Taylor and Tennessee's Jay Graham were among the SEC's best tailbacks. ESPN's College Gameday was on hand to broadcast their pregame show live from Knoxville.^[7]

The tone for the game was set on Florida's first drive, as Spurrier spurned the punt team on a 4th and 10 from the UT 35, and Wuerffel connected with Reidel Anthony for a touchdown to put the Gators up 7–0. Teako Brown intercepted Manning on the Volunteers' first drive, and it took Wuerffel only one play to find the end zone again, hitting Terry Jackson from out to extend the lead to 14–0.^[8] Florida doubled their lead in a 52-second stretch early in the 2nd quarter, as Ike Hilliard and Jacquez Green became the third and fourth different receivers with touchdown receptions on the afternoon, sandwiched around a James Bates interception of Manning. Anthone Lott's fumble return stretched the lead to 35–0, before Manning finally got the Vols on the scoreboard before halftime on a strike to Peerless Price.^[8]

External video
Tennessee game, YouTube video.

With Florida switching to a more conservative offensive game plan in the second half, Manning cut the lead to 35–22 with 8 minutes left with 2 more touchdown tosses, including a second to Price. Andy McCellough's reception brought the Vols within 35–29 with 10 seconds to play, but Florida recovered the ensuing onside kick to hang on for a six-point win on a rainy Knoxville afternoon.^{[8][n 1]} Florida limited tailback Jay Graham to on 12 carries, while Manning threw for a school-record .^[9]

Kentucky

1 2 3 4 Total Kentucky 0 0 0 0 0 • Florida 21 20 17 7 65 Date: September 28 Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida Game attendance: 85,422

Scoring summary 1 13:57 FLA Ike Hilliard pass from Danny Wuerffel (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 7-0 1 FLA Bart Edmiston field goal FLA 10-0 1 4:24 FLA Reidel Anthony pass from Danny Wuerffel (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 17-0 1 0:10 FLA Bart Edmiston field goal FLA 20-0 2 10:54 FLA Reidel Anthony pass from Danny Wuerffel (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 34-0 2 7:33 FLA Fred Taylor run (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 34-0 2 0:00 FLA Elijah Williams run (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 41-0 3 12:17 FLA Jacquez Green punt return (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 48-0 3 9:17 FLA Jacquez Green punt return (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 55-0 3 3:13 FLA Bart Edmiston field goal FLA 58-0 4 9:56 FLA Richardson pass from Doug Johnson (Cooper kick) FLA 65-0

Coming off a big win in Knoxville the week before and being ranked #1 for the first time since 1994, the Gators were looking for somewhat of an easy home game against the Kentucky Wildcats. This would prove true as the Gators posted their first shutout since a 31–0 drubbing of Tennessee in Knoxville in 1994, with Florida defeating Kentucky 65–0.^[10]

The Gators scored just 63 seconds into the game with a touchdown pass from Danny Wuerffel to Ike Hilliard. Wuerffel would have 3 touchdown passes in all, but the day belonged to Jacquez Green. In the 3rd quarter, Green took a punt back for a touchdown. On Kentucky's next possession, they would punt again and Green, who was still breathing heavy from his first return, weaved his way for another score. In all, the Gators amassed over 300 return yards from punts and kickoffs.^[10] Fred Taylor made his season debut with 45 yards on six attempts.^[11]

Arkansas

1 2 3 4 Total • Florida 14 0 14 14 42 Arkansas 0 7 0 0 7 Date: October 5 Location: Razorback Stadium, Fayetteville, Arkansas Game attendance: 52,318

Scoring summary 1 11:55 FLA Reidel Anthony 56-yard pass from Danny Wuerffel (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 7-0 1 0:39 FLA Terry Jackson 1-yard run (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 14-0 2 5:07 ARK Burks 1-yard run (Latourette kick) FLA 14-7 3 10:03 FLA Reidel Anthony 23-yard pass from Danny Wuerffel (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 21-7 3 5:34 FLA Reidel Anthony 6-yard pass from Danny Wuerffel (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 28-7 4 14:55 FLA Ike Hilliard 7-yard pass from Danny Wuerffel (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 35-7 4 8:52 FLA McCaslin 18-yard run (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 42-7

Florida traveled to Fayetteville and beat Arkansas 42–7. The Gators had an abysmal second quarter, but recovered and Danny Wuerffel threw for a then-school record of 462 yards.^[12]

A defensive stand and missed field goal by Arkansas to start the second half "jolted the Gators back to life."^[12] Wuerffel then passed for three touchdowns.^[12]

LSU

1 2 3 4 Total LSU 0 6 0 7 13 • Florida 14 28 0 14 56 Date: October 12 Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida Game attendance: 85,567

Scoring summary 1 12:53 FLA Reidel Anthony 13-yard pass from Danny Wuerffel (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 7-0 1 4:29 FLA Danny Wuerffel 1-yard run (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 14-0 2 13:34 LSU Foster 8-yard pass from Tyler (Kick blocked) FLA 14-6 2 11:40 FLA Terry Jackson 2-yard run (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 21-6 2 7:26 FLA Jacquez Green 7-yard run (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 28-6 2 6:27 FLA Ike Hilliard 7-yard pass from Danny Wuerffel (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 35-6 2 3:27 FLA Elijah Williams 45-yard run (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 42-6 4 14:36 FLA Ike Hilliard 8-yard pass from Danny Wuerffel (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 49-6 4 11:58 LSU Mealey 2-yard run (Richie kick) FLA 49-13 4 6:13 FLA McCaslin 5-yard run (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 56-13

With Florida winning so convincingly all season, the next two weeks might have proved a challenge for the Gators, with #12 LSU and #16 Auburn coming to town. It was business as usual for the Gators. The Gators proved themselves worthy of the #1 ranking as they first thumped the LSU Tigers 56–13.^[13]

LSU came in undefeated on the campaign and featured an offense that scored 38 points per game. Florida, however, was not thinking upset, as Danny Wuerffel threw three touchdowns, two of them to Ike Hilliard, and ran for another score as the Gators proved to have the better offense.^[13] Fred Taylor had a breakout game, running for 107 yards on 16 carries.^[11]

Their defense came to play as well as they forced two turnovers and recorded 7 sacks and held the LSU offense to just 28 rushing yards.^[13]

Auburn

1 2 3 4 Total Auburn 7 3 0 0 10 • Florida 7 14 16 14 51 Date: October 19 Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida Game start: 3:30 p. m. Game attendance: 85,697

Scoring summary 1 12:00 FLA Reidel Anthony 24-yard pass from Danny Wuerffel (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 7-0 1 3:52 AUB Cooper 7-yard run (Holmes kick) 7-7 2 14:58 FLA Danny Wuerffel 1-yard run (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 14-7 2 12:00 FLA Terry Jackson 1-yard run (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 21-7 2 3:17 AUB Holmes 41-yard field goal FLA 21-10 3 11:57 FLA Bart Edmiston 25-yard field goal FLA 24-10 3 FLA Reidel Anthony 8-yard pass from Danny Wuerffel (Kick failed) FLA 30-10 3 7:26 FLA Elijah Williams 14-yard run (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 37-10 4 8:32 FLA Ike Hilliard 18-yard pass from Danny Wuerffel (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 44-10 4 5:16 FLA Terry Jackson 10-yard run (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 51-10

Next was another ranked team, as 16th ranked Auburn came to Gainesville. The first half may have been closer than most would have expected, as Auburn kicked a field goal late to trail just 21–10. But that would be it for the Tigers as the Gators reeled off 30 unanswered points en route to a 51–10 win.^[14]

Like the LSU game, the Gators scored quick and often, amassing over 600 yards of offense and holding Auburn to just 173 yards. Danny Wuerffel again threw for 3 touchdowns and ran for another for the red-hot Florida offense.^[15] Taylor ran for 110 yards on 14 carries.^[11]

Georgia

See also: 1996 Georgia Bulldogs football team and Florida–Georgia football rivalry

#1 Florida Gators vs. Georgia Bulldogs

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Florida	20	14	0	13	47
Georgia	0	0	0	7	7

at Alltel Stadium • Jacksonville, Florida

• Date: November 2
• Game attendance: 84,103
• USA Today

Game information
Georgia Bobo 9/20, 113 Yds, INT Kirtsey 15 Rush, 71 Yds Allen 5 Rec, 44 Yds Florida Wuerffel 16/23, 279 Yds, 4 TD, INT Williams 10 Rush, 94 Yds Anthony 7 Rec, 98 Yds, 2 TD

Top ranked Florida was coming in looking to win its 7th consecutive game against Georgia in the World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. At the end of the day, Alltel Stadium was half teal (teal seats in the stadium) and half orange and blue as the Gators won 47–7. By this point in the season, Florida was bruising their opponents by an average score of 52–12.^[16]

Danny Wuerffel again would have an outstanding game, bolstering his Heisman Trophy candidacy, with 279 yards passing and 4 touchdowns. The Gators also amassed over 200 yards rushing. The Gator defense held the Dawgs to just 272 yards and one touchdown on the day.^[16]

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP UGA FLA 1 Florida Taylor 2-yard touchdown run, Edmiston kick good 7 0 1 Florida Anthony 20-yard touchdown reception from Wuerffel, Edmiston kick no good 13 0 1 2:02 Florida Anthony 21-yard touchdown reception from Wuerffel, Edmiston kick good 20 0 2 Florida Allen 19-yard touchdown reception from Wuerffel, Edmiston kick good 27 0 2 4:19 Florida Green 11-yard touchdown reception from Wuerffel, Edmiston kick good 34 0 4 Florida 27-yard field goal by Edmiston 37 0 4 Georgia Pass 9-yard touchdown run, Hines kick good 37 7 4 Florida 23-yard field goal by Edmiston 40 7 4 2:23 Florida Ross 14-yard touchdown reception from Johnson, Edmiston kick good 47 7 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 47 7

Vanderbilt

1 2 3 4 Total • Florida 7 14 7 0 28 Vanderbilt 3 0 11 7 21 Date: November 9 Location: Vanderbilt Stadium, Nashville, Tennessee Game attendance: 40,249

Scoring summary 1 10:54 VAN Brett Speakman 27-yard field goal VAN 3-0 1 8:30 FLA Reidel Anthony 14-yard pass from Danny Wuerffel (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 7-3 2 14:51 FLA Jacquez Green 28-yard pass from Danny Wuerffel (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 14-3 2 8:36 FLA Ike Hilliard 31-yard pass from Danny Wuerffel (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 21-3 3 10:00 VAN Brett Speakman 27-yard field goal FLA 21-6 3 7:04 FLA Jacquez Green 9-yard pass from Danny Wuerffel (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 28-6 3 2:07 VAN Jamie Duncan 31-yard fumble return (Allen pass to Todd Yoder) FLA 28-14 4 13:21 VAN Jason Dunnavant 34-yard run (Brett Speakman kick) FLA 28-21

Hampered by penalties throughout, the Gators survived a scare with the Vanderbilt Commodores in Nashville 28–21.^[17]

After an injury to tackle Zach Piller, Vanderbilt sacked and stripped Danny Wuerffel, and Jamie Duncan returned the fumble for a touchdown.^[17] A 2-point conversion on a pass to Todd Yoder brought the score to 28–14 and inspired the Commodores.^[17] Early in the fourth quarter, Vanderbilt back Jason Dunnavant broke off a 34-yard touchdown run and the score was 28–21.^[17] Vanderbilt missed a field goal, and one final drive was stopped at its own 47-yard line.^[17]

Overcoming five sacks, Wuerffel passed for 283 yards and four touchdowns.^[17]

South Carolina

1 2 3 4 Total South Carolina 6 9 7 3 25 • Florida 14 14 7 17 52 Date: November 16 Location: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, Gainesville, Florida Game attendance: 85,701

Scoring summary 1 8:57 SC Wright 7-yard run (Run failed) SC 6-0 1 5:20 FLA Fred Taylor 5-yard run (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 7-6 1 3:20 FLA Jacquez Green 56-yard pass from Danny Wuerffel (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 14-6 2 14:48 FLA Reidel Anthony 52-yard pass from Danny Wuerffel (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 21-6 2 9:59 SC Wright 8-yard run (Run failed) FLA 21-12 2 6:53 FLA Terry Jackson 4-yard run (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 28-12 2 0:02 SC Morton 27-yard field goal FLA 28-15 3 13:28 FLA Peterson 9-yard blocked punt return (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 35-15 3 0:51 SC Williams 2-yard run (Leavitt kick) FLA 35-22 4 13:13 FLA Bart Edmiston 21-yard field goal FLA 38-22 4 8:06 FLA Fred Taylor 27-yard run (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 45-22 4 3:49 FLA Fred Taylor 25-yard run (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 52-22 4 0:03 SC Leavitt 32-yard field goal FLA 52-25

The Gators struggled despite a 52–25 win over the South Carolina Gamecocks.^[18] Wuerffel had an off-day, especially late, and never failed to find a passing rhythm;^[19] but was helped by Fred Taylor to lift Florida over the Gamecocks.^[11] Spurrier became the Gators' all-time winningest coach, surpassing Ray Graves' 70 career wins.^[20] Spurrier gave Graves a game ball, who gave a talk to the team.^[21]

Early on in the game, Wuerffel threw a 56-yard touchdown pass to Jacquez Green and a 52-yard touchdown pass to Reidel Anthony.^[18] Taylor ran for 139 yards and three touchdowns on 21 carries on the day.^[11]

Florida State

1 2 3 4 Total Florida 0 14 0 7 21 • FSU 17 0 0 7 24 Date: November 30 Location: Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, Florida Game attendance: 80,932

Scoring summary 1 FSU Bentley 26-yard field goal FSU 3-0 1 FSU Williams 3-yard run (Bentley kick) FSU 10-0 1 FSU Pearsall 1-yard pass from Thad Busby (Bentley kick) FSU 17-0 2 FLA Jacquez Green 1-yard pass from Danny Wuerffel (Bart Edmiston kick) FSU 17-7 2 FLA Jacquez Green 9-yard pass from Danny Wuerffel (Bart Edmiston kick) FSU 17-14 4 FSU Williams 1-yard run (Bentley kick) FSU 24-14 4 FLA Reidel Anthony 2-yard pass from Danny Wuerffel (Cooper kick) FSU 24-21

The rival Florida State Seminoles defeated the Gators 24–21, seemingly ending Florida's chance at a national title. For the first time in series history, both squads were an undefeated 10–0.^[22] The Seminoles scored 17 straight points in the first quarter and Warrick Dunn rushed for a career-best 185 yards.^[22]

 

"We just hit to the echo" said FSU coach Bobby Bowden (pictured)

The Seminoles also had one of the best defenses in the nation, with a savage pass rush which included All-Americans Peter Boulware and Reinard Wilson.^[23] The Seminoles had been flagged for roughing the passer twice during the game, and Spurrier had the UF video staff compile footage which he claimed showed FSU players tackling Wuerffel late a half-dozen additional times.^[24] Gator receiver Reidel Anthony still managed career bests in receptions (11) and yards gained (193). "If Danny would have had more time, we would have killed them. I was getting past them all the time with all kinds of routes."^[25] Florida had 443 yards of offense, but Wuerffel threw three interceptions and was sacked six times.^[22]

External video
FSU game, YouTube video.

The third quarter was scoreless as both teams played well on defense.^[26] FSU's "Pooh Bear" Williams got the ball into the endzone to put the Seminoles up 24–14 midway through the fourth quarter.^[22] Down late, Florida went 80 yards in eight plays, including a 31-yard pass to Anthony, down to the 3-yard line.^[22] A short pass to Anthony brought Florida within a field goal with just over a minute left.^[22] The subsequent onside kick went out of bounds, and the game was sealed when Dunn ran for a first down.^[22] Spurrier continued to complain to the press about the late hits while FSU coach Bobby Bowden responded that he thought the hits in question were clean while admitting that "we just hit to the echo (of the whistle), instead of the whistle."^[27]

Postseason

Alabama

SEC Championship

1 2 3 4 Total Alabama 7 7 14 2 30 • Florida 6 18 14 7 45 Date: December 7 Location: Georgia Dome, Atlanta Game attendance: 74,132

Scoring summary 1 8:52 ALA Riddle 36-yard pass from Kitchens (Brock kick) ALA 7-0 1 3:11 FLA Ike Hilliard 46-yard pass from Danny Wuerffel (kick blocked) ALA 7-6 2 14:37 FLA Reidel Anthony 21-yard pass from Danny Wuerffel (Anthony pass from Wuerffel) FLA 14-7 2 12:35 FLA Elijah Williams 45-yard pass from Danny Wuerffel (Cooper kick) FLA 21-7 2 7:29 FLA Cooper 35-yard field goal FLA 24-7 2 0:39 ALA Vaughn 8-yard pass from Kitchens (Brock kick) FLA 24-14 3 9:12 ALA Riddle 5-yard run (Brock kick) FLA 24-21 3 5:14 FLA Reidel Anthony 13-yard pass from Danny Wuerffel (Cooper kick) FLA 31-21 3 4:06 ALA Vaughn 94-yard pass from Kitchens (Brock kick) FLA 31-28 3 3:09 FLA Jacquez Green 85-yard pass from Danny Wuerffel (Cooper kick) FLA 38-28 4 14:54 FLA Reidel Anthony 21-yard pass (Cooper kick) FLA 45-28 4 4:32 ALA Safety, Wuerffel ran out of endzone FLA 45-30

The Gators beat the Alabama Crimson Tide 45–30 in the SEC Championship, as Wuerffel passed for six touchdowns.^[28] A 94-yard touchdown pass from Alabama to pull within 3 was answered by an 85-yard touchdown to Jacquez Green.^[28]

Texas also upset Nebraska in the inaugural Big 12 Championship, securing the Gators a spot in the Sugar Bowl. To have a shot at a national title, the Gators needed Ohio State to beat second-ranked Arizona State—the only team to go through the regular season undefeated—in the Rose Bowl, which they did on the final play of the game, setting up the Sugar Bowl as the Bowl Alliance national championship game.

Florida State

Sugar Bowl

1 2 3 4 Total • Florida 10 14 14 14 52 FSU 3 14 3 0 20 Date: January 2, 1997 Location: Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans Game attendance: 78,344 Game weather: Indoors (dome) TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson

Scoring summary 1 9:48 FLA Ike Hilliard 9-yard pass from Danny Wuerffel (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 7-0 1 7:49 FSU Bentley 43-yard field goal FLA 7-3 1 2:44 FLA Bart Edmiston 32-yard field goal FLA 10-3 2 11:28 FLA Fred Taylor 2-yard run (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 17-3 2 7:28 FSU E. C. Green 29-yard pass from Thad Busby (Bentley kick) FLA 17-10 2 5:18 FLA Ike Hilliard 31-yard pass from Danny Wuerffel (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 24-10 2 0:40 FSU Warrick Dunn 12-yard run (Bentley kick) FLA 24-17 3 10:45 FSU Bentley 45-yard field goal FLA 24-20 3 5:43 FLA Ike Hilliard 7-yard pass from Danny Wuerffel (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 31-20 3 0:13 FLA Danny Wuerffel 16-yard run (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 38-20 4 8:52 FLA Terry Jackson 42-yard run (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 45-20 4 2:12 FLA Terry Jackson 1-yard run (Bart Edmiston kick) FLA 52-20

The Gators used the shotgun formation to give Wuerffel more time to throw^[29] and defeated FSU in a rematch 52–20, for their first national title.^[30]

Hilliard scored once on a "stop and pop" where he stopped on a dime to avoid Seminole defenders, then ran into the endzone.^[31] A 42-yard Terry Jackson touchdown run sealed the victory.^[32]

Awards and honors

National award winners

Along with a national title, quarterback Danny Wuerffel was awarded the Heisman Trophy, annually awarded to college football's top player.^[33] He was also awarded the Maxwell Award, Walter Camp Award, Davey O'Brien Award,^[34] Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, as well as the Draddy Trophy, National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame Scholar, and College Football Association Scholar-Athlete Team. Lawrence Wright won the Jim Thorpe Award,^[35] and was on the College Football Association Scholar-Athlete Team. Jeff Mitchell was an Outland Trophy semi-finalist.

External video
1997 Sugar Bowl, YouTube video.

Wuerffel, Ike Hilliard, and Reidel Anthony all were consensus All-Americans.^[36]

NFL draft

Ike Hilliard was selected 7th overall by the New York Giants, and Reidel Anthony was selected 16th by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers^[37]

Personnel

Depth chart

Offense WR WR Reidel Anthony Jamie Richardson Nafis Karim Travis McGriff   LT LG C RG RT Zach Piller Ryan Kalich Jeff Mitchell Donnie Young Mo Collins Donnie Young Deac Story Corey Yarbrough Cheston Blackshear Scott Bryan   TE Tremayne Allen Teras Ross Erron Kinney WR Ike Hilliard Jacquez Green   QB Danny Wuerffel Brian Schottenheimer Doug Johnson Noah Brindise FB Dwayne Mobley Jerome Evans Terry Jackson TB Fred Taylor Elijah Williams Terry Jackson Eugene McCaslin

Defense CB Fred Weary Shea Showers DE DT DT DE Tim Beauchamp Ed Chester Reggie McGrew Anthony Mitchell Willie Rodgers Keith Council Mike Moten Cameron Davis CB Anthone Lott Tony George Ronnie Battle FS Shea Showers Teako Brown Mike Harris WLB MLB SLB Johnny Rutledge James Bates Mike Peterson Keith Kelsey Dwayne Thomas Jevon Kearse SS Lawrence Wright Demetric Jackson

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Roster

1996 Florida Gators roster
Quarterbacks 7 Danny Wuerffel – Senior 12 Doug Johnson – Freshman 16 Brian Schottenheimer – Senior 17 Noah Brindise – Junior Running backs 6 Daymon Carroll – Freshman Tailbacks 3 Eugene McCaslin – Freshman 21 Fred Taylor – Junior 22 Terry Jackson – Sophomore 23 Dwayne Mobley – Senior 25 Elijah Williams – Junior Fullbacks 34 Jerome Evans – Senior 35 Ernie Dubose – Junior 36 Jayme Campbell – Freshman 40 Rod Frazier – Freshman Tight ends 80 Shawn Nunn – Senior 82 Dwight Edge – Freshman 88 Taras Ross – Junior 89 Erron Kinney – Freshman 91 Tremayne Allen – Senior		Wide receivers 3 Travis McGriff – Sophomore 5 Jacquez Green – Sophomore 8 Nafis Karim – Sophomore 15 Reidel Anthony – Junior 18 Jamie Richardson – Freshman 19 Ike Hilliard – Junior 20 Tyrone Baker – Junior 31 Craig Dudley – Freshman 83 Jason Dean – Senior 84 David Nabavi – Senior 85 Ian Skinner – Freshman 67 Henry Kupczyk – Senior Offensive line 51 Ryan Kalich – Freshman 57 Scott Bryan - Freshman 59 Wyley Ritch – Junior 62 Corey Yarbrough – Freshman 65 Sean Ladd – Sophomore 69 Zach Piller – Sophomore 70 Cooper Carlisle – Freshman 71 Jeff Mitchell – Senior 72 Deac Story – Sophomore 73 Pat Browning – Sophomore 74 Zac Zedalis – Freshman 75 Donnie Young – Senior 77 Cheston Blackshear – Freshman 78 Todd Holland – Junior 79 Mo Collins – Sophomore		Defensive line 53 Thaddeus Bullard – Freshman 54 Willie Rodgers – Junior 55 Willie Cohens – Sophomore 56 Cameron Davis – Senior 61 Buck Gurley – Freshman 64 Derrick Chambers – Freshman 66 Keith Council – Junior 90 Mike Moten – Junior 92 Reggie McGrew – Freshman 93 Tim Beauchamp – Sophomore 94 Ed Chester – Sophomore 96 Ernie Badeaux – Freshman 98 Anthony Mitchell – Freshman 99 McDonald Ferguson – Senior Linebackers 22 Terry Jackson – Sophomore 29 Mike Peterson – Sophomore 30 Daryl Owens – Freshman 39 Teddy Sims – Freshman 41 Keith Kelsey – Freshman 42 Jevon Kearse – Sophomore 44 James Bates – Senior 46 Xavier McCray – Junior 49 Zuri Buchanan – Freshman 50 Kavin Walton – Junior 52 Dwayne Thomas – Junior 58 Johnny Rutledge – Sophomore 64 Jason Perry – Sophomore		Cornerbacks 2 Shea Showers – Senior 9 Anthone Lott – Senior 10 Ronnie Battle – Junior 24 Fred Weary – Junior 28 Dock Pollard – Freshman 48 Cedric Warren – Freshman Defensive backs 38 Demetrius Lewis – Freshman Safeties 1 Tony George – Sophomore 4 Lawrence Wright – Senior 13 Mike Harris – Junior 26 Jon Xynidis – Junior 27 Demetric Jackson – Senior 33 Teako Brown – Sophomore 37 Reggie Davis – Freshman 47 Rod Graddy – Freshman 38 James Gray – Sophomore Punters 43 Matt Teague – Senior 87 Robby Stevenson – Sophomore Kickers 14 Bart Edmiston – Senior 43 Matt Teague – Senior Long snappers 76 Mike Younkin – Freshman 68 Scott Wise – Freshman 60 Fred Hagberg – Junior

Coaching staff

• Steve Spurrier (Florida '67)– Head coach
• Rod Broadway (North Carolina '77) – Defensive tackles
• Jim Collins (Elon College '74) – Recruiting doordinator, Will and Mike Linebackers
• Dwayne Dixon (Florida '85) – Assistant head coach, Wide receivers
• Carl Franks (Duke '82) – Assistant offensive coordinator, Running backs
• Lawson Holland (Clemson '76) – Tight ends
• Bob Sanders (Davidson '76) – Assistant defensive coordinator, Defensive Ends
• Jimmy Ray Stephens (Florida '77) – Offensive line
• Bob Stoops (Iowa '83) – Assistant head coach, Defensive Coordinator, Secondary
• Barry Wilson (Georgia '65) – Special teams Coordinator, Sam Linebackers

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Team statistics

UF OPP Scoring 559 201 Points per Game 46.6 16.8 First Downs 303 192 Rushing 118 81 Passing 167 87 Penalty 18 24 Total Offense 6047 3373 Avg per Play 7.1 4.1 Avg per Game 503.9 281.1 Fumbles-Lost 16-7 27-14 Penalties-Yards 125-1095 90-748 Avg per Game 91.3 62.3

UF OPP Punts-Yards 38-1475 86-3477 Avg per Punt 38.8 40.4 Time of Possession/Game 28:42 31:18 3rd Down Conversions 59/145 49/189 4th Down Conversions 12/19 8/23 Touchdowns Scored 76 26 Field Goals-Attempts 10-18 7-11 PAT-Attempts 71-75 20-22 Attendance 512424 281107 Games/Avg per Game 6/85404 4/70277

Scores by quarter

1 2 3 4 Total Opponents 57 45 66 60 228 Gators 148 220 117 127 612

Player statistics

Offense

Rushing

Name	#	GP	Att	Gain	Loss	Net	Avg	TD	Long	Avg/G
Wiliams, E.	25	12	106	690	19	671	6.3	4	46	55.9
Taylor, F.	21	9	104	650	21	629	6.0	5	30	69.9
Jackson, T.	22	12	79	398	10	388	4.9	8	34	32.3
McCaslin, E.	32	9	41	301	11	290	7.1	4	63	32.2
Baker, T.	20	11	16	80	0	80	5.0	0	18	7.3
Hilliard, I.	19	11	4	33	0	33	8.3	0	13	3.0
Anthony, R.	15	12	4	27	0	27	6.8	0	21	2.3
Green, J.	5	12	6	24	3	21	3.5	1	10	1.8
Mobley, D.	23	12	2	17	0	17	8.5	0	10	1.4
Evans, J.	34	12	2	11	0	11	5.5	0	9	0.9
Dubose, E.	35	12	2	9	0	9	4.5	0	6	0.8
Schottenheimer, B.	16	9	7	10	7	3	0.4	1	3	0.3
Richardson, J.	18	9	1	0	0	0	0.0	0	0	0.0
Johnson, D.	12	7	3	2	12	-10	-3.3	0	1	-1.4
Brindise, N.	17	3	1	0	10	-10	-10.0	0	0	-3.3
Wuerffel, D.	7	12	63	126	226	-100	-1.6	2	18	-8.3
Team Total		12	442	2378	338	2040	4.6	25	63	170.0

Passing

Name	#	GP	Effic	Atm-Cmp-Int	Pct	Yds	TD	Lng	Avg
Wuerffel, D.	7	12	170.61	360-207-13	57.5	3625	39	85	302.1
Johnson, D.	12	7	99.87	27-12-3	44.4	171	2	27	24.4
Schottenheimer, B.	16	9	155.22	21-13-0	61.9	194	1	34	21.6
Brindise, N.	5	3	114.27	3-2-0	66.7	17	0	15	5.7
Jackson, T.	22	12	0.00	1-0-0	0.0	0	0	0	0.0
Team Total		12	164.37	412-234-16	56.8	4007	42	85	333.9

Receiving

Name	#	GP	No.	Yds	Avg	TD	Long	Avg/G
Anthony, R.	15	12	72	1293	18.0	18	56	107.8
Hilliard, I.	19	11	47	900	19.1	10	46	81.8
Green, J.	5	12	33	626	19.0	9	85	52.2
Williams, E.	25	12	14	253	18.1	1	45	21.1
McGriff, T.	3	8	14	167	11.9	0	27	20.9
Jackson, T.	22	12	13	163	12.5	1	43	13.6
Taylor, F.	21	9	8	120	15.0	0	38	13.3
Allen, T.	91	12	7	118	16.9	1	32	9.8
Richardson, J.	18	9	5	75	15.0	1	34	8.3
Ross, T.	88	12	4	93	23.3	1	45	7.8
Mobley, D.	23	12	4	51	12.8	0	19	4.3
Karim, N.	8	9	3	47	15.7	0	27	5.2
McCaslin, E.	3	9	3	40	13.3	1	19	4.4
Kinney, E.	83	11	3	40	13.3	0	15	3.6
Dubose, E.	35	12	1	9	9.0	0	9	0.8
Dean, J.	83	5	1	5	5.0	0	5	1.0
Nabavi, D.	84	9	1	5	5.0	1	5	0.6
Schiralli, N.	81	4	1	2	2.0	0	2	0.5
Total		12	234	4007	17.1	42	85	333.9

Defense

Name	#	GP	Tackles				Sacks	Pass Defense				Fumbles
			Solo	Ast	Total	TFL-Yds	No-Yds	BrUp	QBH	Int.-Yds	TD	Rcv-Yds	FF	Blkd Kick
Bates, J.	44	11	51	74	125	6.0-23	2.0-14	1	6	1-9
Rutledge, J.	58	11	40	59	99	12.0-58	5.0-39		5			1-0	4
Wright, L.	4	11	40	31	71	2.5-15.5	2.5-15.5	3	3			2-12 1TD	1
Showers, S.	2	11	52	16	68	1.0-1		3		1-0			1
Peterson, M.	29	9	27	18	45	3.5-10.5	0.5-1.5	2	3
Lott, A.	9	11	36	8	44	1.0-6	1.0-6	6		2-25		2-26 1TD	1
Kearse, J.	42	10	27	16	43	8.5-38.5	2.5-11.5	2	4				2	1
Chester, E.	94	10	21	20	41	9.0-35	5.0-28		19			1-0	1
McGrew, R.	92	11	23	15	38	3.0-4	1.0-2	1	7			1-0
Weary, F.	24	11	22	10	32			6		5-117	1	1-64 1TD
Harris, M.	13	9	16	14	30			1
Moten, M.	90	11	11	16	27	2.0-7	1.0-5		6
Mitchell, A.	98	10	13	12	25	3.0-14	3.0-14	1	5
Rodgers, W.	54	10	13	9	22	8.0-33.5	4.0-24.5	1	9			1-0	2
Jackson, D.	27	11	13	7	20	1.0-1		4	1	1-0		1-0
Kelsey, K.	41	8	9	10	19	4.0-17	1.0-9		2
Thomas, D.	52	11	12	7	19
Beauchamp, T.	93	10	7	11	18	7.0-43	6.0-40		9			1-6	1
Davis, C.	56	10	6	8	14	9.5-45	5.5-38		7			1-40 1TD	1
Brown, T.	33	6	7	4	11			3		3-73	1
Council, K.	66	10	3	6	9	2.0-9	1.0-7	1	3			1-0
Ferguson, M.	99	8	1	5	6
George, T.	1	11	5	2	7	1.0-7	1.0-7	1	1	1-2
Sims, T.	39	2	1	4	5								1
Owens, D.	30	2	2	1	3			1	1
Cohens, W.	55	3	2		2	1.0-4	1.0-4	2
Jackson, T.	22	11	1	1	2									1
McCray, X.	46	11	2		2
Perry, J.	64	4	2		2
Walton, K.	50	6		2	2
Badeaux, E.	96	6	1		1
Xynidis, J.	26	10	1		1									1
Battle, R.	10	11						1
Lewis, D.	38	10
Pollard, D.	28	6										1-0
Baker, T.	20	9
Total		11	467	386	853	85-372	43-266	37	93	14-226	2	14-148 4TD	15	3

Defense statistics reflect regular season games only

Special teams

Kicking

Name	#	Punting					Kicking
		No.	Yds	Avg	Long	Blkd	FG	XP
Cooper, C.	70						1-1	7-9
Edmiston, B.	14						9-17	64-66
Stevenson, R.	87	35	1475	42.1	64	0
Teague, M.	43
Total		38	1475	38.8	64	3	10-18	71-75

Returns

Name	#	Punt Returns					Kick Returns
		No.	Yds	Avg	TD	Long	No.	Yds	Avg	TD	Long
Green, J.	5	25	324	13.0	2	79	10	216	21.6	0	40
Anthony, R.	1	8	90	11.3	0	30	7	113	16.1	0	22
Richardson, J.	18	4	46	11.5	0	20	3	79	26.3	0	28
Hilliard, I.	19	1	10	10.0	0	10	5	144	28.8	0	40
Xynidis, J.	26	1	28	28.0	0	28
Jackson, T.	22	1	25	25.0	0	25	1	15	15.0	0	15
Lott, A.	9	1	0	0.0	0	0
Peterson, M.	29	0	9	0.0	1	9
Dubose, E.	35						2	18	9.0	0	16
Total		41	532	13.0	3	79	28	585	20.9	0	36

Notes

1. Tennessee bounced back to stay in the national title picture at 6–1 before being stunned on the road at Memphis, and finished 10–2, defeating Northwestern in the Citrus Bowl.

References

1. University of Florida Sports Information Department. "Florida 1996 Football Guide" (PDF). floridagators.com. University Athletic Association, Inc. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
2. "Steve Spurrier's Fun 'n' Gun brought football evolution to the SEC". October 13, 2015.
3. Dwight Collins (August 31, 1996). "Gators have the makings of a four-peat in SEC". Ocala Star-Banner. p. 6C – via Google News Archive Search.
4. Cecil Hurt (August 25, 1996). "Spurrier, Gators aiming for SEC four-peat". The Tuscaloosa News. p. 7-I – via Google News Archive Search.
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19. David Wasson. "Wuerffel wasn't quite himself". Gainesville Sun. p. 6C.
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21. "Spurrier's top 10 home game memories at Florida".
22. Dwight Collins (December 1, 1996). "Gators Dunn In". Ocala Star-Banner. pp. 1C, 13C – via Google News Archive Search.
23. Dwight Collins (December 1, 1996). "'Noles defense sacks Gators' title hopes". Ocala Star-Banner. p. 6C.
24. Moran, Malcolm (January 2, 1997). "A Backpedaling Spurrier Expects a Clean Sugar Bowl". The New York Times.
25. David Wasson (December 1, 1996). "Anthony's heroics overshadowed by loss". Ocala Star-Banner. p. 9C.
26. Buddy Martin (December 1, 1996). "Bowden Enjoys Defensive Third Quarter". Ocala Star-Baner. pp. 1C, 8C.
27. Alan Schmadtke. "Florida and Florida State get rematch". The Cedartown Standard – via Google News Archive Search.
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