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1997 Georgia

10–⁠2 (6–⁠2 Southeastern Conference), coached by Jim Donnan, finished No. 10 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Georgia in 1997, game by game: won vs. Arkansas State 38–7; won vs. South Carolina 31–15; won vs. UL Monroe 42–3; won vs. Mississippi State 47–0; lost at No. 9 Tennessee 13–38; won at Vanderbilt 34–13; won vs. Kentucky 23–13; won vs. No. 6 Florida 37–17; lost vs. No. 16 Auburn 34–45; won at Ole Miss 21–14; won at Georgia Tech 27–24; won vs. Wisconsin 33–6+47−25Won 38–7 vs. Arkansas State+31Arkansas StateWon 31–15 vs. South Carolina+16South CarolinaWon 42–3 vs. UL Monroe+39UL MonroeWon 47–0 vs. Mississippi State+47Mississippi Sta…Lost 13–38 at No. 9 Tennessee-25No. 9 TennesseeWon 34–13 at Vanderbilt+21VanderbiltWon 23–13 vs. Kentucky+10KentuckyWon 37–17 vs. No. 6 Florida+20No. 6 FloridaLost 34–45 vs. No. 16 Auburn-11No. 16 AuburnWon 21–14 at Ole Miss+7Ole MissWon 27–24 at Georgia Tech+3Georgia TechWon 33–6 vs. Wisconsin+27Wisconsin
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsArkansas StateW 38–⁠771%
Sep 13vsSouth CarolinaW 31–⁠1559%
Sep 20vsUL MonroeW 42–⁠381%
Oct 4vsMississippi StateW 47–⁠066%
Oct 11at9TennesseeL 13–⁠3828%
Oct 18atVanderbiltW 34–⁠1363%
Oct 25vsKentuckyW 23–⁠1369%
Nov 1vs6FloridaW 37–⁠1726%
Nov 15vs16AuburnL 34–⁠4563%
Nov 22atOle MissW 21–⁠1452%
Nov 29atGeorgia TechW 27–⁠2458%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvsWisconsinOutback BowlW 33–⁠663%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Wisconsin 33–⁠6 in the Outback Bowl; No. 10 in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 34th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 5: 25
  2. Wk 6: 19
  3. Wk 7: 18
  4. Wk 8: 13
  5. Wk 9: 19
  6. Wk 10: 16
  7. Wk 11: 14
  8. Wk 12: 9
  9. Wk 13: 7
  10. Wk 14: 14
  11. Wk 15: 14
  12. Wk 16: 13
  13. Wk 17: 12
  14. Final: 10

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
10–⁠2
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 10 peak No. 7
Points
380–⁠195
Coach
Jim Donnan
Elo
1681 +170 this season
SP+ rating
20.8 No. 13 of 112; offense No. 19, defense No. 10
SRS
18.5 No. 10 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Greg Briner
Defensive coordinator
Joe Kines
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1998

The 1998 draft
Rd 1Robert Edwards RBNew England Patriots
Rd 3Hines Ward WRPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 7Brandon ToLBert LBJacksonville Jaguars
Rd 7Antonio Fleming OGDallas Cowboys

All-SEC

3 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

  • Robert EdwardsRBCoaches-2
  • Larry BrownTEAP-2
  • Greg BrightLBAP-2; Coaches-2
  • Kirby SmartSAP-2

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

1997 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Tennessee7–⁠111–⁠27
Florida6–⁠210–⁠24
Georgia6–⁠210–⁠210
Auburn6–⁠210–⁠311
LSU6–⁠29–⁠313
Ole Miss4–⁠48–⁠422
Mississippi State4–⁠47–⁠4
South Carolina3–⁠55–⁠6
Kentucky2–⁠65–⁠6
Alabama2–⁠64–⁠7
Arkansas2–⁠64–⁠7
Vanderbilt0–⁠83–⁠8

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