1997 NCAA Division I-A season
Number of teams	112
Preseason AP No. 1	Penn State
Postseason
Duration	December 20, 1997 – January 2, 1998
Bowl games	20
AP Poll No. 1	Michigan
Coaches Poll No. 1	Nebraska
Heisman Trophy	Charles Woodson (cornerback,Michigan)
Bowl Alliance Championship
1998 Orange Bowl
Site	Pro Player Stadium Miami Gardens, Florida
Champion(s)	Nebraska
Division I-A football seasons
← 1996 1998 →

The1997 NCAA Division I-A football season, play ofcollege football in the United States organized by theNational Collegiate Athletic Association at theDivision I-A level, began in late summer 1997 and culminated with the majorbowl games in early January 1998. Thenational championship was split for the third time in the 1990s. The Michigan Wolverines finished the season atop the AP Poll after completing a 12–0 campaign with a Big Ten Conference championship and a victory in the Rose Bowl over Washington State, and the Nebraska Cornhuskers garnered the top ranking in the Coaches' Poll with a 13–0 record, a Big 12 Conference championship, and a win over Tennessee in the Orange Bowl.

Michigan and Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson were given the AP Sports Writers National Championship. Michigan's Charles Woodson, who played primarily at cornerback, but also saw time on offense as a wide receiver and on special teams as a punt returner, won the Heisman Trophy, becoming the first primarily defensive player to win the award. The 1997 season was the third and final season in which the major bowl games were organized under the Bowl Alliance system. The Bowl Championship Series was instituted the following year.

TheMichigan Wolverines finished the season atop theAP Poll after completing a 12–0 campaign with aBig Ten Conference championship and a victory in theRose Bowl overWashington State. InTom Osborne's last season as head coach, Nebraska took over the No. 1 ranking in the nation after defeatingTexas Tech midway through the season. Three weeks later, Nebraska slipped to a No. 3 ranking in both polls, as voters weren't impressed by the way the Cornhuskers won their game against an unrankedMissouri team (a controversial kicked ball was caught for the game-tying TD as time expired in regulation, leading to a 45-38 overtime win). Michigan moved to No. 1 in the AP Poll after its 34–8 victory over previously No. 2 ranked Penn State, while the Coaches Poll selectedFlorida State as No. 1 due to their 20-3 win over previously No. 5North Carolina.

Florida State went into their final regular season game undefeated and still ranked No. 1 in the Coaches Poll. However, Fred Taylor ofFlorida would run for 162 yards and four touchdowns on the nation's top-ranked run defense, one of those touchdowns being the winning score with less than two minutes to play. This game is commonly referred to as "The Greatest Game Ever Played in the Swamp".

Meanwhile, undefeated No. 1 Nebraska squared off in the1998 Orange Bowl versus the No. 3 ranked Tennessee Volunteers. The Cornhuskers made a point of smacking down Tennessee as they defeated the Volunteers 42–17. Unusually for the low-key Osborne and his straight-ahead team, after the game he campaigned openly for Nebraska to be named the consensus national champion (Grant Wistrom stated that if "they wanted to give it to Michigan because they haven't won one in 50 years, we don't want it anyway.").

After the bowl games, the coaches poll awarded the national championship to Nebraska, and the AP Poll awarded the national championship to Michigan, giving Osborne his third national title in four seasons to cap his career. This also marked the last time that a Big 10 (or Pac-10) team would be bound to play in the Rose Bowl instead of heading to a No. 1-No. 2 title game, due to the 1998 BCS realignment.

The Humanitarian Bowl, now known as theFamous Idaho Potato Bowl, began play inBoise, Idaho to help publicise the dwindlingBig West Conference and Boise State. The Broncos with theirblue turf had just made the jump to Division I-A a year earlier. The Big West champion had formerly gone to the Las Vegas Bowl, but the now only 6 team conference wasn't much of a seat filler.

The Motor City Bowl, now theLittle Caesars Pizza Bowl, began play inDetroit hosted by aMAC team.

The Copper Bowl gained corporate sponsorship and was now known as the Insight.com Bowl; it is now known as theCactus Bowl.

TheMAC also grew to a 12-team, two-division conference with achampionship game after the return of two former MAC members—Northern Illinois, returning from the independent ranks, andMarshall, moving up fromDivision I-AA. Marshall's addition increased the number of teams in Division I-A to 112. In a scenario similar to the Big West in 1992, thisup-and-comer from I-AA was able to win its division and the inaugural conference championship game in its first year. The Thundering Herd had gone unbeaten and won theI-AA national titlethe previous season, and had future NFL starsRandy Moss andChad Pennington.

• Starting with the third overtime period, teams must go for atwo-point conversion after atouchdown.^[1]
• Strengthened the enforcement of chop blocks.
• Charged teams with a time-out if a player is not wearing their mouth guard. If a team is out of time-outs when the infraction occurs, a five-yard penalty is assessed.
• Changed the penalty for roughing the punt receiver to 15 yards if he is contacted by a defender within six feet after catching the ball.
• Requiring the game clock be started once the ball is kicked on kickoffs and free kicks after safeties except in the final 2:00 of each half.
• The clock for halftime was to be started immediately following the conclusion of the second quarter. Previously, the clock did not start until all participants had cleared the field and the referee signaled the timekeeper to start the clock.
• Theofficials' uniforms now include a letter on the back showing their position ("R" for Referee, "U" for Umpire, "H" for Head Linesman, etc.). TheBig Eight Conference was the first to require this in the mid-1980s, followed shortly thereafter by theSouthwest Conference and thePacific-10 Conference. TheAtlantic Coast Conference,Big Ten Conference andSoutheastern Conference did not require this until the NCAA made it mandatory.

One team upgraded from Division I-AA prior to the season. As such, the total number of Division I-A schools increased again, from 111 to 112.

• TheMAC added two new members, independent (and former member)Northern Illinois and Division I-AA powerMarshall, to expand to 12 teams. The league subsequently formed two divisions and added a league championship game.
• East Carolina joined a conference for the first time since Division I split in 1978, becoming a member ofConference USA.

The preseason AP Poll listedPenn State as the top team, followed by No. 2Florida, No. 3Florida State, No. 4Washington, and No. 5Tennessee. Foreshadowing a year with a lack of consensus at the top, the Coaches Poll selected Florida rather than Penn State as their No. 1 club.

August 30: No. 2 Florida defeatedSouthern Mississippi 21–6 and No. 5 Tennessee won 52–17 over Texas Tech. The other top teams had not begun their schedules, and the next AP Poll featured No. 1 Penn State, No. 2 Florida, No. 3 Tennessee, No. 4 Washington, and No. 5 Florida State.

September 6: No. 1 Penn State defeated rival Pittsburgh 34–17, No. 2 Florida overwhelmed Central Michigan 82–6, No. 3 Tennessee staved off aUCLA comeback for a 30–24 victory, No. 4 Washington won 42–20 at No. 19Brigham Young, and No. 5 Florida State used a late 97-yard touchdown drive to beat No. 23USC 14–7. The next AP Poll featured No. 1 Penn State, No. 2 Florida, No. 3 Washington, No. 4 Tennessee, and No. 5 Florida State.

September 13: No. 1 Penn State dominated Temple 52–10. No. 2 Florida was idle. No. 3 Washington continued to move up with a 36–3 defeat of San Diego State, No. 4 Tennessee was also idle, and No. 5 Florida State crushed Maryland 50–7. The next AP Poll featured No. 1 Penn State, No. 2 Washington, No. 3 Florida, No. 4 Tennessee, and No. 5 Florida State.

September 20: No. 1 Penn State won 57–21 at Louisville, but No. 2 Washington fell 27–14 to No. 7Nebraska. No. 3 Florida and No. 4 Tennessee squared off in Gainesville, where the defending champs prevailed 33–20; Volunteers quarterbackPeyton Manning finished his career winless against the Gators in four tries.Peter Warrick had 249 receiving yards as No. 5 Florida State beat No. 16Clemson 35–28, while conference rival No. 6North Carolina won 40–14 at Maryland. Florida now took over the No. 1 spot in both polls, and they were followed in the AP rankings by No. 2 Penn State, No. 3 Nebraska, No. 4 Florida State, and No. 5 North Carolina.

September 27: No. 1 Florida won 55–28 at Kentucky. No. 2 Penn State, No. 3 Nebraska, and No. 4 Florida State were all idle, while No. 5 North Carolina defeated Virginia 48–20. The top five remained the same.

October 4: All of the highly-ranked teams won easily. No. 1 Florida blew out Arkansas 56–7, No. 2 Penn State was almost as dominant with a 41–6 victory at Illinois, No. 3 Nebraska hosted No. 17Kansas State for a 56–26 win, No. 4 Florida State shut out rival Miami 47–0, and No. 5 North Carolina beat Texas Christian 31–10 on the road. The top five again remained the same.

October 11: No. 1 Florida was upset 28–21 by No. 14LSU. No. 2 Penn State returned to the top spot with a 31–27 comeback win over No. 7Ohio State. No. 3 Nebraska won 49–21 at Baylor, No. 4 Florida State visited Duke for a 51–27 victory, No. 5 North Carolina beat Wake Forest 30–12, and No. 6Michigan defeated Northwestern 23–6. The next poll featured No. 1 Penn State, No. 2 Nebraska, No. 3 Florida State, No. 4 North Carolina, and No. 5 Michigan.

October 18: After trailing 15–3 in the fourth quarter, No. 1 Penn State scored two late touchdowns to escape mediocre Minnesota by a 16–15 score. No. 2 Nebraska was more impressive in a 29–0 shutout of Texas Tech. No. 3 Florida State also held their opponent scoreless, winning 38–0 over No. 21Georgia Tech. No. 4 North Carolina won 20–7 at North Carolina State, and No. 5 Michigan made a late comeback of their own in a 28–24 defeat of No. 15Iowa. Nebraska took over the No. 1 spot in both polls by a very close margin, followed by No. 2 Penn State, No. 3 Florida State, No. 4 North Carolina, and No. 5 Michigan.

October 25: No. 1 Nebraska posted their second straight shutout, 35–0 at Kansas. No. 2 Penn State was idle. No. 3 Florida State won 47–21 at Virginia. No. 4 North Carolina was also idle, while No. 5 Michigan posted a 23–7 defeat of No. 15Michigan State. With their second straight win over a ranked opponent, the Wolverines moved up in the next poll: No. 1 Nebraska, No. 2 Penn State, No. 3 Florida State, No. 4 Michigan, and No. 5 North Carolina.

October 30–November 1: No. 1 Nebraska overwhelmed rival Oklahoma 69–7. No. 2 Penn State had another close call, winning 30–27 at Northwestern. No. 3 Florida State defeated North Carolina State 48–35, No. 4 Michigan beat Minnesota 24–3, and No. 5 North Carolina held off Georgia Tech 16–13. The top five remained the same in the next poll.

November 8: In the "Flea Kicker" game, No. 1 Nebraska trailed Missouri 38–31 with seven seconds left. Cornhuskers quarterbackScott Frost launched a pass which bounced off the receiver's chest, off a Missouri defender's foot, off a Nebraska player's leg, and finally into the arms of Nebraska's Matt Davison for a game-tying touchdown. The Cornhuskers came away with a 45–38 overtime victory. Meanwhile, No. 2 Penn State fell 34–8 to No. 4 Michigan and No. 3 Florida State won 20–3 at No. 5 North Carolina. No. 7 Ohio State blew out Minnesota 31–3, while No. 8 Tennessee beat No. 24 Southern Mississippi 44–20. After Nebraska's struggles and Michigan and Florida State's triumphs, both polls elevated new teams to the top. The AP's top five were No. 1 Michigan, No. 2 Florida State, No. 3 Nebraska, No. 4 Ohio State, and No. 5 Tennessee, while the Coaches Poll ranked Florida State in the top spot.

November 15: No. 1 Michigan won 26–16 at No. 23Wisconsin, No. 2 Florida State blew out Wake Forest 58–7 to clinch the outright ACC title, No. 3 Nebraska destroyed Iowa State 77–14 to earn a spot in the Big 12 championship game, No. 4 Ohio State beat Illinois 41–6, and No. 5 Tennessee won 30–22 at Arkansas. The top five remained the same in the next poll.

November 22: No. 1 Michigan faced off against No. 4 Ohio State with the opportunity to clinch the Big Ten title and aRose Bowl berth. Three times in the past four years, Ohio State had entered their rivalry game undefeated only to be tripped up by the Wolverines. This time Michigan was the one with a perfect record, and they continued their winning streak over the Buckeyes with a 20–14 victory. In another rivalry game, No. 2 Florida State visited No. 10 Florida hoping to conclude an undefeated season of their own. In a back-and-forth contest with seven lead changes,Doug Johnson's 63-yard pass set up a 1-yard touchdown run byFred Taylor for a 32–29 Gators victory. No. 3 Nebraska was idle. No. 5 Tennessee won 59–31 at Kentucky to lock up the SEC Eastern Division title. No. 6 Penn State, whose Rose Bowl hopes were dashed by Michigan's win, beat No. 24 Wisconsin 35–10. Michigan now held the No. 1 spot in both polls, followed by No. 2 Nebraska, No. 3 Tennessee, No. 4 Penn State, and No. 5 Florida State.

November 29: No. 1 Michigan had finished their schedule. No. 2 Nebraska held off a late Colorado comeback for a 27–24 win. No. 3 Tennessee got past Vanderbilt 17–10. No. 4 Penn State lost 49–14 at Michigan State. No. 5 Florida State and No. 6 UCLA had finished their schedules, but both teams moved up in the next poll: No. 1 Michigan, No. 2 Nebraska, No. 3 Tennessee, No. 4 Florida State, and No. 5 UCLA.

December 6: No. 2 Nebraska annihilated No. 14Texas A&M in theBig 12 Championship Game, leading 47–3 in the fourth quarter and coming away with a 54–15 victory to enter bowl season undefeated. No. 3 Tennessee had a much harder time in theSEC Championship Game against No. 11Auburn, but Peyton Manning threw for 373 yards and four touchdowns, including a 73-yard pass in the fourth quarter which made the difference in the Volunteers' 30–29 win. With all other teams having finished their schedules, the top five remained the same in the next poll.

For the third time in four years, the Big Ten and Pac-10's contract with the Rose Bowl prevented the only two undefeated teams in the nation from meeting in a bowl game. Since No. 1 Michigan was obligated to play the Pac-10 champion (No. 8Washington State) in Pasadena, No. 2 Nebraska'sOrange Bowl opponent would be one-loss No. 3 Tennessee. Among other major bowls, theSugar would match No. 4 Florida State up against No. 9 Ohio State, theCotton would feature No. 5 UCLA and No. 20 Texas A&M, and theFiesta would pit No. 10 Kansas State against the Big East champ, No. 14Syracuse.

+Penn State and Michigan wereBig Ten teams, and Washington was aPac-10 team. The Big Ten and Pac-10 conferences played in theRose Bowl rather than theBowl Alliance championship game.

1. Michigan
2. Nebraska
3. Florida State
4. Florida
5. UCLA
6. North Carolina
7. Tennessee
8. Kansas St.
9. Washington St.
10. Georgia
11. Auburn
12. Ohio St.
13. LSU
14. Arizona St.
15. Purdue
16. Penn St.
17. Colorado St.
18. Washington
19. So. Mississippi
20. Texas A&M
21. Syracuse
22. Mississippi
23. Missouri
24. Oklahoma St.
25. Georgia Tech

Others receiving votes: 26. Arizona; 27. Oregon; 28. Air Force; 29. Marshall; 30. Virginia; 31. Clemson; 32. Louisiana Tech; 33. Mississippi St.; 34. Michigan St.; 35. Wisconsin; 36. New Mexico ; 37. Cincinnati; 38. Notre Dame; 39. Iowa; 40. Virginia Tech.

1. Nebraska
2. Michigan
3. Florida State
4. North Carolina
5. UCLA
6. Florida
7. Kansas St.
8. Tennessee
9. Washington St.
10. Georgia
11. Auburn
12. Ohio St.
13. Louisiana St.
14. Arizona St.
15. Purdue
16. Colorado St.
17. Penn St.
18. Washington
19. Southern Mississippi
20. Syracuse
21. Texas A&M
22. Mississippi
23. Missouri
24. Oklahoma St.
25. Air Force

Others receiving votes: 26. Clemson (58); 27. Georgia Tech (55); 28. Iowa (32); 29. Louisiana Tech (31); 30. Oregon (25); 31. Cincinnati (24); 32. Arizona (23); 33. Mississippi St. (20); 34. Michigan St. (16); 35. New Mexico and Wisconsin (13); 37. Tulane (10); 38. Virginia (9); 39. West Virginia (7); 40. Marshall (4); 41. Notre Dame (1).

TheHeisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player

• Maxwell Award (College Player of the Year) –Peyton Manning,Tennessee
• Walter Camp Award (Back) –Charles Woodson,Michigan
• Davey O'Brien Award (Quarterback) –Peyton Manning,Tennessee
• Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (Senior Quarterback) –Peyton Manning,Tennessee
• Doak Walker Award (Running Back) –Ricky Williams,Texas
• Fred Biletnikoff Award (Wide Receiver) –Randy Moss,Marshall
• Bronko Nagurski Trophy (Defensive Player) –Charles Woodson,Michigan
• Dick Butkus Award (Linebacker) –Andy Katzenmoyer,Ohio St.
• Lombardi Award (Lineman or Linebacker) –Grant Wistrom,Nebraska
• Outland Trophy (Interior Lineman) –Aaron Taylor,Nebraska
• Jim Thorpe Award (Defensive Back) –Charles Woodson,Michigan
• Lou Groza Award (Placekicker) –Martin Gramatica,Kansas State
• Paul "Bear" Bryant Award –Lloyd Carr,Michigan
• Football Writers Association of America Coach of the Year Award:Mike Price,Washington St.

• 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season

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