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1997 Wisconsin Badgers football
Outback Bowl, L 6–33 vs. Georgia
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
1997 record8–5 (5–3 Big Ten)
Head coachBarry Alvarez (8th season)
Home stadiumCamp Randall Stadium
(Capacity: 76,129)
Seasons
← 1996
1998 →
1997 Big Ten football standings
v · d · e Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
#1/2 Michigan   8 0         12 0  
#12/12 Ohio State   6 2         10 3  
#16/17 Penn State   6 2         9 3  
#15/15 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 / Coaches' Poll

The 1997 Wisconsin Badgers football team represented the University of Wisconsin during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season.

Regular season[]

Schedule[]

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result Attendance
August 24* 1:00 PM vs. #17 Syracuse #24 Giants StadiumEast Rutherford, NJ (Kickoff Classic) ABC L 0–34   51,185
September 6* 2:00 PM Boise State Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI W 28–24   73,209
September 13* 5:30 PM at San Jose State Spartan StadiumSan 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 FieldEvanston, 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 #24 Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN L 20–45   54,252
October 25 11:30 AM at Minnesota Hubert H. Humphrey MetrodomeMinneapolis, MN (Paul Bunyan's Axe) ESPN2 W 22–21   57,563
November 8† 11:30 AM #12 Iowa Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI ESPN W 13–10   79,864
November 15 2:30 PM #1 Michigan #23 Camp Randall Stadium • Madison, WI ABC L 16–26   79,806
November 22 2:30 PM at #6 Penn State #24 Beaver StadiumUniversity Park, PA ABC L 10–35   96,934
January 1* 10:00 AM vs. #11 Georgia Houlihan's StadiumTampa, 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[]

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 8 of their next 9 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 starters[]

Position Player
Quarterback Mike Samuel
Running Back Ron Dayne
Fullback Cecil Martin
Wide Receiver Donald Hayes
Wide Receiver Tony Simmons
Tight End Eric Grams
Left Tackle Chris McIntosh
Left Guard Bill Ferrario
Center Casey Rabach
Right Guard Dave Costa
Right Tackle Aaron Gibson
Position Player
Defensive End John Favret
Defensive Tackle Ross Kolodziej
Nose Guard Chris Janek
Defensive End Tom Burke
Outside Linebacker Bob Adamov
Inside Linebacker Donnel Thompson
Outside Linebacker David Lysek
Cornerback Jason Suttle
Free Safety Bobby Myers
Strong Safety Leonard Taylor
Cornerback Lamar Campbell

Team players selected in the 1998 NFL Draft[]

Player Position Round Overall Selection NFL Team
Tony Simmons Wide Receiver 2 52 New England Patriots
Donald Hayes Wide Receiver 4 106 Carolina Panthers

[2]

References[]

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