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1997 LSU

9–⁠3 (6–⁠2 Southeastern Conference), coached by Gerry DiNardo, finished No. 13 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

LSU in 1997, game by game: won vs. UTEP 55–3; won at Mississippi State 24–9; lost vs. No. 12 Auburn 28–31; won vs. Akron 56–0; won at Vanderbilt 7–6; won vs. No. 1 Florida 28–21; lost vs. Ole Miss 21–36; won at Kentucky 63–28; won at Alabama 27–0; lost vs. Notre Dame 6–24; won vs. Arkansas 31–21; won vs. Notre Dame 27–9+56−18Won 55–3 vs. UTEP+52UTEPWon 24–9 at Mississippi State+15Mississippi Sta…Lost 28–31 vs. No. 12 Auburn-3No. 12 AuburnWon 56–0 vs. Akron+56AkronWon 7–6 at Vanderbilt+1VanderbiltWon 28–21 vs. No. 1 Florida+7No. 1 FloridaLost 21–36 vs. Ole Miss-15Ole MissWon 63–28 at Kentucky+35KentuckyWon 27–0 at Alabama+27AlabamaLost 6–24 vs. Notre Dame-18Notre DameWon 31–21 vs. Arkansas+10ArkansasWon 27–9 vs. Notre Dame+18Notre Dame
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 6vsUTEPW 55–⁠387%
Sep 13atMississippi StateW 24–⁠958%
Sep 20vs12AuburnL 28–⁠3159%
Sep 27vsAkronW 56–⁠086%
Oct 4atVanderbiltW 7–⁠671%
Oct 11vs1FloridaW 28–⁠2134%
Oct 18vsOle MissL 21–⁠3679%
Nov 1atKentuckyW 63–⁠2858%
Nov 8atAlabamaW 27–⁠047%
Nov 15vsNotre DameL 6–⁠2472%
Nov 28vsArkansasW 31–⁠2180%
Dec 28Bowls & playoffvsNotre DameIndependence BowlW 27–⁠951%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Notre Dame 27–⁠9 in the Independence Bowl; No. 13 in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 36th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 10
  2. Wk 2: 10
  3. Wk 3: 10
  4. Wk 4: 10
  5. Wk 5: 10
  6. Wk 6: 13
  7. Wk 7: 13
  8. Wk 8: 14
  9. Wk 9: 8
  10. Wk 10: 17
  11. Wk 11: 16
  12. Wk 12: 14
  13. Wk 13: 11
  14. Wk 14: 20
  15. Wk 15: 17
  16. Wk 16: 16
  17. Wk 17: 15
  18. Final: 13

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.

SEC West champions6–⁠2 in the conference, shared with Auburn

2 consensus All-AmericansAlan Faneca, OL; Chad Kessler, P

Record
9–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 13 peak No. 8
Points
373–⁠188
Coach
Gerry DiNardo
Elo
1665 +65 this season
SP+ rating
17.9 No. 16 of 112; offense No. 28, defense No. 17
SRS
16.2 No. 13 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Morris Watts
Defensive coordinator
Carl Reese
Offense
Multiple pro sets
Defense
Multiple 4–⁠3

Drafted in 1998

The 1998 draft
Rd 1Alan Faneca OGPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 2Kenny Mixon DEMiami Dolphins
Rd 3Chuck Wiley DECarolina Panthers

All-SEC

6 first team

First 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 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.