1998 Florida Gators football
Orange Bowl champion
Orange Bowl, W 31–10 vs. Syracuse
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
DivisionEastern Division
Ranking
CoachesNo. 6
APNo. 5
Record10–2 (7–1 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive schemeFun and gun
Defensive coordinatorBob Stoops (3rd season)
Base defense4–3
Home stadiumBen Hill Griffin Stadium
(Capacity: 83,000)[1]
1998 Southeastern Conference football standings
ConfOverall
Team W L  W L 
Eastern Division
No. 1 Tennessee x$#  8 –0   13 –0  
No. 5 Florida  %  7 –1   10 –2  
No. 14 Georgia  6 –2   9 –3  
Kentucky  4 –4   7 –5  
Vanderbilt  1 –7   2 –9  
South Carolina  0 –8   1 –10  
Western Division
Mississippi State xy  6 –2   8 –5  
No. 16 Arkansas x  6 –2   9 –3  
Alabama  4 –4   7 –5  
Ole Miss  3 –5   7 –5  
LSU  2 –6   4 –7  
Auburn  1 –7   3 –8  
Championship: Tennessee 24, Mississippi State 14
  • # – BCS National Champion
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • % – BCS at-large representative
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1998 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida during the 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season was the Florida Gators football team's ninth under head coach Steve Spurrier. Spurrier's 1998 Florida Gators compiled an overall record of 10–2 and a Southeastern Conference (SEC) record of 7–1, placing second among the six teams of the SEC Eastern Division.[2]

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 5The Citadel*No. 3
PPVW 49–1085,061
September 12Northeast Louisiana*No. 3
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL
PPVW 42–1085,228
September 19at No. 6 TennesseeNo. 2
CBSL 17–20 OT107,653
September 26KentuckyNo. 8
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
CBSW 51–3585,011
October 3at AlabamaNo. 8
JPSW 16–1083,818
October 10No. 11 LSUNo. 6
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
ESPNW 22–1085,404
October 17AuburnNo. 5
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL (rivalry)
CBSW 24–385,557
October 31vs. No. 11 GeorgiaNo. 5
CBSW 38–784,321
November 7at VanderbiltNo. 5
W 45–1333,576
November 14South CarolinadaggerNo. 4
  • Ben Hill Griffin Stadium
  • Gainesville, FL
JPSW 33–1485,528
November 21at No. 5 Florida State*No. 4
ABCL 12–2381,614
January 2, 1999vs. No. 18 Syracuse*No. 7
ABCW 31–1067,919
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[2]

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
( ) = First place votes.
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314Final
AP3 (5)3 (4)2 (9)8865565448775
Coaches Poll4 (1)4 (2)2 (1)9865555448776
BCSNot released7555878Not released

Game summaries

Tennessee

After Peyton Manning and several other star players moved on to the NFL after the 1997 season, most preseason prognosticators saw Tennessee's 1998 squad as taking a step backward from championship contention.[3] However, they were still ranked No. 6 when the No. 2 Gators rolled into Knoxville looking to beat their rivals for the sixth consecutive year.

It was not to be. Led by junior quarterback Tee Martin and a stout defense, the Vols recovered four Gators fumbles, held their opponent to -30 yards rushing, and slowed UF's two-quarterback passing attack, which featured Doug Johnson and Jesse Palmer alternating plays. The game was close throughout, with the score knotted at 10 at halftime and 17 at the end of regulation. Tennessee was held to a Jeff Hall field goal during their first possession of overtime. When it was UF's turn, placekicker Collins Cooper missed an answering field goal, giving UT a 20–17 win and inspiring the jubilant home fans to rush the turf of Neyland Stadium and tear down the goalposts.[4]

Florida State

This 1998 battle between the in state rivals started before the whistle even blew. A pre-game fight caused Florida's starting senior safety, Tony George, and a couple walk-on FSU players who were not even dressed, to be ejected from the game. In the midst of the fight, it is rumored that Florida quarterback Doug Johnson attempted to peg FSU coach Bobby Bowden with a football. Johnson did later apologize to Bowden, claiming that he had no target, he just threw the ball. Florida State's defense came in the ballgame rated No. 1 in the nation, Florida's defense was rated No. 1 in the SEC, so the game was set to be a defensive battle. Florida struck first with a 50-yard Doug Johnson touchdown pass, but Seminoles Peter Warrick and Travis Minor put the Seminoles in scoring position twice and Placekicker Sebastian Janikowski kicked two field goals to make the game 7–6. After a Florida punt the Seminoles were at their own 5-yard-line and Florida forced a safety. And then Doug Johnson drove Florida deep into Florida State territory after the safety kick, but Florida State's defense stiffened and forced Florida to settle for three points. At halftime, the game was 12–6, Florida.

In the second half Florida State's defense held Florida scoreless. Florida State's first touchdown of the game came when Seminoles quarterback Marcus Outzen connected with Peter Warrick on a touchdown throw, then later in the game, Peter Warrick threw a touchdown to Ron Dugans. The game ended 23–12, with Florida State the winner.

References

  1. ↑ University of Florida Sports Information Department. "Florida 1998 Football Guide" (PDF). floridagators.com. University Athletic Association, Inc. Retrieved March 15, 2018.
  2. 1 2 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.
  3. ↑ "Tennessee wants to keep proving people wrong" - Tom Sharp, Ocala Star-Banner, Jan. 3, 1999
  4. ↑ Drape, Joe (September 20, 1998). "COLLEGE FOOTBALL; Tennessee Beats Florida to End Long Waiting Game". The New York Times.
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