American college football season
The1997 Washington State Cougars football team was anAmerican football team that representedWashington State University in thePacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the1997 NCAA Division I-A football season . In their ninth season under head coachMike Price , the Cougars went 10–1 in the regular season (7–1 inPac-10 ), won the conference championship,[ 1] Michigan in theRose Bowl ,[ 2] [ 3] [ 4] [ 5] [ 6] Martin Stadium inPullman, Washington , and were ninth in thefinal rankings .
The team's statistical leaders includedRyan Leaf with 3,968 passing yards, Michael Black with 1,181 rushing yards, andChris Jackson with 1,005 receiving yards.[ 7] Lamont Thompson led the team with 6 interceptions.[ 8]
The Rose Bowl appearance was the first for Washington State in67 years ;[ 1] [ 9] five years later .[ 10] [ 11]
Leaf decided to forgo his remaining season of eligibility (1998 ) and entered the1998 NFL draft ,[ 12] [ 13] [ 14] [ 15] [ 16]
Date Time Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance August 30 12:30 pm UCLA ABC W 37–3426,000 September 13 3:30 pm at No. 23USC FSN W 28–2151,655 September 20 9:30 am atIllinois * No. 19 ESPN2 W 35–2247,131 September 27 2:00 pm Boise State * No. 15 Martin Stadium Pullman, WA W 58–034,131 October 4 1:00 pm atOregon No. 15 W 24–1343,516 October 18 2:00 pm California No. 13 Martin Stadium Pullman, WA W 63–3735,739 October 25 12:30 pm Arizona No. 10 Martin Stadium Pullman, WA ABC W 35–34OT 31,137 November 1 7:00 pm at No. 20Arizona State No. 10 FSN L 31–4473,644 November 8 2:00 pm Southwestern Louisiana * No. 16 Martin Stadium Pullman, WA W 77–732,345 November 15 2:00 pm Stanford No. 14 Martin Stadium Pullman, WA W 38–2840,306 November 22 12:30 pm at No. 20Washington No. 11 ABC W 41–3574,268 January 1 , 19982:00 pm vs. No. 1Michigan * No. 8 ABC L 16–21101,219 *Non-conference game Rankings fromAP Poll released prior to the game All times are inPacific time
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking██ Decrease in ranking Week Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Final AP — — — — 19 15 15 12 13 10 10 16 14 11 10 8 8 9 Coaches — — — — 20 14 15 12 13 10 10 15 13 11 10 7 7 9
UCLA at Washington State
Team 1 2 3 4 Total Bruins (0–0) 7 7 13 7 34 •Cougars (0–0) 3 27 7 0 37
Scoring summary 1 UCLA Skip Hicks 2-yard run (Chris Sailer kick)UCLA 7–0 WSU Rian Lindell ?-yard field goal UCLA 7–3 2 14:43 UCLA Skip Hicks 9-yard run (Chris Sailer kick) UCLA 14–3 11:07 WSU Michael Black 17-yard run (Rian Lindell kick) UCLA 14–10 8:13 WSU Nian Talor 57-yard pass from Ryan Leaf (Rian Lindell kick failed) WSU 16–14 4:35 WSU Ryan Leaf 1-yard run (Rian Lindell kick) WSU 23–14 0:54 WSU Nian Talor 29-yard pass from Ryan Leaf (Rian Lindell kick failed) WSU 30–14 3 12:50 UCLA Skip Hicks 2-yard run (kick failed) WSU 30–21 11:51 WSU Chris Jackson 78-yard pass from Ryan Leaf (Rian Lindell kick) WSU 37–21 2:22 UCLA Danny Farmer 6-yard pass fromCade McNown (pass failed)WSU 37–27 4 14:13 UCLA Skip Hicks 4-yard run (Chris Sailer kick) WSU 37–34
UCLA took a 14-3 lead early in the second quarter, but Washington State exploded for 27 unanswered points to end the half. The Cougars led by as many as 16 on two occasions, but clung to just a 3-point lead late in the game. UCLA had a 4th and goal from the one-yard line with 2:50 remaining, but the Cougars stood tall to emerge victorious.[ 17]
Washington State at USC
Team 1 2 3 4 Total •Cougars (1–0) 7 14 0 7 28 No. 23 Trojans (1–0) 0 6 7 8 21
Scoring summary 1 4:14 WSU McWashington 3-yard pass from Ryan Leaf (Rian Lindell kick) WSU 7–0 2 13:27 WSU Michael Black 16-yard run (Rian Lindell kick) WSU 14–0 7:12 USC M. MacKenzie 1-yard run (Adam Abrams kick blocked) WSU 14–6 0:50 WSU Love Jefferson 6-yard pass from Ryan Leaf (Rian Lindell kick) WSU 21–6 3 14:44 USC R. Jay Soward 95-yard kickoff return (Adam Abrams kick)WSU 21–13 4 12:44 USC M. Bastianelli 15-yard pass from LaVale Woods (Billy Miller pass) Tied 21–21 4:18 WSU Keven McKenzie 51-yard pass from Ryan Leaf (Rian Lindell kick) WSU 28–21
Washington State defeated No. 23 USC in Los Angeles for the first time since 1957.[ 18] [ 19]
Washington State at Illinois
Team 1 2 3 4 Total •No. 19 Cougars (2–0) 7 0 7 21 35 Fighting Illini (0–2) 0 7 7 8 22
[ 20]
Boise State at Washington State
Team 1 2 3 4 Total Broncos (2–2) 0 0 0 0 0 •No. 15 Cougars (3–0) 14 17 17 10 58
[ 21]
Washington State at Oregon
Team 1 2 3 4 Total •No. 15 Cougars (4–0) 7 7 7 3 24 Ducks (3–1) 0 3 0 10 13
[ 22]
[ 23]
At No. 20 Arizona State [ edit ] Washington State at Arizona State
Team 1 2 3 4 Total No. 10 Cougars (7–0) 0 7 10 14 31 •No. 20 Sun Devils (5–2) 7 17 0 20 44
Scoring summary 1 ASU Lenzie Jackson 13-yard pass from Ryan Kealy (Nycz kick)ASU 7–0 2 ASU Kenny Mitchell 8-yard pass from Ryan Kealy (Nycz kick) ASU 14–0 ASU Nycz FG ASU 17–0 7:43 ASU TD pass from Ryan Kealy (Nycz kick) ASU 24–0 WSU TD pass from Ryan Leaf (Rian Lindell kick) ASU 24–7 3 ASU Rian Lindell 43-yard field goal ASU 24–10 1:17 WSU DeJuan Gilmore 2-yard run (Rian Lindell kick) ASU 24–17 4 13:18 WSU Shawn McWashington 11-yard pass from Ryan Leaf (Ryan Leaf run) WSU 25–24 9:57 ASU Tariq McDonald 5-yard pass from Ryan Kealy (conversion failed) ASU 30–25 2:55 ASU Hamilton Mee 66-yard fumble return (Nycz kick) ASU 37–25 2:32 ASU Derrick Ford fumble recovery in end zone (Nycz kick) ASU 44–25 WSU TD pass from Ryan Leaf (Rian Lindell kick) ASU 44–31
After trailing 24–0 midway through the second quarter, Washington State rallied to take a 25–24 lead early in the fourth quarter. After Arizona State answered with a touchdown, the Cougars were driving again. However, the Cougars were doomed by two late fumbles that were both returned for touchdowns.[ 24]
Southwestern Louisiana [ edit ] [ 25]
[ 26]
At No. 20 Washington [ edit ] [ 27]
[ edit ] Team 1 2 3 4 Total No. 8 Cougars (10–1) 7 0 6 3 16 •No. 1 Wolverines (11–0) 0 7 7 7 21
Scoring summary 1 3:17 WSU Kevin McKenzie 15-yard pass fromRyan Leaf (Rian Lindell kick)WSU 7–0 2 7:08 MICH Tai Streets 53-yard pass fromBrian Griese (Jay Feely kick)Tied 7–7 3 8:23 WSU Shawn Tims 14-yard run (kick failed) WSU 13–7 5:07 MICH Tai Streets 58-yard pass from Brian Griese (Kraig Baker kick) MICH 14–13 4 11:21 MICH Jerame Tuman 23-yard pass from Brian Griese (Kraig Baker kick)MICH 21–13 7:25 WSU Rian Lindell 48-yard field goal MICH 21–16
[ 28]
1997 Washington State Cougars football team roster Players Coaches Offense Defense Special teams Head coach Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain(S) Suspended(I) Ineligible
[ 29] [ 30]
Four Cougars were selected in the1998 NFL draft ; quarterbackRyan Leaf was taken second overall.
[ 14] [ 16] [ 31]
^a b de Leon, Virginia; Sorensen, Eric (November 23, 1997)."A Wazzu bouquet" .Spokesman-Review . Spokane, Washington. p. A1. ^ Grummert, Dale (January 2, 1998)."Cougs fall one miracle short" .Lewiston Morning Tribune . p. 1A. ^ Kearney, Trevor (January 2, 1998)."A Rose to remember" .Moscow-Pullman Daily News . Idaho-Washington. p. 1B. ^ Rosenblatt, Richard (January 2, 1998)."Michigan's No. 1 bid blooms" .Eugene Register-Guard . Oregon. Associated Press. p. 1C. ^ "1997 Washington State Cougars Schedule and Results" .SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. RetrievedOctober 24, 2016 .^ "2016 Media Guide" (PDF) .WSUCougars.com . Washington State Cougars Athletics. p. 77. Archived fromthe original (PDF) on October 21, 2016. RetrievedOctober 24, 2016 .^ "1997 Washington State Cougars Stats" .SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. RetrievedOctober 24, 2016 .^ "1997 Washington State Cougars Stats" .^ Grummert, Dale (January 1, 1998)."Moment of truth" .Lewiston Morning Tribune . p. 1B. ^ Richardson, Vince (January 1, 2003)."The game has arrived" .Moscow-Pullman Daily News . Idaho-Washington. p. 1B. ^ Grummert, Dale (January 2, 2003)."A thorny sendoff" .Lewiston Morning Tribune . p. 1B. ^ Grummert, Dale (January 3, 1998)."Change of venue" .Lewiston Morning Tribune . p. 1B. ^ Bruscas, Angelo (January 3, 1998)."Cougars' Leaf bound for NFL" .Eugene Register-Guard . Oregon. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer). p. 3D. ^a b "Manning No. 1, Leaf gladly No. 2" .Lewiston Morning Tribune . staff and wire reports. April 19, 1998. p. 1B.^ "Indianapolis snaps up Manning at No. 1" .Eugene Register-Guard . Oregon. Associated Press. April 19, 1998. p. 1G.^a b Jewell, Mark (April 20, 1998)."Draft goes over well in Pullman" .Moscow-Pullman Daily News . Idaho-Washington. Associated Press. p. 1C. ^ "No More Please, Bruins Stuffed" .The Los Angeles Times . RetrievedSeptember 24, 2022 .^ "It Was a History-Making Event for Cougars" .The Los Angeles Times . RetrievedSeptember 24, 2022 .^ "The Catch. The Block. Vanquishing History" .WSU Athletics . September 1, 2013. RetrievedSeptember 24, 2022 .^ "Cougs Wake Up In Time Illinois Can't Capitalize On WSU's Sloppy Play" .The Spokesman-Review . RetrievedSeptember 25, 2022 .^ "Cougs Win, No Sweat Unbeaten WSU Outmuscles Boise State" .The Spokesman-Review . RetrievedSeptember 25, 2022 .^ "Cougars Get It Done Quickly" .The Los Angeles Times . RetrievedSeptember 25, 2022 .^ "Wildcats Go for Broke, Fall Short" .The Los Angeles Times . RetrievedSeptember 25, 2022 .^ "Sun Devils Turn Over a Leaf in Pac-10" .The Los Angeles Times . RetrievedSeptember 25, 2022 .^ "Washington St. Rights Itself With 77-7 Win" .The Los Angeles Times . RetrievedSeptember 25, 2022 .^ "Washington St. Still Standing" .The Los Angeles Times . RetrievedSeptember 25, 2022 .^ "Leaf Has Turned in Washington" .The Los Angeles Times . RetrievedSeptember 24, 2022 .^ " .The Washington Post . RetrievedSeptember 25, 2022 .^ "Oregon Outlook" .Eugene Register-Guard . Oregon. October 4, 1997. p. 4D.^ "Stanford at WSU: stat leaders" .Lewiston Morning Tribune . November 15, 1997. p. 4B.^ "1998 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com" .Pro-Football-Reference.com the original on December 21, 2007.
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons
Pacific Coast AAWU Pacific-8 Pacific-10 Pac-12 National championships inbold
