Arkansas State The season opened in the Swamp with a 44–6 defeat of
Arkansas State. Arkansas State scored first, but Florida responded with 44 unanswered, including a 35-yard touchdown pass from
Terry Dean to Jack Jackson. With eight seconds left, Wuerffel threw a pass down the middle to walk-on receiver
Chris Doering for the game-winning touchdown; Gator play-by-play announcer
Mick Hubert shouted, "Doering's got a touchdown!"
Tennessee In a "shootout" the Gators defeated the Vols by a single touchdown, 41 to 34.
Heath Shuler completed 25 of 41 passes for 355 yards and five touchdowns; and
Danny Wuerffel completed 19 of 38 for 231 yards and three touchdowns. Errict Rhett rushed for 147 yards and two touchdowns. A group of Tennessee fans, including coach
Phillip Fulmer's wife, complained to the SEC about the behavior of Gators fans. They claim cups of urine were thrown on them during the game.
Mississippi State The next week saw a 38–24 win over
Mississippi State. Wuerffel and Doering teamed up for three touchdown passes. It was the largest margin of victory over a road opponent under Spurrier
At Auburn Coach
Terry Bowden's undefeated
Auburn Tigers upset the Gators 38–35. But the Gators' offensive fireworks were not enough for the win, as Auburn's defense sacked Wuerffel four times and made two key interceptions. Auburn dropped the Gators to their lowest ranking (10th) of the season.
Vs. Georgia Florida beat rival
Georgia 33–26. In constant rain, the usually prolific passing game of coach Steve Spurrier's Gators was stymied. Instead, the Gators relied on tailback
Errict Rhett to amass 183 yards and two touchdowns to build a 33–26 fourth-quarter lead. However, Gators cornerback Anthone Lott had called a timeout just before the ball was snapped, forcing the Bulldogs to play the down again.
Southwestern Louisiana Florida piled up a 61–14 score on the
Ragin' Cajuns. Terry Dean burned the Cajun defense for 6 touchdown passes, "one of the most productive halves by a quarterback in UF history."
South Carolina In Columbia, the Gators beat the
South Carolina Gamecocks 37–26. The Gamecocks jumped out to a 17–0 lead, but the Gators cut the lead to 23–20 by halftime. Down 26–23, Jack Jackson avoided a safety and ran free for 76 yards. After a roughing the passer penalty, Errict Rhett scored and the Gators never relinquished the lead.
Florida State Florida also lost to the national champion and rival
Florida State Seminoles 33–21. The Florida offense was stymied early, and Dean subbed for Wuerffel by the second half.
Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback
Charlie Ward hit freshman running back
Warrick Dunn on a
drag route, who turned up the sideline for a 79-yard touchdown and a 33–21 FSU win.
SEC Championship Game: Alabama The Gators finished the regular season with a conference record of 7–1, and in first place among the six teams of the SEC Eastern Division, thus earning a berth in the second
SEC Championship Game in
Birmingham, Alabama. The Gators were paired against the
Alabama Crimson Tide in the championship game—a rematch of the
1992 SEC Championship Game.
Sugar Bowl: West Virginia The Gators then defeated third-ranked
West Virginia Mountaineers 41–7 in the Sugar Bowl, finishing fifth in the AP Poll. After a quick touchdown from Jake Kelchner to Jay Kearney to put West Virginia up 7–0 early, the Gators came right back and answered with a touchdown by Errict Rhett to tie the score at 7. From there, the Gators cruised in the second half. Errict Rhett ran in two more touchdowns and Judd Davis added two insurance field goals in the fourth quarter to make the final score a convincing 41–7. ==Roster==