CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1997 Michigan State

7–⁠5 (4–⁠4 Big Ten), coached by Nick Saban.

Schedule and results

Michigan State in 1997, game by game: won vs. Western Michigan 42–10; won vs. Memphis 51–21; won at Notre Dame 23–7; won vs. Minnesota 31–10; won at Indiana 38–6; lost at Northwestern 17–19; lost vs. No. 5 Michigan 7–23; lost vs. No. 9 Ohio State 13–37; lost at No. 23 Purdue 21–22; won at Illinois 27–17; won vs. No. 4 Penn State 49–14; lost vs. No. 21 Washington 23–51+35−28Won 42–10 vs. Western Michigan+32Western MichiganWon 51–21 vs. Memphis+30MemphisWon 23–7 at Notre Dame+16Notre DameWon 31–10 vs. Minnesota+21MinnesotaWon 38–6 at Indiana+32IndianaLost 17–19 at Northwestern-2NorthwesternLost 7–23 vs. No. 5 Michigan-16No. 5 MichiganLost 13–37 vs. No. 9 Ohio State-24No. 9 Ohio StateLost 21–22 at No. 23 Purdue-1No. 23 PurdueWon 27–17 at Illinois+10IllinoisWon 49–14 vs. No. 4 Penn State+35No. 4 Penn StateLost 23–51 vs. No. 21 Washington-28No. 21 Washington
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 6vsWestern MichiganW 42–⁠1071%
Sep 13vsMemphisW 51–⁠2172%
Sep 20atNotre DameW 23–⁠739%
Oct 4vsMinnesotaW 31–⁠1079%
Oct 11atIndianaW 38–⁠670%
Oct 18atNorthwesternL 17–⁠1958%
Oct 25vs5MichiganL 7–⁠2345%
Nov 1vs9Ohio StateL 13–⁠3735%
Nov 8at23PurdueL 21–⁠2242%
Nov 22atIllinoisW 27–⁠1778%
Nov 29vs4Penn StateW 49–⁠1433%
Dec 25Bowls & playoffvs21WashingtonAloha BowlL 23–⁠5146%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Washington 51–⁠23 in the Aloha Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 37th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 122 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 25
  2. Wk 2: 25
  3. Wk 3: 25
  4. Wk 4: 21
  5. Wk 5: 17
  6. Wk 6: 12
  7. Wk 7: 12
  8. Wk 8: 11
  9. Wk 9: 12
  10. Wk 10: 15
  11. Wk 11: 21
  12. Wk 16: 25
  13. Wk 17: 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
4–⁠4 tied for 6th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked peak No. 11
Points
342–⁠237
Coach
Nick Saban
Elo
1596 +68 this season
SP+ rating
16.6 No. 20 of 112; offense No. 27, defense No. 22
SRS
12.8 No. 18 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Gary Tranquill
Defensive coordinator
Dean Pees
Captains
Ike Reese and Scott Shaw
Most valuable player
Ike Reese
Offense
Pro set
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1998

The 1998 draft
Rd 2Flozell Adams OTDallas Cowboys
Rd 5Ike Reese LBPhiladelphia Eagles
Rd 5Scott Shaw OGMiami Dolphins

All-Big Ten

2 first team, 6 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 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan8–⁠012–⁠01
Ohio State6–⁠210–⁠312
Penn State6–⁠29–⁠316
Purdue6–⁠29–⁠315
Wisconsin5–⁠38–⁠5
Michigan State4–⁠47–⁠5
Iowa4–⁠47–⁠5
Northwestern3–⁠55–⁠7
Minnesota1–⁠73–⁠9
Indiana1–⁠72–⁠9
Illinois0–⁠80–⁠11

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