1997 Tennessee Volunteers football team

1997 Tennessee Volunteers football
1997 Tennessee Volunteers football
SEC champion; SEC Eastern Division champion
SEC Championship Game, W 30–29 vs. Auburn
Orange Bowl, L 17–42 vs. Nebraska
Conference	Southeastern Conference
	Eastern Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 8
AP	No. 7
Record	11–2 (7–1 SEC)
Head coach	Phillip Fulmer (5th season);
Offensive coordinator	David Cutcliffe
Defensive coordinator	John Chavis
Captains	Leonard Little; Peyton Manning;
Home stadium	Neyland Stadium; (Capacity: 102,854)
	Seasons ← 1996 1998 →

1997 Southeastern Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Eastern Division
No. 7 Tennessee x$	7	–	1	11	–	2
No. 10 Georgia	6	–	2	10	–	2
No. 4 Florida	6	–	2	10	–	2
South Carolina	3	–	5	5	–	6
Kentucky	2	–	6	5	–	6
Vanderbilt	0	–	8	3	–	8
Western Division
No. 11 Auburn xy	6	–	2	10	–	3
No. 13 LSU x	6	–	2	9	–	3
No. 22 Ole Miss	4	–	4	8	–	4
Mississippi State	4	–	4	7	–	4
Arkansas	2	–	6	4	–	7
Alabama	2	–	6	4	–	7
Championship: Tennessee 30, Auburn 29
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1997 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. Quarterback Peyton Manning had already completed his degree in three years, and had been projected to be the top overall pick in the 1997 NFL Draft, but returned to Tennessee for his senior year.^[2] The Volunteers opened the season with victories against Texas Tech and UCLA, but for the third time in his career, Manning fell to Florida, 33–20.^[3]^[4]^[5] The Vols won the rest of their regular season games, finishing 10–1, and advanced to the SEC Championship Game against Auburn. Down 20–7, Manning led the Vols to a 30–29 victory. Throwing for four touchdowns, he was named the game's MVP, but injured himself in the process.^[6]^[7] The #3 Vols were matched up with #2 Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. Had Tennessee won and top-ranked Michigan lost to Washington State in the Rose Bowl, the Vols would have been expected to win the national championship.^[8] However, the Vols' defense could not stop Nebraska's rushing attack, giving up more than 400 yards on the ground in a 42–17 loss.^[9] As a senior, Manning won numerous awards. He was a consensus first-team All-American and won the Maxwell Award, the Davey O'Brien Award, the Johnny Unitas Award, and the Best College Football Player ESPY Award, among others. However, he did not win the Heisman Trophy, finishing runner-up to Charles Woodson, a CB from Michigan, and the only defensive player ever to win the Heisman Trophy.^[10]^[11]^[12]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	7:45 p.m.	Texas Tech*	No. 5	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, Tennessee	ESPN	W 52–17	106,285
September 6	3:30 p.m.	at UCLA*	No. 3	Rose Bowl Pasadena, California	ABC	W 30–24	62,619
September 20	3:30 p.m.	at No. 1 Florida	No. 4	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, Florida (Third Saturday in September) (College GameDay)	CBS	L 20–33	85,714
October 4	3:30 p.m.	Ole Miss	No. 10	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, Tennessee	CBS	W 31–17	106,229
October 11	3:30 p.m.	No. 15 Georgia	No. 10	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, Tennessee (rivalry)	CBS	W 38–13	106,656
October 18	7:00 p.m.	at Alabama	No. 9	Legion Field Birmingham, Alabama (Third Saturday in October)	ESPN	W 38–21	83,091
November 1	12:30 p.m.	South Carolina	No. 8	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, Tennessee	JPS	W 22–7	106,301
November 8	4:00 p.m.	No. 25 Southern Miss*	No. 7	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, Tennessee	PPV	W 44–20	107,073
November 15	8:00 p.m.	at Arkansas	No. 5	War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, Arkansas	ESPN2	W 30–22	53,235
November 22	12:30 p.m.	at Kentucky	No. 5	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, Kentucky (Battle for the Barrel)	ESPN2	W 59–31	61,076
November 29	12:00 p.m.	Vanderbilt	No. 3	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, Tennessee (rivalry)	CBS	W 17–10	106,683
December 6	8:00 p.m.	vs. No. 11 Auburn	No. 3	Georgia Dome Atlanta (SEC Championship Game)	ABC	W 30–29	74,896
January 2	8:00 p.m.	vs. No. 2 Nebraska*	No. 3	Pro Player Stadium Miami Gardens, Florida (Orange Bowl) (College GameDay)	CBS	L 17–42	74,002
*Non-conference game Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AP	5 (8)	5 (7)	3 (7)	4 (6)	4 (6)	9	9	9	9	8	8	8	5	5	3	3	3	7
Coaches Poll	5 (8)	5 (8)	3 (10)	4 (5)	4 (6)	10	10	10	9	8	8	7	5	5	3	3	3	8

Personnel

1997 Tennessee Volunteers football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
RB	`24`	Shawn Bryson	Jr
OT	`67`	Chad Clifton	So
OL		Cosey Coleman
WR		Jermaine Copeland
WR		Graff Corby
RB		Phillip Crosby
RB		Brian Darden
TE		Eric Diogu
RB		Derrick Edmonds
OL		Mercedes Hamilton
RB		Travis Henry
TE		Neil Johnson
RB		Mark Levine
RB		Jamal Lewis
QB	`16`	Peyton Manning	Sr
WR		David Martin
QB	`17`	Tee Martin	So
WR	`88`	Andy McCullough	Sr
WR	`12`	Marcus Nash	Sr
TE		Antron Peebles
WR	`37`	Peerless Price	Jr
OL		Spencer Riley
OL		Diron Robinson
WR	`81`	Benjie Shuler	Sr
RB		Travis Stephens
C	`70`	Trey Teague	Sr
WR		Cedrick Wilson

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
LB	`99`	Eric Brown	Sr
DE	`91`	Jonathan Brown	Sr
DL		Jeff Coleman
DL		Bill Duf
DE	`93`	Shaun Ellis	So
DB	`13`	Terry Fair	Sr
DB		Cory Gaines
DT	`60`	Matt Goodin	Jr
DB	`23`	Dwayne Goodrich	So
DB		Tyrone Graham
DB		Deon Grant
DL		Ron Green
DL		Gerald Griffin
DB		Steve Johnson
DE	`1`	Leonard Little	Sr
DB		Tori Noel
DL		Billy Raltliff
DE	`58`	Darwin Walker	So
DB	`30`	Cory Gaines	Sr
DE	`22`	Corey Terry	Jr
LB	`46`	Raynoch Thompson	So
DL		Darwin Walker
DB	`42`	Eric Westmoreland	So
DB	`2`	Fred White	So
LB	`27`	Al Wilson	Jr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K	`4`	Jeff Hall	Jr
P	`43`	David Leaverton	Fr

Head coach

Phillip Fulmer

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Game summaries

Texas Tech

Texas Tech at Tennessee

	1	2	3	4	Total
Red Raiders	0	3	0	14	17
• No. 5 Volunteers	7	17	21	7	52

Date: August 30
Location: Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tennessee
Game start: 7:35 pm EDT
Elapsed time: 3:20
Game attendance: 106,285

Source: Box score

At UCLA

Tennessee at UCLA

	1	2	3	4	Total
• No. 3 Volunteers	9	15	3	3	30
Bruins	0	3	3	18	24

Date: September 6
Location: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California
Game start: 3:35 pm EDT
Elapsed time: 3:41
Game attendance: 62,619

Source: Box score

^[13]

At Florida

#4 Tennessee Volunteers (2–0) at #3 Florida Gators (2–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Tennessee	0	7	7	6	20
Florida	14	6	6	7	33

at Ben Hill Griffith Stadium, Gainesville, Florida

Date: September 20
Game time: 3:30 p.m. EDT
Game weather: Sunny, 95 °F (35 °C)
Game attendance: 85,714
Box Score, Box Score/Recap

Game information

First quarter

UF – Jamie Richardson 11-yard pass from Doug Johnson (Collins Cooper kick), 9:43. Florida 7–0.
UF – Tony George 88-yard interception return (Collins Cooper kick), 0:15. Florida 14–0.

Second quarter

UT – Jermaine Copeland 22-yard pass from Peyton Manning (Jeff Hall kick), 1:33. Florida 14–7.
UF – Jacquez Green 19-yard pass from Doug Johnson (kick failed), 0:45. Florida 20–7.

Third quarter

UF – Collins Cooper 37-yard field goal, 8:33. Florida 23–7.
UF – Collins Cooper 40-yard field goal, 3:44. Florida 26–7.
UT – Jermaine Copeland 8-yard pass from Peyton Manning (Jeff Hall kick), 2:32. Florida 26–14.

Fourth quarter

UF – Taran Ross 30-yard pass from Doug Johnson (Collins Cooper kick), 6:23. Florida 33–14.
UT – Cedrick Wilson 16-yard pass from Peyton Manning (pass failed), 2:21. Florida 33–20.

Top passers

UT – Peyton Manning – 29/51, 353 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT
UF – Doug Johnson – 14/32, 261 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT

Top rushers

UT – Mark Levine – 4 rushes, 27 yards
UF – Fred Taylor – 17 rushes, 134 yards

Top receivers

UT – Andy McCullough – 5 receptions, 105 yards
UF – Jacquez Green – 8 receptions, 185 yards, TD

^[14]

Ole Miss

Ole Miss at Tennessee

	1	2	3	4	Total
Rebels	0	3	6	8	17
• No. 9 Volunteers	0	7	14	10	31

Date: October 4
Location: Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tennessee
Game start: 3:34 pm EDT
Elapsed time: 3:15
Game attendance: 106,229

Source: Box score

Georgia

Georgia at Tennessee

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 13 Bulldogs	3	7	0	3	13
• No. 9 Volunteers	7	17	0	14	38

Date: October 11
Location: Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tennessee
Game start: 3:41 pm EDT
Elapsed time: 3:13
Game attendance: 106,656

Source: Box score

At Alabama

Tennessee at Alabama

	1	2	3	4	Total
• No. 9 Volunteers	7	14	10	7	38
Crimson Tide	6	0	8	7	21

Date: October 18
Location: Legion Field, Birmingham, Alabama
Game start: 6:06 pm EDT
Elapsed time: 3:06
Game attendance: 83,091

Source: Box score

South Carolina

South Carolina at Tennessee

	1	2	3	4	Total
Gamecocks	0	0	0	7	7
• No. 9 Volunteers	9	0	3	10	22

Date: November 1
Location: Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tennessee
Game start: 12:38 pm EDT
Elapsed time: 3:04
Game attendance: 106,301

Source: Box score

Southern Miss

Southern Miss at Tennessee

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 24 Golden Eagles	7	6	7	0	20
• No. 8 Volunteers	6	14	21	3	44

Date: November 8
Location: Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tennessee
Game start: 4:08 pm EST
Elapsed time: 3:10
Game attendance: 107,073

Source: Box score

At Arkansas

Tennessee at Arkansas

	1	2	3	4	Total
• No. 5 Volunteers	7	7	3	13	30
Razorbacks	0	10	6	6	22

Date: November 15
Location: War Memorial Stadium, Little Rock, Arkansas
Game start: 7:15 pm EDT
Elapsed time: 3:20
Game attendance: 53,235

Source: Box score

At Kentucky

Tennessee at Kentucky

	1	2	3	4	Total
• No. 5 Volunteers	17	7	21	14	59
Wildcats	7	14	3	7	31

Date: November 22
Location: Commonwealth Stadium, Lexington, Kentucky
Game start: 12:30 pm EDT
Elapsed time: 3:40
Game attendance: 61,076

Source: Box score

Peyton Manning threw for a school-record 523 yards and tied the school-record with 5 passing touchdowns in this high-scoring win over Kentucky. The single-game TD record fell in 2007 and the single-game yardage record stood until 2012. In all, Manning and Kentucky QB Tim Couch combined for 999 passing yards (Couch threw for a then-school-record 476 yards).^[15]

Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt at Tennessee

	1	2	3	4	Total
Commodores	0	3	7	0	10
• No. 3 Volunteers	0	10	7	0	17

Date: November 29
Location: Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tennessee
Game start: 12:12 pm EST
Elapsed time: 3:00
Game attendance: 106,683

^[16]

Vs. Auburn

Tennessee vs Auburn

	1	2	3	4	Total
• No. 3 Volunteers	7	3	13	7	30
No. 11 Tigers	13	7	9	0	29

Date: December 6
Location: Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia
Game start: 8:06 pm EST
Elapsed time: 3:34
Game attendance: 74,896
Referee: Al Ford

Source: Box score

The Vols struck first just over two minutes into the game, but found themselves trailing 20–7 only 48 seconds into the second quarter. Despite six turnovers, Tennessee clawed all the way back. Peyton Manning threw for 373 yards and 4 TD, including a game winning 73-yard touchdown to Marcus Nash.^[17]

Vs. Nebraska (Orange Bowl)

Tennessee vs Nebraska

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 3 Volunteers	0	3	6	8	17
• No. 2 Cornhuskers	7	7	21	7	42

Date: January 2, 1998
Location: Pro Player Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida
Game attendance: 72,385

Awards and honors

Peyton Manning, consensus first-team All-American
Peyton Manning, Maxwell Award winner
Peyton Manning, Davey O'Brien Award winner
Peyton Manning, James E. Sullivan Award^[18]
Peyton Manning, Johnny Unitas Award winner
Peyton Manning, Best College Football Player ESPY Award winner
Peyton Manning, runner-up, Heisman Trophy

Team players drafted into the NFL

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Peyton Manning	Quarterback	1	1	Indianapolis Colts
Terry Fair	Cornerback	1	20	Detroit Lions
Marcus Nash	Wide receiver	1	30	Denver Broncos
Leonard Little	Defensive end	3	65	St. Louis Rams
Jonathan Brown	Defensive end	3	90	Green Bay Packers
Trey Teague	Center	7	200	Denver Broncos
Andy McCullough	Wide receiver	7	204	New Orleans Saints
Corey Gaines	Safety	7	231	Indianapolis Colts

References:^[19]

References

^ "Neyland Stadium". utsports.com. Archived from the original on November 19, 2012. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
^ "Nothing to Prove; Manning Made His Decision to Stay at Tennessee, and the Rest Is History". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. September 3, 1997.
^ "Tenn. Jumps To No. 3 in Poll". The Washington Post. September 1, 1997.
^ "UCLA Rallies in Second Half Against Tennessee, but Comes Up Short for Second Week in a Row, 30–24". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. September 7, 1997.
^ Rhoden, William C. (September 21, 1997). "Manning's Nightmare Continues". The New York Times. Retrieved December 24, 2007.
^ Sallee, Barrett (August 24, 2012). "Classic SEC Football: Tennessee Tops Auburn in the 1997 SEC Championship Game". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on August 26, 2012. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
^ Fulmer, Phillip (1999). A Perfect Season. Rutledge Hill Press. p. 7. ISBN 1-55853-798-8. Peyton had played with a lot of pain in the Orange Bowl because of an injury he had suffered in our SEC Championship victory against Auburn, and his mobility was limited throughout the game against Nebraska
^ MacCambridge, Michael (2005). ESPN College Football Encyclopedia. ESPN Books. p. 1401. ISBN 1-4013-3703-1.
^ MacCambridge, Michael (2005). ESPN College Football Encyclopedia. ESPN Books. p. 1462. ISBN 1-4013-3703-1.
^ MacCambridge, Michael (2005). ESPN College Football Encyclopedia. ESPN Books. p. 1402. ISBN 1-4013-3703-1.
^ "The 2005 ESPY Awards – ESPY Awards past winners". ESPN. Retrieved December 20, 2007.
^ "1997 Heisman Trophy". Heisman.com. Archived from the original on February 1, 2008. Retrieved February 3, 2008.
^ "Tennessee 30, UCLA 24". UPI Archives. September 6, 1997. Retrieved September 24, 2022.
^ "No. 3 Gators Find Willing Volunteers". Los Angeles Times. September 21, 1997. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
^ "Manning Passes for 523 Yards in Tennessee Win". The Los Angeles Times. November 23, 1997. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
^ "Vols win division crown, want more". The Tampa Bay Times. November 30, 1997. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
^ "Too Close for Comfort". The Los Angeles Times. December 7, 1997. Retrieved September 25, 2022.
^ "AAU Sullivan Award".
^ 2011 Tennessee Football Record Book Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, p. 102.

[1] "Neyland Stadium". utsports.com. Archived from the original on November 19, 2012. Retrieved November 14, 2012.

[2] "Nothing to Prove; Manning Made His Decision to Stay at Tennessee, and the Rest Is History". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. September 3, 1997.

[3] "Tenn. Jumps To No. 3 in Poll". The Washington Post. September 1, 1997.

[4] "UCLA Rallies in Second Half Against Tennessee, but Comes Up Short for Second Week in a Row, 30–24". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. September 7, 1997.

[5] Rhoden, William C. (September 21, 1997). "Manning's Nightmare Continues". The New York Times. Retrieved December 24, 2007.

[secchampionship-6] Sallee, Barrett (August 24, 2012). "Classic SEC Football: Tennessee Tops Auburn in the 1997 SEC Championship Game". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on August 26, 2012. Retrieved December 26, 2014.

[fulmer-7] Fulmer, Phillip (1999). A Perfect Season. Rutledge Hill Press. p. 7. ISBN 1-55853-798-8. Peyton had played with a lot of pain in the Orange Bowl because of an injury he had suffered in our SEC Championship victory against Auburn, and his mobility was limited throughout the game against Nebraska

[8] MacCambridge, Michael (2005). ESPN College Football Encyclopedia. ESPN Books. p. 1401. ISBN 1-4013-3703-1.

[9] MacCambridge, Michael (2005). ESPN College Football Encyclopedia. ESPN Books. p. 1462. ISBN 1-4013-3703-1.

[10] MacCambridge, Michael (2005). ESPN College Football Encyclopedia. ESPN Books. p. 1402. ISBN 1-4013-3703-1.

[espy-11] "The 2005 ESPY Awards – ESPY Awards past winners". ESPN. Retrieved December 20, 2007.

[12] "1997 Heisman Trophy". Heisman.com. Archived from the original on February 1, 2008. Retrieved February 3, 2008.

[13] "Tennessee 30, UCLA 24". UPI Archives. September 6, 1997. Retrieved September 24, 2022.

[14] "No. 3 Gators Find Willing Volunteers". Los Angeles Times. September 21, 1997. Retrieved September 25, 2022.

[15] "Manning Passes for 523 Yards in Tennessee Win". The Los Angeles Times. November 23, 1997. Retrieved September 25, 2022.

[16] "Vols win division crown, want more". The Tampa Bay Times. November 30, 1997. Retrieved September 25, 2022.

[17] "Too Close for Comfort". The Los Angeles Times. December 7, 1997. Retrieved September 25, 2022.

[18] "AAU Sullivan Award".

[19] 2011 Tennessee Football Record Book Archived March 4, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, p. 102.

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v t e Tennessee Volunteers football
Venues	Baseball Park (1892–1893) Fountain City Park (1894) Baldwin Park (1895–1900, 1902–1905) Chilhowee Park (1901, 1907) Baker-Himel Park (1906) Waite Field (1908–1920) Neyland Stadium (1921–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Alabama: Third Saturday in October Auburn Florida Georgia Georgia Tech Kentucky South Carolina Vanderbilt
Culture & lore	History Smokey "Rocky Top" Pride of the Southland Band Battle at Bristol Porter Cup
People	Head coaches Starting quarterbacks NFL draftees Statistical leaders
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National championship seasons in bold