Thursday, Jan. 2, 1997 at Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, La.
| #3 Florida (SEC) | 10 | 14 | 14 | 14 | — 52 |
| #1 Florida St. (ACC) | 3 | 14 | 3 | 0 | — 20 |
1st: FLA— Ike Hilliard 9-yd pass from Danny Wuerffel (Bert Edmiston kick), 5:12. Drive: 77 yards in 9 plays. FSU— Scott Bentley 43-yd FG, 7:11. Drive: 55 yards in 8 plays. FLA— Edmiston 32-yd FG, 12:16. Drive: 11 yards in 5 plays.
2nd: FLA— Fred Taylor 2-yd run (Edmiston kick), 3:32. Drive: 73 yards in 4 plays. FSU— E.G. Green 29-yd pass from Thad Busby (Bentley kick), 7:32. Drive: 63 yards in 7 plays. FLA— Hilliard 31-yd pass from Wuerffel (Edmiston kick), 9:42. Drive: 65 yards in 4 plays. FSU— Warrick Dunn 12-yd run (Bentley kick), 14:20. Drive: 66 yards in 5 plays.
3rd: FSU— Bentley 45-yd FG, 4:36. Drive: 30 yards in 6 plays. FLA— Hilliard 8-yd pass from Wuerffel (Edmiston kick), 9:17. Drive: 24 yards in 4 plays. FLA— Wuerffel 16-yd run (Edmiston kick), 14:47. Drive: 68 yards in 9 plays.
4th: FLA— Terry Jackson 42-yd run (Edmiston kick), 6:08. Drive: 62 yards in 5 plays. FLA— Jackson 1-yd run (Edmiston kick), 13:48. Drive: 70 yards in 10 plays.
| Favorite: Florida by 3 | Attendance: 78,344 |
|---|
| Field: Turf | Time: 4:10 |
| Weather: Dome | TV Rating: 17.9/29 share (ABC) |
| MVP: Danny Wuerffel, Florida, QB |
Team Statistics
| | Florida | Florida St. |
|---|
| Touchdowns | 7 | 2 |
| Rushing | 4 | 1 |
| Passing | 3 | 1 |
| Kick returns | 0 | 0 |
| Interception returns | 0 | 0 |
| Safeties | 0 | 0 |
| Time of possession | 36:27 | 23:33 |
| First downs | 26 | 13 |
| Rushing | 8 | 2 |
| Passing | 12 | 9 |
| Penalties | 6 | 2 |
| 3rd down efficiency | 5-16 | 5-18 |
| 4th down efficiency | 1-1 | 0-1 |
| Total offense (net yards) | 474 | 313 |
| Plays | 77 | 63 |
| Average gain | 6.2 | 5.0 |
| Carries/yards (includ. sacks) | 43/168 | 21/42 |
| Passing yards | 306 | 271 |
| Completions/attempts | 18/34 | 17/42 |
| Times sacked/yards lost | 3/25 | 5/26 |
| Return yardage | 12/169 | 14/250 |
| Punt returns/yards | 6/69 | 5/74 |
| Kickoff returns/yards | 4/93 | 8/152 |
| Interceptions/yards | 2/7 | 1/24 |
| Fumbles/lost | 1/0 | 0/0 |
| Penalties/yards | 15/102 | 14/115 |
| Punts/average | 7/48.1 | 8/46.4 |
| Punts blocked | 0 | 0 |
| PATs/attempts | 7/7 | 2/2 |
| Field goals/attempts | 1/1 | 2/3 |
Individual Statistics
Florida
| Passing | Att | Cmp | Pct. | Yds | TD | Int |
|---|
| Danny Wuerffel | 34 | 18 | 52.9 | 306 | 3 | 1 |
| TOTAL | 34 | 18 | 52.9 | 306 | 3 | 1 |
| Receiving | No | Yds | Avg | Long | TD |
|---|
| Ike Hilliard | 7 | 150 | 21.4 | 47 | 3 |
| Jacquez Green | 5 | 79 | 15.8 | 40 | 0 |
| Reidel Anthony | 4 | 50 | 12.5 | 28 | 0 |
| Dwayne Mobley | 1 | 16 | 16.0 | 16 | 0 |
| Fred Taylor | 1 | 11 | 11.0 | 11 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 18 | 306 | 17.0 | 47 | 3 |
| Rushing | Car | Yds | Avg | Long | TD |
|---|
| Terry Jackson | 12 | 118 | 9.8 | 42-td | 2 |
| Fred Taylor | 18 | 60 | 3.3 | 18 | 1 |
| Elijah Williams | 4 | 2 | 0.5 | 3 | 0 |
| Brian Schottenheimer | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
| Eugene McCaslin | 2 | -2 | -1.0 | 1 | 0 |
| Danny Wuerffel | 6 | -10 | -1.7 | 16-td | 1 |
| TOTAL | 43 | 168 | 3.9 | 42-td | 4 |
| Field Goals | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50-59 | Total |
|---|
| Bart Edmiston | 0-0 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-1 |
| Punting | No | Yds | Long | Blk | Avg |
| Robby Stevenson | 7 | 337 | 69 | 0 | 48.1 |
| Punt Returns | FC | Ret | Yds | Long | Avg | TD |
| Jacquez Green | 2 | 6 | 69 | 26 | 11.5 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 2 | 6 | 69 | 26 | 11.5 | 0 |
| Kickoff Returns | No | Yds | Long | Avg | TD |
| Ike Hilliard | 2 | 48 | 28 | 24.0 | 0 |
| Reidel Anthony | 1 | 31 | 31 | 31.0 | 0 |
| Elijah Williams | 1 | 14 | 14 | 14.0 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 4 | 93 | 31 | 23.3 | 0 |
| Interceptions | |
|---|
| Teako Brown | 1 |
| Ernie Badeaux | 1 |
| Sacks | |
| Ed Chester | 2 |
| Cameron Davis | 1 |
Florida St.
| Passing | Att | Cmp | Pct. | Yds | TD | Int |
|---|
| Thad Busby | 41 | 17 | 41.5 | 271 | 1 | 1 |
| Dan Kendra | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| TOTAL | 42 | 17 | 40.5 | 271 | 1 | 2 |
| Receiving | No | Yds | Avg | Long | TD |
|---|
| Wayne Messam | 5 | 48 | 9.6 | 23 | 0 |
| Andre Cooper | 4 | 82 | 20.5 | 55 | 0 |
| E.G. Green | 3 | 86 | 28.7 | 34 | 1 |
| Melvin Pearsall | 1 | 25 | 25.0 | 25 | 0 |
| Warrick Dunn | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 12 | 0 |
| Khalid Abdullah | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 10 | 0 |
| Peter Warrick | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 7 | 0 |
| P.B. Williams | 1 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 17 | 271 | 15.9 | 55 | 1 |
| Rushing | Car | Yds | Avg | Long | TD |
|---|
| Warrick Dunn | 9 | 28 | 3.1 | 12-td | 1 |
| Peter Warrick | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 12 | 0 |
| P.B. Williams | 2 | 7 | 3.5 | 7 | 0 |
| Dee Feaster | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 2 | 0 |
| Thad Busby | 7 | -6 | -0.9 | 8 | 0 |
| TOTAL | 21 | 42 | 2.0 | 12 | 1 |
| Field Goals | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50-59 | Total |
|---|
| Scott Bentley | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 0-1 | 2-3 |
| Punting | No | Yds | Long | Blk | Avg |
|---|
| Sean Liss | 8 | 371 | 57 | 0 | 46.4 |
| Punt Returns | FC | Ret | Yds | Long | Avg | TD |
|---|
| Peter Warrick | 0 | 3 | 32 | 19 | 10.7 | 0 |
| Dee Feaster | 0 | 2 | 42 | 24 | 21.0 | 0 |
| Kickoff Returns | No | Yds | Long | Avg | TD |
|---|
| Laveranues Coles | 4 | 73 | 22 | 18.3 | 0 |
| Dee Feaster | 2 | 45 | 23 | 22.5 | 0 |
| Peter Warrick | 1 | 19 | 19 | 19.0 | 0 |
| Germaine Stringer | 1 | 15 | 15 | 15.0 | 0 |
| Interceptions | |
|---|
| Vernon Crawford | 1 |
| Sacks | |
|---|
| Peter Boulware | 2 |
| Three tied with one each. |
Regular Season Statistics
Bowl Alliance Championship Game
