American college football season
The 1997 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season . The team was led by 25th-year head coach Tom Osborne and played their home games in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska . The Cornhuskers competed as members of the Big 12 Conference in the league's second year of existence.
The Cornhuskers compiled a perfect 13–0 record and claimed their third national championship in four years. Nebraska was ranked first in the final Coaches Poll of the year, but was ranked second behind Michigan (also undefeated, at 12–0) in the final AP Poll . Of the 20 official championship selectors designated by the NCAA, 13 selected Nebraska as national champions, six selected Michigan, and one declared them co-champions.[ 1] It remains one of the most hotly contested national championship debates in college football history.[ 2]
Nebraska secured their first Big 12 Conference championship by defeating Texas A&M by a score of 54–15 in the Big 12 Championship Game . Nebraska had been upset by Texas in the inaugural Big 12 Championship Game in 1996 . The season ended with a 42–17 victory over No. 3 Tennessee in the 1998 Orange Bowl for their fourth consecutive major bowl victory.
The Nebraska offense, which led the country in scoring, was led by quarterback Scott Frost and running back Ahman Green . Frost became just the tenth player in college football history to both pass and run for 1,000 yards. Green finished second in the country in rushing yards with 1,877 yards, and tied for third in touchdowns with 22.[ 3] Offensive lineman Aaron Taylor was named a consensus All-American and was the recipient of the Outland Trophy . The Cornhusker defense was anchored by All-American defensive linemen Jason Peter and Grant Wistrom , winner of the Lombardi Award .
Head coach Tom Osborne announced after the regular season that the Orange Bowl would be his final game as head coach. He retired as Nebraska's all-time winningest coach, and was sixth in wins all-time in major college football history at the time of his retirement.[ 4]
Date Time Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance Source August 30 1:00 pm Akron * No. 6 W 59–1475,124 September 13 12:30 pm UCF * No. 6 Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE W 38–2475,327 September 20 2:30 pm at No. 2 Washington * No. 7 ABC W 27–1474,023 October 4 6:00 pm No. 17 Kansas State No. 3 Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry ) FSN W 56–2675,856 October 11 6:00 pm at Baylor No. 3 W 49–2138,175 October 18 12:30 pm Texas Tech No. 2 Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE W 29–075,764 October 25 6:00 pm at Kansas No. 1 FSN W 35–042,000 November 1 2:30 pm Oklahoma No. 1 Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry ) ABC W 69–775,926 November 8 2:30 pm at Missouri No. 1 ABC W 45–38 OT 66,846 November 15 11:30 am Iowa State No. 3 Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE FSN W 77–1475,613 1:30 pm at Colorado No. 2 ABC W 27–2452,738 December 6 3:30 pm vs. No. 14 Texas A&M No. 2 ABC W 54–1564,824 , 19987:00 pm vs. No. 3 Tennessee * No. 2 CBS W 42–1774,002 [ 5] *Non-conference game HomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central 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 6 6 6 6 7 3 3 3 2 1 1 1 3 3 2 2 2 2 Coaches 6 6 5 6 3 3 3 2 1 1 1 3 3 2 2 2 1
Akron at Nebraska 1 2 3 4 Total Akron 0 0 7 7 14 • Nebraska 14 24 14 7 59
UCF at Nebraska 1 2 3 4 Total UCF 7 10 0 7 24 • Nebraska 0 14 17 7 38
Nebraska at Washington 1 2 3 4 Total • Nebraska 14 7 0 6 27 Washington 0 7 7 0 14
Nebraska at Baylor 1 2 3 4 Total • Nebraska 14 28 7 0 49 Baylor 7 0 0 14 21
Texas Tech at Nebraska 1 2 3 4 Total Texas Tech 0 0 0 0 0 • Nebraska 3 10 9 7 29
Nebraska at Kansas 1 2 3 4 Total • Nebraska 7 14 0 14 35 Kansas 0 0 0 0 0
Oklahoma at Nebraska 1 2 3 4 Total Oklahoma 0 0 7 0 7 • Nebraska 20 14 21 14 69
Nebraska at Missouri 1 2 3 4 OT Total • Nebraska 14 7 7 10 7 45 Missouri 7 17 7 7 0 38
Iowa State at Nebraska 1 2 3 4 Total Iowa State 7 0 0 7 14 • Nebraska 35 28 7 7 77
Nebraska at Colorado 1 2 3 4 Total • Nebraska 3 7 17 0 27 Colorado 0 3 7 14 24
Texas A&M vs Nebraska 1 2 3 4 Total Texas A&M 0 3 0 12 15 • Nebraska 16 21 3 14 54
Tennessee vs Nebraska 1 2 3 4 Total Tennessee 0 3 6 8 17 • Nebraska 7 7 21 7 42
1997 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team roster Players Coaches Offense Pos. # Name Class FB 38 Dan Alexander Fr OL Steve Altstadt Fr OT 70 Eric Anderson Sr TE 94 Travis Antholz So WB 82 Sean Applegate So C 52 Matt Baldwin So G 76 Sasho Becvarovski Fr SE 20 Tom Beveridge Fr WB 14 Lance Brown Jr IB 36 Correll Buckhalter Fr TE 90 Tim Carpenter Sr SE 6 Kenny Cheatham Jr QB 9 Monte Christo Jr OT 68 Jeff Clausen So FB 42 Josh Cobb Jr WB Ben Cornelsen Fr WB Tyler Cotten Fr QB Eric Crouch Fr SE 3 Matt Davison Fr TE 85 T.J. DeBates So SE Luke Denney Fr OT 77 Billy Diekmann Fr SE 2 J.R. Edwards So IB 4 DeAngelo Evans So WB 12 Demond Finister So SE 83 Craig Fischer So SE Pat Friesen Fr QB 7 Scott Frost Sr WB Paul Fujan Fr OT 74 Lonnie Fulton So SE 10 Mike Gentile Fr G 72 Ben Gessford Jr WB 27 John Gibson Fr IB Marcus Giles Fr FB Nick Gragert Fr IB 30 Ahman Green Jr OL Mike Green Fr SE 80 Billy Haafke Jr G 53 Aaron Havlovic So OT 51 Kyle Henson Jr C 59 Josh Heskew Jr G 55 Russ Hochstein Fr G 62 Matt Hoskinson Sr TE 88 Sheldon Jackson Jr TE 34 Vershan Jackson Sr G 56 Marcus Johnson So SE Nate Johnson Fr WB Jordan Jones Fr OT 69 Adam Julch So FB 22 Ben Kingston So TE 87 Chad Kobus So OL Kyle Kollmorgen Fr SE 89 Jeff (Robert) Lake Sr FB 40 Billy Legate Jr QB 1 Frankie London So FB 45 Joel Makovicka Jr TE 41 Jake McKee Fr FB 32 Willie Miller Fr TE 81 John Murphy Fr QB 12 Bobby Newcombe Fr IB 37 Jason Olnes So IB 36 Hank Piening Fr OT 73 Fred Pollack Sr OT 57 Ryan Preister Fr C Dominic Raiola Fr OL Buck Rasmussen Fr TE 86 Dorrick Roy Jr QB 16 Jay Runty Fr G Jon Rutherford Fr G 79 Chris Saalfeld Fr FB 21 Matt Schoening Fr OT 65 Jason Schwab So C 54 Doug Seaman Sr G 63 James Sherman So IB 31 James Sims Sr IB 25 Travis Soucie Fr FB 43 Jeremy Stanislav Fr OT 95 Jim Tansey So G 67 Aaron Taylor Sr OT 71 Mike Van Cleave Sr WB 26 Casey Vanderhoef Fr OL Dave Volk Fr G 61 Brandt Wade Jr RB Dan White Fr WB 33 Sean Wieting Sr WB 5 Shevin Wiggins Jr QB 3 Chad Wiles Fr FB 24 Andy Winkler So TE Tracey Wistrom Fr G 64 Jon Zatechka Sr
Defense Pos. # Name Class DT 95 Derek Allen So DT 89 Luis Almanzar Fr LCB 28 Josh Anderson Fr WLB 40 Erick Arens So WLB 36 Rod Baker Fr RE 87 Chris Bassett Sr LCB 24 Jason Benes Sr DB Mic Boettner Fr DB Dion Booker Fr ROV 21 Mike Brown So RCB 22 Ralph Brown So MLB 39 Ben Buettenback So LB Grant Bunton Fr LB Jamie Burrow Fr LB Jon Coyne Fr SLB 54 Chris Deitloff Fr DB Damian Demps Fr RCB 2 Leslie Dennis Sr ROV 17 George Dittrick Fr DT 58 Brandon Drum Jr DT 61 Jason Dush Fr FS 33 Mitch Ebke Fr FS John Eisenberg So FS 20 Clint Finley Fr FS 5 Eric Fischer Fr MLB 44 Jay Foreman Jr SLB 34 Russell Froehlich Jr RCB 18 Jay Gates Sr DT 77 Bobby Gill So RE 75 Matt Grummert Fr RE 9 George Guidry Fr LB Chris Gustafson Fr FS 45 Brad Hamik Fr CB 2 Brandon Harrison Jr SLB 49 Quint Hogrefe Jr DB Matt Ickes Fr WLB 50 Julius Jackson So WLB 1 Eric Johnson Jr DT 88 Dave Jones Sr DT 91 Loran Kaiser Fr RE 57 Chad Kelsay Jr WLB 47 Josh Kohl So RE 82 Curt Lenners Sr ROV 29 Gregg List So ROV 6 Kalin Makaiwi Jr DT 97 Glen Matthews Jr DT 85 Jason McCullough Jr WLB 4 Octavious McFarlin Sr DL Matt McGinn Fr FS 25 Greg McGraw So LB Levi Mehl Fr DT 78 Tom Milius So RE 93 Brandon Mooberry Fr SLB 37 Tony Ortiz So LB Jon Penny Fr DT 55 Jason Peter Sr LCB 11 Jerome Peterson So MLB 13 Carlos Polk Fr ROV 14 Brandon Quindt Fr SLB 23 Steve Raymond So RCB 10 Khari Reynolds Fr LB Brandon Roth Fr RE 84 Mike Rucker Jr RE 80 Eric Ryan So SLB 46 Brian Shaw So RE 76 Scott Siebenborn Fr LB Ryan Svoboda Fr DB 16 Erwin Swiney Fr LB Nick Terrio Fr DT 79 Ross Tessendorf Jr DB Alik Tillery Fr RE 92 Travis Toline Jr DB Arion Turner Fr MLB 48 Chad Tuttle Fr MLB 56 Noland Urban Fr LB Simon Van Boening Fr RE 83 Kyle Vanden Bosch Fr LB Mark Vedral Fr CB 27 Joe Walker Fr DT 94 Brian Walters Fr FS 32 Eric Walther Jr RE 90 Brandon Wardyn Fr FS 3 Eric Warfield Sr DT 96 Steve Warren So ROV 42 Troy Watchorn Fr LB J.P. (John Paul) Wichmann Fr RE 81 Aaron Wills So DT 99 Jason Wiltz Jr RE 98 Grant Wistrom Sr DB Wes Woodward Fr RE 38 Brendan Zahl Sr
Special teams Head coach Coordinators/assistant coaches Charlie McBride 17th season as DC/DL coach 21st year at Nebraska Alma mater: Colorado Turner Gill 6th season as QB coach 6th year at Nebraska Alma mater: Nebraska Craig Bohl 3rd season as LB coach 6th year at Nebraska Alma mater: Nebraska Ron Brown 11th season as WR/TE coach 11th year at Nebraska Alma mater: Brown Dan Young 15th season as OL/K coach 15th year at Nebraska Alma mater: Reed Milt Tenopir 24th season as OL coach 24th year at Nebraska Alma mater: Sterling Nelson Barnes 1st season as RE coach 1st year at Nebraska Alma mater: North Texas George Darlington DB coach 25th year at Nebraska Alma mater: Rutgers Frank Solich 15th season as RB coach 19th year at Nebraska Alma mater: Nebraska Boyd Epley 29th season as S&C coach 29th year at Nebraska Alma mater: Nebraska Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: 2011-01-17
Defense
FS Eric Warfield Clint Finley Eric Walther
WILL MIKE SAM Octavious McFarlin Jay Foreman Brian Shaw Eric Johnson Carlos Polk Tony Ortiz Juiles Jackson Ben Buettenback Quint Hogrefe
ROVER Mike Brown Brandon Quindt Gregg List
CB Erwin Swiney Joe Walker Brandon Harrison
DE DT DT DE Grant Wistrom Jason Peter Jason Wiltz Chad Kelsay Mike Rucker Travis Toline Brandon Drum Steve Warren Kyle Vanden Bosch Aaron Wills Loran Kaiser Derek Allen Brandon Mooberry
CB Ralph Brown Jerome Peterson Khari Reynolds
Offense
WR Kenny Cheatham Jeff Lake Matt Davison ⋅
LT LG C RG RT Fred Pollack Aaron Taylor Josh Heskew Jon Zatechka Eric Anderson Adam Julch James Sherman Matt Hoskinson Matt Hoskinson Jason Schwab Mike Van Cleave Brandt Wade Matt Baldwin Ben Gessford Jeff Clausen
TE Vershan Jackson Tim Carpenter Sheldon Jackson T.J DeBates
WR Lance Brown Bobby Newcombe Shevin Wiggins ⋅
QB Scott Frost Frankie London Monte Christo
RB Ahman Green Correll Buckhalter James Sims
FB Joel Machovicka Billy Legate Willie Miller
QB Scott Frost : 88/159 (55.3%) for 1,237 yards (7.80) with 5 TD vs. 4 INT (2.52%). 176 carries for 1,095 yards (6.22) and 19 TD. RB Ahman Green : 278 carries for 1,877 yards (6.75) with 22 TD. 16 catches for 151 yards and 0 TD. FB Joel Makovicka : 105 carries for 685 yards (6.52) and 9 TD. RB Correll Buckhalter : 54 carries for 311 yards (5.76) and 6 TD. WR Lance Brown: 12 catches for 226 yards (18.83) and 0 TD. WR Matt Davison: 10 catches for 219 yards (21.90) and 1 TD. Nebraska Head Coach Tom Osborne announced his retirement just prior to the 1998 Orange bowl, capping a remarkable career of success. The #2 Cornhuskers handily defeated the #3 Tennessee Volunteers 42-17, while #1 Michigan defeated #7 Washington State team 21-16. In postgame coverage on the field, Nebraska quarterback Scott Frost openly lobbied Coaches Poll voters for support based on performance comparisons between Nebraska and Michigan.[ 6] The voters apparently agreed, as Nebraska was ranked #1 in the final Coaches Poll, while Michigan retained their pre-bowl #1 ranking in the AP Poll , creating a split National Championship . The 1997 Huskers set an NCAA record that still stands by scoring an average of 5.5 rushing touchdowns per game (66 rushing touchdowns in twelve games, not including the six scored in the Orange Bowl).[ 7]
[ 8]
Award Name(s) Lombardi Award Grant Wistrom Outland Trophy Aaron Taylor Big 12 Male Athlete of the Year Grant Wistrom All-America 1st team Jason Peter , Aaron Taylor, Grant Wistrom All-America 2nd team Ahman Green All-America 3rd team Eric Anderson All-Big 12 1st team Eric Anderson, Mike Brown , Ralph Brown , Scott Frost , Ahman Green, Jason Peter, Aaron Taylor, Grant Wistrom All-Big 12 2nd team Jay Foreman All-Big 12 3rd team Josh Heskew, Chad Kelsay, Eric Warfield , Jon Zatechka All-Big 12 honorable mention Kris Brown , Jesse Kosch, Joel Makovicka , Fred Pollack, Mike Rucker , Jason Wiltz
NFL and pro players [ edit ] The following Nebraska players who participated in the 1997 season later moved on to the next level and joined a professional or semi-pro team as draftees or free agents.[ 9]
^ 2017 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF) . Indianapolis: The National Collegiate Athletic Association. July 2017. p. 115. Retrieved June 11, 2019 . ^ Ogden, Tim (July 30, 2009). "1997 The Great Debate" . Bleacher Report . ^ "1997 College Football Year Summary" . Sports-Reference.com . Retrieved June 11, 2019 . ^ Moran, Malcolm (December 11, 1997). "After 25 seasons, Osborne to retire" . The New York Times . ^ "Tie-tle; Huskers, Michigan are co-champions" . The Kansas City Star . January 3, 1998. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com . ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : "Scott Frost Nebraska Head Coach" . YouTube . ^ "Football Bowl Subdivision Records" (PDF) . NCAA. 2010. ^ 1997 Husker Honors ^ "All Time NFL Huskers" . Archived from the original on August 15, 2009. Retrieved May 21, 2009 .
Venues Bowls and rivalries Culture and lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold
National championships in bold