The 1997 Wisconsin Badgers football team was an American football team that represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their eighth year under head coach Barry Alvarez, the Badgers compiled an 8–5 record (5–3 in conference games), finished in fifth place in the Big Ten, and were outscored by a total of 306 to 291. After a 34–0 loss to Donovan McNabb and Syracuse in the Kickoff Classic, the Badgers won six straight games against unranked teams, before losing to unranked Purdue, and then rebounding for the program's first victory over a Hayden Fry-coached Iowa team. The Badgers concluded their season with three consecutive defeats, losing to No. 1 Michigan, No. 6 Penn State, and in the Outback Bowl against No. 12 Georgia.[1][2] The Badgers were unranked in the final AP and Coaches polls.
The team's statistical leaders for all games, including the Outback Bowl, were quarterback Mike Samuel (1,896 passing yards, 55.5% completion percentage), running back Ron Dayne (1,457 rushing yards, 5.5 yards per carry, 90 points scored), wide receiver Donald Hayes (45 receptions for 618 yards), and linebacker Donnel Thompson (82 solo tackles, 141 total tackles).[2] Defensive end Tom Burke led the team with 16 tackles for loss (including eight sacks) and won the team's most valuable player award.[3] Dayne received first-team All-America honors from Football News. Kicker Matt Davenport, who converted 14 of 17 field goals and 31 of 33 extra points,[2] was the only Badger to receive first-team honors on the 1997 All-Big Ten Conference football team; Dayne was placed on the second team by both the coaches and media.[4]
The team played its home games at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|
| August 24 | 1:00 p.m. | vs. No. 17 Syracuse* | No. 24 | | ABC | L 0–34 | 51,185 | |
| September 6 | 2:00 p.m. | Boise State* | | | | W 28–24 | 73,209 | |
| September 13 | 5:30 p.m. | at San Jose State* | | | | 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 Plus | W 27–26 | 78,211 | |
| October 4 | 6:00 p.m. | at Northwestern | | | ESPN | W 26–25 | 47,129 | |
| October 11 | 11:20 a.m. | Illinois | | - Camp Randall Stadium
- Madison, WI
| ESPN Plus | W 31–7 | 79,327 | |
| October 18 | 1:00 p.m. | at Purdue | No. 24 | | | L 20–45 | 54,252 | |
| October 25 | 11:30 a.m. | at Minnesota | | | 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 | | ABC | L 10–35 | 96,934 | |
| January 1, 1998 | 10:00 a.m. | vs. No. 11 Georgia* | | | ESPN | L 6–33 | 56,186 | [5] |
- *Non-conference game
- Homecoming
- Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
- All times are in Central time
|
Rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ 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 | — | — | — | — |
|---|
Game summaries
Syracuse
| Team |
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Syracuse |
10 |
14 | 7 | 3 |
34 |
| Wisconsin |
0 |
0 | 0 | 0 |
0 |
[6]
Boise State
| Team |
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Boise St |
10 |
7 | 0 | 7 |
24 |
| • Wisconsin |
7 |
7 | 7 | 7 |
28 |
[7]
San Jose State
| Team |
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Wisconsin |
14 |
28 | 14 | 0 |
56 |
| San Jose St |
10 |
0 | 0 | 0 |
10 |
[8]
San Diego State
| Team |
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| San Diego St |
0 |
0 | 3 | 7 |
10 |
| • Wisconsin |
17 |
5 | 7 | 7 |
36 |
[9]
Indiana
| Team |
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Indiana |
7 |
10 | 6 | 3 |
26 |
| • Wisconsin |
7 |
10 | 0 | 10 |
27 |
[10]
Northwestern
| Team |
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Wisconsin |
13 |
3 | 7 | 3 |
26 |
| Northwestern |
6 |
8 | 11 | 0 |
25 |
[11]
Illinois
| Team |
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Illinois |
0 |
7 | 0 | 0 |
7 |
| • Wisconsin |
14 |
7 | 10 | 0 |
31 |
[12]
Purdue
| Team |
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wisconsin |
0 |
10 | 7 | 3 |
20 |
| • Purdue |
21 |
7 | 7 | 10 |
45 |
[13]
Minnesota
| Team |
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Wisconsin |
7 |
6 | 0 | 9 |
22 |
| Minnesota |
8 |
0 | 13 | 0 |
21 |
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 |
[14]
Iowa
| Team |
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Iowa |
0 |
0 | 7 | 3 |
10 |
| • Wisconsin |
0 |
13 | 0 | 0 |
13 |
[15]
Michigan
| Team |
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Michigan |
7 |
9 | 0 | 10 |
26 |
| Wisconsin |
0 |
3 | 7 | 6 |
16 |
[16]
Penn State
| Team |
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wisconsin |
3 |
0 | 0 | 7 |
10 |
| • Penn St |
7 |
14 | 14 | 0 |
35 |
[17]
Outback Bowl
| Team |
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wisconsin |
0 |
0 | 0 | 6 |
6 |
| • Georgia |
12 |
7 | 7 | 7 |
33 |
[18]
Personnel
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
Roster
Last update: 1997-06-17
|
[19]
Regular starters
Wisconsin players selected in the 1998 NFL draft
[20]
References
- ^ "1997 Wisconsin Badgers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
- ^ a b c "Wisconsin Overall Team Statistics [1997]" (PDF). UWBadgers.com. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
- ^ "Cook, four Badgers honored". Wisconsin State Journal. December 3, 1997. p. 2C – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "College Football". Gettysburg Times. December 2, 1997. p. B2.
- ^ "Dawgs make quick work of Wisconsin". St. Petersburg Times. January 2, 1998. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ USA Today. Retrieved 2015-Oct-04.
- ^ USA Today. Retrieved 2015-Oct-04.
- ^ USA Today. Retrieved 2015-Oct-04.
- ^ USA Today. Retrieved 2015-Oct-04.
- ^ USA Today. Retrieved 2015-Oct-04.
- ^ USA Today. Retrieved 2015-Oct-04.
- ^ USA Today. Retrieved 2015-Oct-04.
- ^ USA Today. Retrieved 2015-Oct-04.
- ^ USA Today. Retrieved 2015-Oct-04.
- ^ USA Today. Retrieved 2015-Oct-04.
- ^ USA Today. Retrieved 2015-Oct-04.
- ^ USA Today. Retrieved 2015-Oct-04.
- ^ USA Today. Retrieved 2015-Oct-04.
- ^ "Wisconsin Badgers". Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. (roster). January 1, 1998. p. 4C.
- ^ "1984 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on May 27, 2009. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
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