CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1997 Fresno State

6–⁠6 (5–⁠3 Western Athletic Conference), coached by Pat Hill.

Schedule and results

Fresno State in 1997, game by game: won vs. Portland State 35–7; lost vs. Baylor 35–37; lost at Oklahoma State 0–35; lost at Oregon 40–43; won vs. Utah 27–13; lost at Hawai’i 16–28; won at No. 18 Air Force 20–17; won vs. UNLV 46–28; won at San José State 53–12; lost at Colorado State 3–41; lost vs. San Diego State 19–20; won vs. Wyoming 24–7+41−38Won 35–7 vs. Portland State+28Portland StateLost 35–37 vs. Baylor-2BaylorLost 0–35 at Oklahoma State-35Oklahoma StateLost 40–43 at Oregon-3OregonWon 27–13 vs. Utah+14UtahLost 16–28 at Hawai’i-12Hawai’iWon 20–17 at No. 18 Air Force+3No. 18 Air ForceWon 46–28 vs. UNLV+18UNLVWon 53–12 at San José State+41San José StateLost 3–41 at Colorado State-38Colorado StateLost 19–20 vs. San Diego State-1San Diego StateWon 24–7 vs. Wyoming+17Wyoming
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsPortland StateW 35–⁠785%
Sep 6vsBaylorL 35–⁠3760%
Sep 13atOklahoma StateL 0–⁠3533%
Sep 20atOregonL 40–⁠4321%
Oct 2vsUtahW 27–⁠1336%
Oct 11atHawai’iL 16–⁠2858%
Oct 18at18Air ForceW 20–⁠1715%
Oct 25vsUNLVW 46–⁠2870%
Nov 1atSan José StateW 53–⁠1257%
Nov 8atColorado StateL 3–⁠4124%
Nov 15vsSan Diego StateL 19–⁠2054%
Nov 22vsWyomingW 24–⁠742%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Wyoming 24–⁠7; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Western Athletic Conference.

In program history: The 33rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 97 on file).

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1997.

Record
6–⁠6
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 4th in Western Athletic Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
318–⁠288
Coach
Pat Hill
Elo
1492 +60 this season
SP+ rating
0.8 No. 62 of 112; offense No. 59, defense No. 63
SRS
−1.6 No. 62 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Jeff Tedford
Defensive coordinator
Kevin Coyle
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1998

The 1998 draft
Rd 3Chris Conrad OTPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 4Michael Pittman RBArizona Cardinals

1997 Western Athletic Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Colorado State7–⁠111–⁠217
Air Force6–⁠210–⁠3
New Mexico6–⁠29–⁠4
Rice5–⁠37–⁠4
Utah5–⁠36–⁠5
SMU5–⁠36–⁠5
Fresno State5–⁠36–⁠6
BYU4–⁠46–⁠5
Wyoming4–⁠47–⁠6
San Diego State4–⁠45–⁠7
San José State4–⁠44–⁠7
UTEP3–⁠54–⁠7
UNLV2–⁠63–⁠8
Tulsa2–⁠62–⁠9
Hawai’i1–⁠73–⁠9
TCU1–⁠71–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.