1997 Wisconsin Badgers football team

1997 Wisconsin Badgers football
Outback Bowl, L 6–33 vs. Georgia
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	8–5 (5–3 Big Ten)
Head coach	Barry Alvarez (8th season)
Offensive coordinator	Brad Childress (6th season)
Defensive coordinator	Kevin Cosgrove (3rd season)
Home stadium	Camp Randall Stadium (Capacity: 76,129)

1997 Big Ten Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 1 Michigan $		8	–	0					12	–	0
No. 12 Ohio State		6	–	2					10	–	3
No. 16 Penn State		6	–	2					9	–	3
No. 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

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	Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ (Kickoff Classic)	ABC	L 0–34	51,185
September 6	2:00 p.m.	Boise State*		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI		W 28–24	73,209
September 13	5:30 p.m.	at San Jose State*		Spartan Stadium San Jose, CA		W 56–10	23,042
September 20	1:00 p.m.	San Diego State*		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI		W 36–10	76,864
September 27	11:20 a.m.	Indiana		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	ESPN+	W 27–26	78,211
October 4	6:00 p.m.	at Northwestern		Ryan Field Evanston, IL	ESPN	W 26–25	47,129
October 11	11:20 a.m.	Illinois		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	ESPN+	W 31–7	79,327
October 18	1:00 p.m.	at Purdue	No. 24	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN		L 20–45	54,252
October 25	11:30 a.m.	at Minnesota		Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Minneapolis, MN (Paul Bunyan's Axe)	ESPN2	W 22–21	57,563
November 8	11:30 a.m.	No. 12 Iowa		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI (rivalry)	ESPN	W 13–10	79,864
November 15	2:30 p.m.	No. 1 Michigan	No. 23	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	ABC	L 16–26	79,806
November 22	2:30 p.m.	at No. 6 Penn State	No. 24	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	ABC	L 10–35	96,934
January 1, 1998	10:00 a.m.	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 released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Season summary

Syracuse

1 2 3 4 Total • Syracuse 10 14 7 3 34 Wisconsin 0 0 0 0 0 Date: August 24 Location: Giants Stadium Game attendance: 51,185

Boise State

1 2 3 4 Total Boise St 10 7 0 7 24 • Wisconsin 7 7 7 7 28 Date: September 6 Location: Camp Randall Stadium

San Jose State

1 2 3 4 Total • Wisconsin 14 28 14 0 56 San Jose St 10 0 0 0 10 Date: September 13 Location: Spartan Stadium Game attendance: 23,042

San Diego State

1 2 3 4 Total San Diego St 0 0 3 7 10 • Wisconsin 17 5 7 7 36 Date: September 20 Location: Camp Randall Stadium

Indiana

1 2 3 4 Total Indiana 7 10 6 3 26 • Wisconsin 7 10 0 10 27 Date: September 27 Location: Camp Randall Stadium

Northwestern

1 2 3 4 Total • Wisconsin 13 3 7 3 26 Northwestern 6 8 11 0 25 Date: October 4 Location: Ryan Field

Illinois

1 2 3 4 Total Illinois 0 7 0 0 7 • Wisconsin 14 7 10 0 31 Date: October 11 Location: Camp Randall Stadium

Purdue

1 2 3 4 Total Wisconsin 0 10 7 3 20 • Purdue 21 7 7 10 45 Date: October 18 Location: Ross–Ade Stadium

Minnesota

1 2 3 4 Total • Wisconsin 7 6 0 9 22 Minnesota 8 0 13 0 21 Date: October 25 Location: Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome Game attendance: 57,563 Game weather: Indoors (dome)

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

Iowa

1 2 3 4 Total Iowa 0 0 7 3 10 • Wisconsin 0 13 0 0 13 Date: November 8 Location: Camp Randall Stadium Game attendance: 79,864

See also: 1997 Iowa Hawkeyes football team and Iowa–Wisconsin football rivalry

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
34–36–2	1996	L 0–31

Michigan

1 2 3 4 Total • Michigan 7 9 0 10 26 Wisconsin 0 3 7 6 16 Date: November 15 Location: Camp Randall Stadium

Penn State

1 2 3 4 Total Wisconsin 3 0 0 7 10 • Penn St 7 14 14 0 35 Date: November 22 Location: Beaver Stadium

Outback Bowl

1 2 3 4 Total Wisconsin 0 0 0 6 6 • Georgia 12 7 7 7 33 Date: January 1 Location: Tampa Stadium Game attendance: 56,186

Main article: 1998 Outback Bowl

Roster

1997 Wisconsin Badgers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class OT 54 Dave Costa Fr RB 33 Ron Dayne So OT 79 Aaron Gibson Jr WR 84 Donald Hayes Sr RB 37 Cecil Martin Jr OT 75 Chris McIntosh So WR 1 Ahmad Merritt So C 70 Casey Rabach Fr QB 10 Mike Samuel Jr WR 82 Tony Simmons Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DE 74 Tom Burke So CB 38 Lamar Campbell Sr LB 19 Roger Knight Fr DT 78 Ross Kolodziej Fr LB 45 Dan Lisowski Fr SS 26 Bobby Myers So LB 44 Donnel Thompson So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K Matt Davenport LS 46 Mike Schneck Jr	Head coach Barry Alvarez Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: 1997-06-17

Source:

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