American college football season
The 1997 Wisconsin Badgers football team represented the University of Wisconsin during the 1997 Big Ten Conference 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 .
Schedule
Date Time Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance August 24 1:00 p.m. vs. No. 17 Syracuse * No. 24 ABC L 0–3451,185
September 6 2:00 p.m. Boise State * W 28–2473,209
September 13 5:30 p.m. at San Jose State * W 56–1023,042
September 20 1:00 p.m. San Diego State * Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI W 36–1076,864
September 27 11:20 a.m. Indiana Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI ESPN+ W 27–2678,211
October 4 6:00 p.m. at Northwestern ESPN W 26–2547,129
October 11 11:20 a.m. Illinois Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI ESPN+ W 31–779,327
October 18 1:00 p.m. at Purdue No. 24 L 20–4554,252
October 25 11:30 a.m. at Minnesota ESPN2 W 22–2157,563
November 8 11:30 a.m. No. 12 Iowa Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI (rivalry ) ESPN W 13–1079,864
November 15 2:30 p.m. No. 1 Michigan No. 23 Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI ABC L 16–2679,806
November 22 2:30 p.m. at No. 6 Penn State No. 24 ABC L 10–3596,934
January 1, 1998 10:00 a.m. vs. No. 11 Georgia * ESPN L 6–3356,186
*Non-conference game HomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time
Rankings
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked Week Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Final AP 24 — — — — — — — 24 — — — 23 24 — — — — Coaches 24 — — — — — — 24 — — — 24 24 — — — —
Season summary
Syracuse
1
2 3 4 Total
• Syracuse
10
14 7 3
34
Wisconsin
0
0 0 0
0
[1]
Boise State
1
2 3 4 Total
Boise St
10
7 0 7
24
• Wisconsin
7
7 7 7
28
[2]
San Jose State
1
2 3 4 Total
• Wisconsin
14
28 14 0
56
San Jose St
10
0 0 0
10
[3]
San Diego State
1
2 3 4 Total
San Diego St
0
0 3 7
10
• Wisconsin
17
5 7 7
36
[4]
Indiana
1
2 3 4 Total
Indiana
7
10 6 3
26
• Wisconsin
7
10 0 10
27
[5]
Northwestern
1
2 3 4 Total
• Wisconsin
13
3 7 3
26
Northwestern
6
8 11 0
25
[6]
Illinois
1
2 3 4 Total
Illinois
0
7 0 0
7
• Wisconsin
14
7 10 0
31
[7]
Purdue
1
2 3 4 Total
Wisconsin
0
10 7 3
20
• Purdue
21
7 7 10
45
[8]
Minnesota
1
2 3 4 Total
• Wisconsin
7
6 0 9
22
Minnesota
8
0 13 0
21
[9]
Iowa
1
2 3 4 Total
Iowa
0
0 7 3
10
• Wisconsin
0
13 0 0
13
[10]
Michigan
1
2 3 4 Total
• Michigan
7
9 0 10
26
Wisconsin
0
3 7 6
16
[11]
Penn State
1
2 3 4 Total
Wisconsin
3
0 0 7
10
• Penn St
7
14 14 0
35
[12]
Outback Bowl
1
2 3 4 Total
Wisconsin
0
0 0 6
6
• Georgia
12
7 7 7
33
[13]
Roster
1997 Wisconsin Badgers football team roster
Players
Coaches
Offense
Defense
Special teams
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Brad Childress – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
Kevin Cosgrove – Defensive Coordinator/Inside Linebackers
Tim Davis – Offensive Tackles/Tight Ends
Phil Elmassian – Defensive Backs
Jay Hayes – Outside Linebackers/Strong Safeties/Special Teams
Jim Hueber – Guards and Centers
Henry Mason – Wide Receivers
John Palermo – Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Line
Brian White – Running Backs
Bernie Wyatt – Director of Football Operations
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
Injured
Redshirt
Roster Last update: 1997-06-17
Source: [14]
Regular starters
Team players selected in the 1998 NFL Draft
[15]
References
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons
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