CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1997 Marshall

10–⁠3 (7–⁠1 Mid-American Conference), coached by Bob Pruett.

Schedule and results

Marshall in 1997, game by game: lost at West Virginia 31–42; won at Army 35–25; won at Kent State 42–17; won vs. Western Illinois 48–7; won at Ball State 42–16; won vs. Akron 52–17; lost at Miami (OH) 21–45; won vs. Eastern Michigan 48–25; won at Central Michigan 45–17; won vs. Bowling Green 28–0; won vs. Ohio 27–0; won vs. Toledo 34–14; lost vs. Ole Miss 31–34+41−24Lost 31–42 at West Virginia-11West VirginiaWon 35–25 at Army+10ArmyWon 42–17 at Kent State+25Kent StateWon 48–7 vs. Western Illinois+41Western IllinoisWon 42–16 at Ball State+26Ball StateWon 52–17 vs. Akron+35AkronLost 21–45 at Miami (OH)-24Miami (OH)Won 48–25 vs. Eastern Michigan+23Eastern MichiganWon 45–17 at Central Michigan+28Central MichiganWon 28–0 vs. Bowling Green+28Bowling GreenWon 27–0 vs. Ohio+27OhioWon 34–14 vs. Toledo+20ToledoLost 31–34 vs. Ole Miss-3Ole Miss
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30atWest VirginiaL 31–⁠4214%
Sep 6atArmyW 35–⁠2513%
Sep 13atKent StateW 42–⁠1751%
Sep 20vsWestern IllinoisW 48–⁠765%
Sep 27atBall StateW 42–⁠1632%
Oct 11vsAkronW 52–⁠1765%
Oct 18atMiami (OH)L 21–⁠4522%
Oct 25vsEastern MichiganW 48–⁠2563%
Nov 1atCentral MichiganW 45–⁠1765%
Nov 8vsBowling GreenW 28–⁠077%
Nov 15vsOhioW 27–⁠053%
Dec 5Bowls & playoffvsToledoMid-American Championship GameW 34–⁠1449%
Dec 26Bowls & playoffvsOle MissMotor City BowlL 31–⁠3454%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Ole Miss 34–⁠31 in the Motor City Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; Mid-American Conference champions.

In program history: The 13th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 83 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.

Mid-American Conference champions7–⁠1 in the conference, won the Mid-American Championship Game

Heisman voteRandy Moss, fourth

Led the nationChad Pennington: passing touchdowns (39 TD); Randy Moss: receiving yards (1,820 yds), receiving touchdowns (26 TD)

Biletnikoff AwardRandy Moss, WR/KR

Consensus All-AmericanRandy Moss, WR/KR

Record
10–⁠3
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Mid-American Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
484–⁠259
Coach
Bob Pruett
Elo
1558 +264 this season
SP+ rating
16.8 No. 19 of 112; offense No. 10, defense No. 44
SRS
10.3 No. 22 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinators
Gunter Brewer and Tim Nunez
Defensive coordinator
Kevin Kelly
Captains
John Wade, Brian Reed, Chad Pennington, Thomas Maxwell, B.J. Cohen and Larry McCloud
Offense
Spread
Defense
3–⁠4

Drafted in 1998

The 1998 draft
Rd 1Randy Moss WRMinnesota Vikings
Rd 5John Wade CJacksonville Jaguars

1997 Mid-American Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Marshall7–⁠110–⁠3
Toledo7–⁠19–⁠3
Western Michigan6–⁠28–⁠3
Miami (OH)6–⁠28–⁠3
Ohio6–⁠28–⁠3
Ball State4–⁠45–⁠6
Eastern Michigan4–⁠54–⁠7
Bowling Green3–⁠53–⁠8
Kent State3–⁠53–⁠8
Akron2–⁠72–⁠9
Central Michigan1–⁠72–⁠9
Northern Illinois0–⁠80–⁠11

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