1997 NCAA Division I-A football season

1997 NCAA Division I-A season
Sun Life Stadium (formerly named Pro Player Stadium) was supposed to be the site of the national championship game, but the title was split
Number of teams	112
Preseason AP #1	Penn State Nittany Lions
Post-season
Duration	December 20, 1997 – January 2, 1998
Bowl games	20
AP Poll #1	Michigan Wolverines
Coaches Poll #1	Nebraska Cornhuskers
Heisman Trophy	Charles Woodson, Michigan CB
Bowl Alliance Championship
1998 Orange Bowl
Site	Pro Player Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida
Winner	Nebraska Cornhuskers
Division I-A football seasons
← 1996 1998 →

The 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season, play of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-A level, began in late summer 1997 and culminated with the major bowl games in early January 1998. The national championship was split for the third time in the 1990s. The Michigan Wolverines finished the season atop the AP Poll after completing a 12–0 campaign with a Big Ten Conference championship and a victory in the Rose Bowl over Washington State. The Nebraska Cornhuskers garnered the top ranking in the Coaches' Poll with a 13–0 record, a Big 12 Conference championship, and a win over Tennessee in the Orange Bowl. Michigan's Charles Woodson, who played primarily at cornerback, but also saw time on offense as a wide receiver and on special teams as a punt returner, won the Heisman Trophy, becoming the first primarily defensive player to win the award. The 1997 season was the third and final season in which the major bowl games were organized under the Bowl Alliance system. The Bowl Championship Series was instituted the following year.

In Tom Osborne's last season as head coach, Nebraska took over the #1 ranking in the nation after defeating Texas Tech midway through the season. Three weeks later, despite winning at Missouri in an overtime game, Nebraska slipped to a #2 ranking in the polls, as voters weren't impressed by the way the Cornhuskers won the game (a controversial kicked ball that was caught for the game-tying TD as time expired in regulation); Michigan moved ahead of Nebraska after its 34-8 victory over #3 ranked Penn State.

The consensus #1 team going into the bowl season was undefeated Michigan, led by coach of the year Lloyd Carr and Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson. Michigan went into the 1998 Rose Bowl against #8 Washington State ranked #1 in both the AP and the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll. Michigan defeated Washington State 21–16.

Undefeated #2 Nebraska squared off in the 1998 Orange Bowl versus the #3 ranked Tennessee Volunteers. Unusually for the low-key Osborne and his straight-ahead team, the Cornhuskers made a point of smacking down Tennessee as they defeated the Volunteers 42-17, and after the game campaigned openly for Nebraska to be named the consensus national champion (Grant Wistrom stated that if "they wanted to give it to Michigan because they haven't won one in 50 years, we don't want it anyway.").

After the bowl games, the AP poll awarded the national championship to Michigan, and the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll awarded the national championship to Nebraska, giving Tom Osborne his third national title in four seasons to cap his career. This also marked the last time that a Big 10 (or Pac-10) team would be bound to play in the Rose Bowl instead of heading to a #1-#2 title game, due to the 1998 BCS realignment.

The national title picture could have been even murkier as Florida State went into their final regular season game ranked #1. However, Fred Taylor of Florida would run for 162 yards and four touchdowns on the nation's top-ranked run defense, one of those touchdowns being the winning score with less than two minutes to play. This game is commonly referred to as "The Greatest Game Ever Played in the Swamp".

The Humanitarian Bowl, now known as the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl, began play in Boise, Idaho to help publicise the dwindling Big West Conference and Boise State. The Broncos with their wacky blue turf had just made the jump to Division I-A a year earlier. The Big West champion had formerly gone to the Las Vegas Bowl, but the now only 6 team conference wasn't much of a seat filler.

The Motor City Bowl, now the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl, began play in Detroit hosted by a MAC team.

The Copper Bowl gained corporate sponsorship and was now known as the Insight.com Bowl; it is now known as the Cactus Bowl.

The MAC also grew to a 12-team, two-division conference with a championship game after the return of two former MAC members—Northern Illinois, returning from the independent ranks, and Marshall, moving up from Division I-AA. Marshall's addition increased the number of teams in Division I-A to 112. In a scenario similar to the Big West in 1992, this up-and-comer from I-AA was able to win its division and the inaugural conference championship game in its first year. To be fair, the Thundering Herd had gone unbeaten and won the I-AA national title the previous season, and had future NFL stars Randy Moss and Chad Pennington.

Rule changes

• Starting with the third overtime period, teams must go for a two-point conversion after a touchdown.^[1]
• Strengthened the enforcement of chop blocks.
• Charged teams with a time-out if a player is not wearing their mouth guard. If a team is out of time-outs when the infraction occurs, a five-yard penalty is assessed.
• Changed the penalty for roughing the punt receiver to 15 yards if he is contacted by a defender within six feet after catching the ball.
• Requiring the game clock be started once the ball is kicked on kickoffs and free kicks after safeties except in the final 2:00 of each half.
• The clock for halftime was to be started immediately following the conclusion of the second quarter. Previously, the clock did not start until all participants had cleared the field and the referee signaled the timekeeper to start the clock.
• The officials' uniforms now include a letter on the back showing their position ("R" for Referee, "U" for Umpire, "H" for Head Linesman, etc.). The Big Eight Conference was the first to require this in the mid-1980s, followed shortly thereafter by the Southwest Conference and the Pacific-10 Conference. The Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Ten Conference and Southeastern Conference did not require this until the NCAA made it mandatory.

Conference and program changes

One team upgraded from Division I-AA prior to the season. As such, the total number of Division I-A schools increased again, from 111 to 112.

• The MAC added two new members, independent (and former member) Northern Illinois and Division I-AA power Marshall, to expand to 12 teams. The league subsequently formed two divisions and added a league championship game.
• East Carolina joined a conference for the first time since Division I split in 1978, becoming a member of Conference USA.

School	1996 Conference	1997 Conference
Marshall Thundering Herd	Southern (I-AA)	MAC (I-A)
Northern Illinois Huskies	I-A Independent	MAC
East Carolina Pirates	I-A Independent	Conference USA

Conference standings

1997 ACC football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #3 Florida State $   8 – 0         11 – 1   #6 North Carolina   7 – 1         11 – 1   Virginia   5 – 3         7 – 4   #25 Georgia Tech   5 – 3         7 – 5   Clemson   4 – 4         7 – 5   NC State   3 – 5         6 – 5   Wake Forest   3 – 5         5 – 6   Maryland   1 – 7         2 – 9   Duke   0 – 8         2 – 9   $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1997 Big East football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #21 Syracuse $   6 – 1         9 – 4   #23 Virginia Tech   5 – 2         7 – 5   West Virginia   4 – 3         7 – 5   Pittsburgh   4 – 3         6 – 6   Miami (FL)   3 – 4         5 – 6   Boston College   3 – 4         4 – 7   Temple   3 – 4         4 – 8   Rutgers   0 – 7         0 – 11   $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1997 Big Ten football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #1 Michigan $   8 – 0         12 – 0   #12 Ohio State   6 – 2         10 – 3   #16 Penn State   6 – 2         9 – 3   #15 Purdue   6 – 2         9 – 3   Wisconsin   5 – 3         8 – 5   Iowa   4 – 4         7 – 5   Michigan State   4 – 4         7 – 5   Northwestern   3 – 5         5 – 7   Minnesota   1 – 7         3 – 9   Indiana   1 – 7         2 – 9   Illinois   0 – 8         0 – 11   $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll
1997 Big 12 football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Northern Division #2 Nebraska xy$   8 – 0         13 – 0   #8 Kansas State %   7 – 1         11 – 1   #23 Missouri   5 – 3         7 – 5   Colorado   3 – 5         5 – 6   Kansas   3 – 5         6 – 5   Iowa State   1 – 7         1 – 10   Southern Division #20 Texas A&M xy   6 – 2         9 – 4   #24 Oklahoma State   5 – 3         8 – 4   Texas Tech   5 – 3         6 – 5   Texas   2 – 6         4 – 7   Oklahoma   2 – 6         4 – 8   Baylor   1 – 7         2 – 9   Championship: Nebraska 54, Texas A&M 15 † – Bowl Alliance representative as champion ‡ – Bowl Alliance at-large representative x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll	1997 Big West Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Utah State +   4 – 1         6 – 6   Nevada +   4 – 1         5 – 6   Boise State   3 – 2         4 – 7   Idaho   2 – 3         5 – 6   North Texas   2 – 3         4 – 7   New Mexico State   0 – 5         2 – 9   + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll	1997 Conference USA football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #19 Southern Miss $   6 – 0         9 – 3   Tulane   5 – 1         7 – 4   East Carolina   4 – 2         5 – 6   Cincinnati   2 – 4         8 – 4   Memphis   2 – 4         4 – 7   Houston   2 – 4         3 – 8   Louisville   0 – 6         1 – 10   $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll
1997 Mid-American Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   East Division Marshall x$   7 – 1         10 – 3   Miami   6 – 2         8 – 3   Ohio   6 – 2         8 – 3   Bowling Green   3 – 5         3 – 8   Kent State   3 – 5         3 – 8   Akron   2 – 7         2 – 9   West Division Toledo x   7 – 1         9 – 3   Western Michigan   6 – 2         8 – 3   Ball State   4 – 4         5 – 6   Eastern Michigan   4 – 5         4 – 7   Central Michigan   1 – 7         2 – 9   Northern Illinois   0 – 8         0 – 11   Championship: Marshall 34, Toledo 14 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll	1997 Pacific-10 football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   #9 Washington State +   7 – 1         10 – 2   #5 UCLA +   7 – 1         10 – 2   #14 Arizona State   6 – 2         9 – 3   #18 Washington   5 – 3         8 – 4   Arizona   4 – 4         7 – 5   USC   4 – 4         6 – 5   Oregon   3 – 5         7 – 5   Stanford   3 – 5         5 – 6   California   1 – 7         3 – 8   Oregon State   0 – 8         3 – 8   + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll	1997 SEC football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Eastern Division #7 Tennessee x$   7 – 1         11 – 2   #10 Georgia   6 – 2         10 – 2   #4 Florida   6 – 2         10 – 2   South Carolina   3 – 5         5 – 6   Kentucky   2 – 6         5 – 6   Vanderbilt   0 – 8         3 – 8   Western Division #11 Auburn xy   6 – 2         10 – 3   #13 LSU x   6 – 2         9 – 3   #22 Ole Miss   4 – 4         8 – 4   Mississippi State   4 – 4         7 – 4   Alabama   2 – 6         4 – 7   Arkansas   2 – 6         4 – 7   Championship: Tennessee 30, Auburn 29 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll
1997 WAC football standings Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Mountain Division New Mexico x   6 – 2         9 – 4   Rice   5 – 3         7 – 4   SMU   5 – 3         6 – 5   Utah   5 – 3         6 – 5   BYU   4 – 4         6 – 5   UTEP   3 – 5         4 – 7   Tulsa   2 – 6         2 – 9   TCU   1 – 7         1 – 10   Pacific Division #17 Colorado State x$   7 – 1         11 – 2   Air Force   6 – 2         10 – 3   Fresno State   5 – 3         6 – 6   Wyoming   4 – 4         7 – 6   San Diego State   4 – 4         5 – 7   San Jose State   4 – 4         4 – 7   UNLV   2 – 6         3 – 8   Hawaii   1 – 7         3 – 9   Championship: Colorado State 41, New Mexico 13 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll	1997 Division I-A independents football records Conf     Overall Team   W   L         W   L   Louisiana Tech   –         9 – 2   Navy   –         7 – 4   Notre Dame   –         7 – 6   UAB   –         5 – 6   UCF   –         5 – 6   Northeast Louisiana   –         5 – 7   Army   –         4 – 7   Arkansas State   –         2 – 9   Southwestern Louisiana   –         1 – 10   Rankings from AP Poll

AP Poll progress

WEEK	#1	#2	#3	Event
PRE-1	Penn State+	Florida	Florida State
2	Penn State+	Florida	Tennessee
3	Penn State+	Florida	Washington+
4	Penn State+	Washington+	Florida
5-7	Florida	Penn State+	Nebraska
8	Penn State+	Nebraska	Florida State
9-11	Nebraska	Penn State+	Florida State
12-13	Michigan+	Florida State	Nebraska
14-16	Michigan+	Nebraska	Tennessee

+Penn State and Michigan were Big Ten teams, and Washington was a Pac-10 team. The Big Ten and Pac-10 conferences played in the Rose Bowl rather than the Bowl Alliance championship game.

Bowl games

BOWL					Location
Rose Bowl	#1 Michigan	21	#8 Washington State	16	Pasadena
Orange Bowl	#2 Nebraska	42	#3 Tennessee	17	Miami
Sugar Bowl	#4 Florida State	31	#9 Ohio State	14	New Orleans
Cotton Bowl Classic	#5 UCLA	29	#20 Texas A&M	23	Dallas
Florida Citrus Bowl	#6 Florida	21	#11 Penn State	6	Orlando
Gator Bowl	#7 North Carolina	42	Virginia Tech	3	Jacksonville
Fiesta Bowl	#10 Kansas State	35	#14 Syracuse	18	Tempe, Arizona
Outback Bowl	#12 Georgia	33	Wisconsin	6	Tampa
Peach Bowl	#13 Auburn	21	Clemson	17	Atlanta
Independence Bowl	#15 LSU	27	Notre Dame	9	Shreveport
Sun Bowl	#16 Arizona State	17	Iowa	7	El Paso
Alamo Bowl	#17 Purdue	33	#24 Oklahoma State	20	San Antonio
Holiday Bowl	#18 Colorado State	35	#20 Missouri	24	San Diego
Aloha Bowl	#21 Washington	51	Michigan St	23	Honolulu
Liberty Bowl	#22 Southern Mississippi	41	Pittsburgh	7	Memphis
Carquest Bowl	#25 Georgia Tech	35	West Virginia	30	Miami
Insight.com Bowl	Arizona	20	New Mexico	14	Tucson, Arizona
Las Vegas Bowl	Oregon	41	Air Force	13	Las Vegas
Motor City Bowl	Mississippi	34	Marshall	31	Detroit
Humanitarian Bowl	Cincinnati	35	Utah State	19	Boise

Final AP Poll

1. Michigan
2. Nebraska
3. Florida State
4. Florida
5. UCLA
6. North Carolina
7. Tennessee
8. Kansas St.
9. Washington St.
10. Georgia
11. Auburn
12. Ohio St.
13. LSU
14. Arizona St.
15. Purdue
16. Penn St.
17. Colorado St.
18. Washington
19. So. Mississippi
20. Texas A&M
21. Syracuse
22. Mississippi
23. Missouri
24. Oklahoma St.
25. Georgia Tech

Others receiving votes: 26. Arizona; 27. Oregon; 28. Air Force; 29. Marshall; 30. Virginia; 31. Clemson; 32. Louisiana Tech; 33. Mississippi St.; 34. Michigan St.; 35. Wisconsin; 36. New Mexico ; 37. Cincinnati; 38. Notre Dame; 39. Iowa; 40. Virginia Tech.

Final Coaches Poll

1. Nebraska
2. Michigan
3. Florida State
4. North Carolina
5. UCLA
6. Florida
7. Kansas St.
8. Tennessee
9. Washington St.
10. Georgia
11. Auburn
12. Ohio St.
13. Louisiana St.
14. Arizona St.
15. Purdue
16. Colorado St.
17. Penn St.
18. Washington
19. Southern Mississippi
20. Syracuse
21. Texas A&M
22. Mississippi
23. Missouri
24. Oklahoma St.
25. Air Force

Others receiving votes: 26. Clemson (58); 27. Georgia Tech (55); 28. Iowa (32); 29. Louisiana Tech (31); 30. Oregon (25); 31. Cincinnati (24); 32. Arizona (23); 33. Mississippi St. (20); 34. Michigan St. (16); 35. New Mexico and Wisconsin (13); 37. Tulane (10); 38. Virginia (9); 39. West Virginia (7); 40. Marshall (4); 41. Notre Dame (1).

Awards

Heisman Trophy

Charles Woodson of Michigan won the Heisman Trophy, awarded to the "most outstanding player in collegiate football."

Voting

Place	Name	Team	Class	Position	1st	2nd	3rd	Total
1	Charles Woodson	Michigan	Junior	Cornerback	433	209	98	1,815
2	Peyton Manning	Tennessee	Senior	Quarterback	281	263	174	1,543
3	Ryan Leaf	Washington State	Junior	Quarterback	70	203	241	861
4	Randy Moss	Marshall	Sophomore	Wide receiver	17	56	90	253
5	Ricky Williams	Texas	Junior	Running back	3	18	20	65
6	Curtis Enis	Penn State	Junior	Running back	3	18	20	65
7	Tim Dwight	Iowa	Senior	Wide receiver	5	3	11	32
8	Cade McNown	UCLA	Junior	Quarterback	0	7	12	26
9	Tim Couch	Kentucky	Sophomore	Quarterback	0	5	12	22
10	Amos Zereoue	West Virginia	Sophomore	Running back	3	1	10	21

Other major awards

• Maxwell Award (College Player of the Year) – Peyton Manning, Tennessee
• Walter Camp Award (Back) – Charles Woodson, Michigan
• Davey O'Brien Award (Quarterback) – Peyton Manning, Tennessee
• Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (Senior Quarterback) – Peyton Manning, Tennessee
• Doak Walker Award (Running Back) – Ricky Williams, Texas
• Fred Biletnikoff Award (Wide Receiver) – Randy Moss, Marshall
• Bronko Nagurski Trophy (Defensive Player) – Charles Woodson, Michigan
• Dick Butkus Award (Linebacker) – Andy Katzenmoyer, Ohio St.
• Lombardi Award (Lineman or Linebacker) – Grant Wistrom, Nebraska
• Outland Trophy (Interior Lineman) – Aaron Taylor, Nebraska
• Jim Thorpe Award (Defensive Back) – Charles Woodson, Michigan
• Lou Groza Award (Placekicker) – Martin Gramatica, Kansas State
• Paul "Bear" Bryant Award – Lloyd Carr, Michigan
• Football Writers Association of America Coach of the Year Award: Mike Price, Washington St.

References

1. url=http://football.refs.org/rules/NCAA97pr.html NCAA Rules Changes 1997