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1997 Georgia Tech

7–⁠5 (5–⁠3 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by George O’Leary, finished No. 25 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Georgia Tech in 1997, game by game: lost at No. 11 Notre Dame 13–17; won at Wake Forest 28–26; won vs. No. 17 Clemson 23–20; won at Boston College 42–14; won vs. NC State 27–17; lost at No. 3 Florida State 0–38; lost vs. No. 5 North Carolina 13–16; lost at Virginia 31–35; won at Duke 41–38; won vs. Maryland 37–18; lost vs. No. 14 Georgia 24–27; won vs. West Virginia 35–30+28−38Lost 13–17 at No. 11 Notre Dame-4No. 11 Notre DameWon 28–26 at Wake Forest+2Wake ForestWon 23–20 vs. No. 17 Clemson+3No. 17 ClemsonWon 42–14 at Boston College+28Boston CollegeWon 27–17 vs. NC State+10NC StateLost 0–38 at No. 3 Florida State-38No. 3 Florida StateLost 13–16 vs. No. 5 North Carolina-3No. 5 North CarolinaLost 31–35 at Virginia-4VirginiaWon 41–38 at Duke+3DukeWon 37–18 vs. Maryland+19MarylandLost 24–27 vs. No. 14 Georgia-3No. 14 GeorgiaWon 35–30 vs. West Virginia+5West Virginia
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 6at11Notre DameL 13–⁠1724%
Sep 20atWake ForestW 28–⁠2654%
Sep 27vs17ClemsonW 23–⁠2048%
Oct 4atBoston CollegeW 42–⁠1449%
Oct 11vsNC StateW 27–⁠1765%
Oct 18at3Florida StateL 0–⁠3818%
Oct 30vs5North CarolinaL 13–⁠1632%
Nov 8atVirginiaL 31–⁠3534%
Nov 15atDukeW 41–⁠3869%
Nov 22vsMarylandW 37–⁠1880%
Nov 29vs14GeorgiaL 24–⁠2742%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvsWest VirginiaCarquest BowlW 35–⁠3042%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat West Virginia 35–⁠30 in the Carquest Bowl; No. 25 in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 75th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 8: 25
  2. Wk 9: 21
  3. Final: 25

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
7–⁠5
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 3rd in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 25 peak No. 21
Points
314–⁠296
Coach
George O’Leary
Elo
1542 +66 this season
SP+ rating
12.0 No. 31 of 112; offense No. 30, defense No. 34
SRS
8.6 No. 31 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Ralph Friedgen
Defensive coordinator
Dave Huxtable

Drafted in 1998

The 1998 draft
Rd 1Keith Brooking LBAtlanta Falcons
Rd 6Ron Rogers LBBaltimore Ravens

All-ACC

1 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1997 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1997 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Florida State8–⁠011–⁠13
North Carolina7–⁠111–⁠16
Virginia5–⁠37–⁠4
Georgia Tech5–⁠37–⁠525
Clemson4–⁠47–⁠5
NC State3–⁠56–⁠5
Wake Forest3–⁠55–⁠6
Maryland1–⁠72–⁠9
Duke0–⁠82–⁠9

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