1997 Wisconsin Badgers football team
The 1997 Wisconsin Badgers football team represented the University of Wisconsin during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. They were led by eight year head coach Barry Alvarez and participated as members of the Big Ten Conference. The Badgers played their home games at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.
After suffering a humiliating loss at the hands of Donovan McNabb and the Syracuse Orangemen in their season opener, the Wisconsin Badgers sprang back to win eight of their next nine games. After defeating Boise State, San Jose State, and San Diego State, the Badgers won consecutive games with field goals as time expired against Indiana and Northwestern. In the course of this streak, the Badgers snapped a long losing streak at the hands of the Iowa Hawkeyes with a 13–10 win, the first Wisconsin win over a Hayden Fry-coached team ever. After defeating Iowa, Barry Alvarez's team fell apart down the stretch, losing to eventual national champion Michigan, Penn State, and Georgia in the Outback Bowl.
While the Badgers suffered a 3-game losing streak to close out the year, the 1997 campaign set the stage for the incredibly successful 1998 season.
Regular season
Schedule
Date |
Time |
Opponent# |
Rank# |
Site |
TV |
Result |
Attendance |
August 24 |
1:00 PM |
vs. No. 17 Syracuse* |
No. 24 |
Giants Stadium • East Rutherford, NJ (Kickoff Classic) |
ABC |
L 0–34 |
51,185 |
September 6 |
2:00 PM |
Boise State* |
|
Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI |
|
W 28–24 |
73,209 |
September 13 |
5:30 PM |
at San Jose State* |
|
Spartan Stadium • San Jose, CA |
|
W 56–10 |
23,042 |
September 20 |
1:00 PM |
San Diego State* |
|
Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI |
|
W 36–10 |
76,864 |
September 27 |
11:20 AM |
Indiana |
|
Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI |
ESPN+ |
W 27–26 |
78,211 |
October 4 |
6:00 PM |
at Northwestern |
|
Ryan Field • Evanston, IL |
ESPN |
W 26–25 |
47,129 |
October 11 |
11:20 AM |
Illinois |
|
Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI |
ESPN+ |
W 31–7 |
79,327 |
October 18 |
1:00 PM |
at Purdue |
No. 24 |
Ross–Ade Stadium • West Lafayette, IN |
|
L 20–45 |
54,252 |
October 25 |
11:30 AM |
at Minnesota |
|
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome • Minneapolis, MN (Paul Bunyan's Axe) |
ESPN2 |
W 22–21 |
57,563 |
November 8 |
11:30 AM |
No. 12 Iowa |
|
Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI |
ESPN |
W 13–10 |
79,864 |
November 15 |
2:30 PM |
No. 1 Michigan |
No. 23 |
Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI |
ABC |
L 16–26 |
79,806 |
November 22 |
2:30 PM |
at No. 6 Penn State |
No. 24 |
Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA |
ABC |
L 10–35 |
96,934 |
January 1 |
10:00 AM |
vs. No. 11 Georgia* |
|
Houlihan's Stadium • Tampa, FL (Outback Bowl) |
ESPN |
L 6–33 |
56,186 |
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll. All times are in Central Time. |
[1]
Season summary
Syracuse
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
• Syracuse |
10 |
14 | 7 | 3 |
34 |
Wisconsin |
0 |
0 | 0 | 0 |
0 |
|
[2]
Boise State
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
Boise St |
10 |
7 | 0 | 7 |
24 |
• Wisconsin |
7 |
7 | 7 | 7 |
28 |
|
[3]
San Jose State
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
• Wisconsin |
14 |
28 | 14 | 0 |
56 |
San Jose St |
10 |
0 | 0 | 0 |
10 |
|
[4]
San Diego State
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
San Diego St |
0 |
0 | 3 | 7 |
10 |
• Wisconsin |
17 |
5 | 7 | 7 |
36 |
|
[5]
Indiana
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
Indiana |
7 |
10 | 6 | 3 |
26 |
• Wisconsin |
7 |
10 | 0 | 10 |
27 |
|
[6]
Northwestern
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
• Wisconsin |
13 |
3 | 7 | 3 |
26 |
Northwestern |
6 |
8 | 11 | 0 |
25 |
|
[7]
Illinois
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
Illinois |
0 |
7 | 0 | 0 |
7 |
• Wisconsin |
14 |
7 | 10 | 0 |
31 |
|
[8]
Purdue
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
Wisconsin |
0 |
10 | 7 | 3 |
20 |
• Purdue |
21 |
7 | 7 | 10 |
45 |
|
[9]
Minnesota
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
• Wisconsin |
7 |
6 | 0 | 9 |
22 |
Minnesota |
8 |
0 | 13 | 0 |
21 |
|
|
Scoring summary |
---|
|
Q1 |
12:00 | WIS | Simmons 53 yard pass from Samuel (Davenport kick) | WIS 7–0 |
|
Q1 |
3:50 | MINN | Bailey 30 yard field goal | WIS 7–3 |
|
Q1 |
1:55 | MINN | Safety | WIS 7–5 |
|
Q1 |
:10 | MINN | Bailey 42 yard field goal | MINN 8–7 |
|
Q2 |
11:52 | WIS | Hayes 53 yard pass from Samuel (two-point conversion failed) | WIS 13–8 |
|
Q3 |
7:57 | MINN | Nelson 11 yard pass from Sauter (two-point conversion failed) | MINN 14–13 |
|
Q3 |
3:50 | MINN | Evans 4 yard run (Bailey kick) | MINN 21–13 |
|
Q4 |
13:18 | WIS | Davenport 38 yard field goal | MINN 21–16 |
|
Q4 |
7:10 | WIS | Dayne 1 yard run (two-point conversion failed) | WIS 22–21 |
|
[10]
Iowa
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
Iowa |
0 |
0 | 7 | 3 |
10 |
• Wisconsin |
0 |
13 | 0 | 0 |
13 |
|
[11]
Michigan
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
• Michigan |
7 |
9 | 0 | 10 |
26 |
Wisconsin |
0 |
3 | 7 | 6 |
16 |
|
[12]
Penn State
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
Wisconsin |
3 |
0 | 0 | 7 |
10 |
• Penn St |
7 |
14 | 14 | 0 |
35 |
|
[13]
Outback Bowl
|
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
---|
Wisconsin |
0 |
0 | 0 | 6 |
6 |
• Georgia |
12 |
7 | 7 | 7 |
33 |
|
[14]
Regular starters
Team players selected in the 1998 NFL Draft
[15]
References
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