1997 SMU
6–5 (5–3 Western Athletic Conference), coached by Mike Cavan. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Arkansas 31–9Sep 13
By 22 points, its widest win.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 6 | at Ole Miss | L 15–23 | 40% |
| Sep 13 | vs Arkansas | W 31–9 | 42% |
| Sep 20 | vs Navy | L 16–46 | 49% |
| Sep 27 | vs 23BYU | L 16–19 | 29% |
| Oct 4 | at New Mexico | L 15–22 | 29% |
| Oct 11 | at Utah | W 20–19 | 28% |
| Oct 25 | vs Wyoming | W 22–17 | 35% |
| Nov 1 | vs Rice | W 24–6 | 36% |
| Nov 8 | vs UTEP | W 28–14 | 73% |
| Nov 15 | at Tulsa | W 42–41 | 62% |
| Nov 20 | at TCU | L 18–21 | 73% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to TCU 21–18; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Western Athletic Conference.
In program history: The 56th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 110 on file).
- Record
- 6–5
- Conference
- 5–3 tied for 4th in Western Athletic Conference
- AP final
- Unranked
- Points
- 247–237
- Coach
- Mike Cavan
- Elo
- 1483 +40 this season
- SP+ rating
- 1.2 No. 61 of 112; offense No. 79, defense No. 40
- SRS
- −2.1 No. 66 of 112 in Division I-A
- Recruiting class
- —
- Offensive coordinator
- Darrell Dickey
- Defensive coordinator
- Eric Schumann
- Offense
- Pro spread
- Defense
- 4–3
Drafted in 1998
The 1998 draft| Rd 6 | Chris Bordano LB | New Orleans Saints |
1997 Western Athletic Conference standings
| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
 Colorado State | 7–1 | 11–2 | 17 |
 Air Force | 6–2 | 10–3 | |
| New Mexico | 6–2 | 9–4 | |
| Rice | 5–3 | 7–4 | |
| Utah | 5–3 | 6–5 | |
 SMU | 5–3 | 6–5 | |
 Fresno State | 5–3 | 6–6 | |
| BYU | 4–4 | 6–5 | |
| Wyoming | 4–4 | 7–6 | |
 San Diego State | 4–4 | 5–7 | |
 San José State | 4–4 | 4–7 | |
| UTEP | 3–5 | 4–7 | |
 UNLV | 2–6 | 3–8 | |
| Tulsa | 2–6 | 2–9 | |
 Hawai’i | 1–7 | 3–9 | |
| TCU | 1–7 | 1–10 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.