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 12âÂÂ0 campaign with a Big Ten Conference championship and a victory in the Rose Bowl over Washington State, and the Nebraska Cornhuskers garnered the top ranking in the Coaches' Poll with a 13âÂÂ0 record, a Big 12 Conference championship, and a win over Tennessee in the Orange Bowl.
Michigan and Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson were given the AP Sports Writers National Championship. 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.
The Michigan Wolverines finished the season atop the AP Poll after completing a 12âÂÂ0 campaign with a Big Ten Conference championship and a victory in the Rose Bowl over Washington State. Michigan was also crowned as National Champions by the National Football Foundation and the Football Writers Association of America. In Tom Osborne's last season as head coach, Nebraska took over the No. 1 ranking in the nation after defeating Texas Tech midway through the season. Three weeks later, Nebraska slipped to a No. 3 ranking in both polls, as voters weren't impressed by the way the Cornhuskers won their game against an unranked Missouri team (a controversial kicked ball was caught for the game-tying TD as time expired in regulation, leading to a 45-38 overtime win). Michigan moved to No. 1 in the AP Poll after its 34âÂÂ8 victory over previously No. 2 ranked Penn State, while the Coaches Poll selected Florida State as No. 1 due to their 20-3 win over previously No. 5 North Carolina.
Florida State went into their final regular season game undefeated and still ranked No. 1 in the Coaches Poll. 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 "".
Meanwhile, undefeated No. 1 Nebraska squared off in the 1998 Orange Bowl versus the No. 3 ranked Tennessee Volunteers. The Cornhuskers made a point of smacking down Tennessee as they defeated the Volunteers 42âÂÂ17. Unusually for the low-key Osborne and his straight-ahead team, after the game he 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 coaches poll awarded the national championship to Nebraska, and the AP Poll awarded the national championship to Michigan, giving 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 No. 1-No. 2 title game, due to the 1998 BCS realignment.
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 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 membersâÂÂNorthern 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. 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.
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 preseason AP Poll listed Penn State as the top team, followed by No. 2 Florida, No. 3 Florida State, No. 4 Washington, and No. 5 Tennessee. Foreshadowing a year with a lack of consensus at the top, the Coaches Poll selected Florida rather than Penn State as their No. 1 club.
August 30: No. 2 Florida defeated Southern Mississippi 21âÂÂ6 and No. 5 Tennessee won 52âÂÂ17 over Texas Tech. The other top teams had not begun their schedules, and the next AP Poll featured No. 1 Penn State, No. 2 Florida, No. 3 Tennessee, No. 4 Washington, and No. 5 Florida State.
September 6: No. 1 Penn State defeated rival Pittsburgh 34âÂÂ17, No. 2 Florida overwhelmed Central Michigan 82âÂÂ6, No. 3 Tennessee staved off a UCLA comeback for a 30âÂÂ24 victory, No. 4 Washington won 42âÂÂ20 at No. 19 Brigham Young, and No. 5 Florida State used a late 97-yard touchdown drive to beat No. 23 USC 14âÂÂ7. The next AP Poll featured No. 1 Penn State, No. 2 Florida, No. 3 Washington, No. 4 Tennessee, and No. 5 Florida State.
September 13: No. 1 Penn State dominated Temple 52âÂÂ10. No. 2 Florida was idle. No. 3 Washington continued to move up with a 36âÂÂ3 defeat of San Diego State, No. 4 Tennessee was also idle, and No. 5 Florida State crushed Maryland 50âÂÂ7. The next AP Poll featured No. 1 Penn State, No. 2 Washington, No. 3 Florida, No. 4 Tennessee, and No. 5 Florida State.
September 20: No. 1 Penn State won 57âÂÂ21 at Louisville, but No. 2 Washington fell 27âÂÂ14 to No. 7 Nebraska. No. 3 Florida and No. 4 Tennessee squared off in Gainesville, where the defending champs prevailed 33âÂÂ20; Volunteers quarterback Peyton Manning finished his career winless against the Gators in four tries. Peter Warrick had 249 receiving yards as No. 5 Florida State beat No. 16 Clemson 35âÂÂ28, while conference rival No. 6 North Carolina won 40âÂÂ14 at Maryland. Florida now took over the No. 1 spot in both polls, and they were followed in the AP rankings by No. 2 Penn State, No. 3 Nebraska, No. 4 Florida State, and No. 5 North Carolina.
September 27: No. 1 Florida won 55âÂÂ28 at Kentucky. No. 2 Penn State, No. 3 Nebraska, and No. 4 Florida State were all idle, while No. 5 North Carolina defeated Virginia 48âÂÂ20. The top five remained the same.
October 4: All of the highly-ranked teams won easily. No. 1 Florida blew out Arkansas 56âÂÂ7, No. 2 Penn State was almost as dominant with a 41âÂÂ6 victory at Illinois, No. 3 Nebraska hosted No. 17 Kansas State for a 56âÂÂ26 win, No. 4 Florida State shut out rival Miami 47âÂÂ0, and No. 5 North Carolina beat Texas Christian 31âÂÂ10 on the road. The top five again remained the same.
October 11: No. 1 Florida was upset 28âÂÂ21 by No. 14 LSU. No. 2 Penn State returned to the top spot with a 31âÂÂ27 comeback win over No. 7 Ohio State. No. 3 Nebraska won 49âÂÂ21 at Baylor, No. 4 Florida State visited Duke for a 51âÂÂ27 victory, No. 5 North Carolina beat Wake Forest 30âÂÂ12, and No. 6 Michigan defeated Northwestern 23âÂÂ6. The next poll featured No. 1 Penn State, No. 2 Nebraska, No. 3 Florida State, No. 4 North Carolina, and No. 5 Michigan.
October 18: After trailing 15âÂÂ3 in the fourth quarter, No. 1 Penn State scored two late touchdowns to escape mediocre Minnesota by a 16âÂÂ15 score. No. 2 Nebraska was more impressive in a 29âÂÂ0 shutout of Texas Tech. No. 3 Florida State also held their opponent scoreless, winning 38âÂÂ0 over No. 21 Georgia Tech. No. 4 North Carolina won 20âÂÂ7 at North Carolina State, and No. 5 Michigan made a late comeback of their own in a 28âÂÂ24 defeat of No. 15 Iowa. Nebraska took over the No. 1 spot in both polls by a very close margin, followed by No. 2 Penn State, No. 3 Florida State, No. 4 North Carolina, and No. 5 Michigan.
October 25: No. 1 Nebraska posted their second straight shutout, 35âÂÂ0 at Kansas. No. 2 Penn State was idle. No. 3 Florida State won 47âÂÂ21 at Virginia. No. 4 North Carolina was also idle, while No. 5 Michigan posted a 23âÂÂ7 defeat of No. 15 Michigan State. With their second straight win over a ranked opponent, the Wolverines moved up in the next poll: No. 1 Nebraska, No. 2 Penn State, No. 3 Florida State, No. 4 Michigan, and No. 5 North Carolina.
October 30âÂÂNovember 1: No. 1 Nebraska overwhelmed rival Oklahoma 69âÂÂ7. No. 2 Penn State had another close call, winning 30âÂÂ27 at Northwestern. No. 3 Florida State defeated North Carolina State 48âÂÂ35, No. 4 Michigan beat Minnesota 24âÂÂ3, and No. 5 North Carolina held off Georgia Tech 16âÂÂ13. The top five remained the same in the next poll.
November 8: In the "Flea Kicker" game, No. 1 Nebraska trailed Missouri 38âÂÂ31 with seven seconds left. Cornhuskers quarterback Scott Frost launched a pass which bounced off the receiver's chest, off a Missouri defender's foot, off a Nebraska player's leg, and finally into the arms of Nebraska's Matt Davison for a game-tying touchdown. The Cornhuskers came away with a 45âÂÂ38 overtime victory. Meanwhile, No. 2 Penn State fell 34âÂÂ8 to No. 4 Michigan and No. 3 Florida State won 20âÂÂ3 at No. 5 North Carolina. No. 7 Ohio State blew out Minnesota 31âÂÂ3, while No. 8 Tennessee beat No. 24 Southern Mississippi 44âÂÂ20. After Nebraska's struggles and Michigan and Florida State's triumphs, both polls elevated new teams to the top. The AP's top five were No. 1 Michigan, No. 2 Florida State, No. 3 Nebraska, No. 4 Ohio State, and No. 5 Tennessee, while the Coaches Poll ranked Florida State in the top spot.
November 15: No. 1 Michigan won 26âÂÂ16 at No. 23 Wisconsin, No. 2 Florida State blew out Wake Forest 58âÂÂ7 to clinch the outright ACC title, No. 3 Nebraska destroyed Iowa State 77âÂÂ14 to earn a spot in the Big 12 championship game, No. 4 Ohio State beat Illinois 41âÂÂ6, and No. 5 Tennessee won 30âÂÂ22 at Arkansas. The top five remained the same in the next poll.
November 22: No. 1 Michigan faced off against No. 4 Ohio State with the opportunity to clinch the Big Ten title and a Rose Bowl berth. Three times in the past four years, Ohio State had entered their rivalry game undefeated only to be tripped up by the Wolverines. This time Michigan was the one with a perfect record, and they continued their winning streak over the Buckeyes with a 20âÂÂ14 victory. In another rivalry game, No. 2 Florida State visited No. 10 Florida hoping to conclude an undefeated season of their own. In a back-and-forth contest with seven lead changes, Doug Johnson's 63-yard pass set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Fred Taylor for a 32âÂÂ29 Gators victory. No. 3 Nebraska was idle. No. 5 Tennessee won 59âÂÂ31 at Kentucky to lock up the SEC Eastern Division title. No. 6 Penn State, whose Rose Bowl hopes were dashed by Michigan's win, beat No. 24 Wisconsin 35âÂÂ10. Michigan now held the No. 1 spot in both polls, followed by No. 2 Nebraska, No. 3 Tennessee, No. 4 Penn State, and No. 5 Florida State.
November 29: No. 1 Michigan had finished their schedule. No. 2 Nebraska held off a late Colorado comeback for a 27âÂÂ24 win. No. 3 Tennessee got past Vanderbilt 17âÂÂ10. No. 4 Penn State lost 49âÂÂ14 at Michigan State. No. 5 Florida State and No. 6 UCLA had finished their schedules, but both teams moved up in the next poll: No. 1 Michigan, No. 2 Nebraska, No. 3 Tennessee, No. 4 Florida State, and No. 5 UCLA.
December 6: No. 2 Nebraska annihilated No. 14 Texas A&M in the Big 12 Championship Game, leading 47âÂÂ3 in the fourth quarter and coming away with a 54âÂÂ15 victory to enter bowl season undefeated. No. 3 Tennessee had a much harder time in the SEC Championship Game against No. 11 Auburn, but Peyton Manning threw for 373 yards and four touchdowns, including a 73-yard pass in the fourth quarter which made the difference in the Volunteers' 30âÂÂ29 win. With all other teams having finished their schedules, the top five remained the same in the next poll.
For the third time in four years, the Big Ten and Pac-10's contract with the Rose Bowl prevented the only two undefeated teams in the nation from meeting in a bowl game. Since No. 1 Michigan was obligated to play the Pac-10 champion (No. 8 Washington State) in Pasadena, No. 2 Nebraska's Orange Bowl opponent would be one-loss No. 3 Tennessee. Among other major bowls, the Sugar would match No. 4 Florida State up against No. 9 Ohio State, the Cotton would feature No. 5 UCLA and No. 20 Texas A&M, and the Fiesta would pit No. 10 Kansas State against the Big East champ, No. 14 Syracuse.
Italics denotes I-AA teams.
+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.
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.
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).
The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player
Average home attendance top 3:
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