Division Eastern Division AP No. 13 | Coaches No. 16 2007 record 9–4 (5–3 SEC) | |
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Conference | ||
The 2007 Florida Gators football team represented the University of Florida in the sport of American football during the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Gators competed in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and played their home games at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on the university's Gainesville, Florida campus. It was the third season for head coach Urban Meyer, who led the Gators to a Capital One Bowl berth and an overall win-loss record of 9–4 (.692).
Contents
- Before the season
- Pre season watchlists
- Schedule
- Michigan
- National awards and honors
- Depth chart
- Coaching staff
- References
The team's quarterback was Tim Tebow, the first sophomore ever to win the Heisman Trophy.
Before the season
The Gators won the BCS Championship Game in Glendale, Arizona to cap off the 2006 season, the second national championship in school history. In addition, they won a school-record 13 games and the school's seventh official SEC title. The coaching staff remained, surprisingly, intact after 2006, which gave Meyer a third straight season at Florida with the same coaching staff. The schedule for the Gators played in their favor this season, as they faced their toughest opponents—such as Tennessee, Auburn, and Florida State—at home in Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Despite the challenges of youth, the Gators were ranked in the top 5 in some preseason polls.
Two highly rated recruiting classes from 2006 and 2007 filled up most of the depth chart, as few upperclassmen remained from last year's title team. Nine of 11 starters were replaced from their championship defense. While the offense lost fewer starters — only 8 — from the previous season, the Gators had to replace Chris Leak at quarterback. Leak was replaced by sophomore Tim Tebow, who shared quarterback duties with him last season.
Pre-season watchlists
Schedule
Sources: 2012 Florida Football Media Guide, and GatorZone.com.
Michigan
The Florida Gators closed out the 2007 season against the Michigan Wolverines on New Years Day in the Capital One Bowl. This was only the second meeting between the two storied programs with the first having taken place a short five seasons ago in the Outback Bowl. Lloyd Carr coached his Wolverines for the final time with the announcement of his retirement shortly after his final regular season game against rival Ohio State.
Urban Meyer and the Gators were looking to carry their momentum from the second half of the season with Heisman-winning sophomore Tim Tebow into the bowl game. Coming off of two consecutive regular season losses, the Wolverines were attempting to break their four bowl game losing streak. Ironically, their last bowl game win came against the Ron Zook coached Gators following the 2002 season. This was the fifth game of the season where the Gators played a team led by a former national championship winning head coach.
The Gators lost the game 41–35 as Michigan barraged the Gator defense for over 500 yards of offense. Chad Henne finished his career at the University of Michigan with a victory in a bowl game, the first in five seasons, and finished with a career high in passing yards. The newly named Michigan head coach, Rich Rodriguez, could be seen during the game along the Michigan sidelines.
National awards and honors
Tebow was the first sophomore to win the Heisman Trophy. He garnered 462 first-place votes and 1,957 points, 254 points ahead of the runner-up, Arkansas running back Darren McFadden. Tebow finished the regular season with the second highest passing efficiency in the nation with 177.8. Additionally, he averaged 4.3 yards per carry on the ground.
Depth chart
Pre-season Unofficial Depth Chart: http://www.gatorcountry.com/page/gator_football_depth_chart/