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1997 Southern Miss

9–⁠3 (6–⁠0 Conference USA), coached by Jeff Bower, finished No. 19 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Southern Miss in 1997, game by game: lost at No. 2 Florida 6–21; won at Illinois 24–7; won vs. Nevada 35–19; lost at No. 21 Alabama 13–27; won vs. Louisville 42–24; won at East Carolina 23–13; won vs. Tulane 34–13; won at Cincinnati 24–17; lost at No. 8 Tennessee 20–44; won vs. Houston 33–0; won at Memphis 42–18; won vs. Pittsburgh 41–7+34−24Lost 6–21 at No. 2 Florida-15No. 2 FloridaWon 24–7 at Illinois+17IllinoisWon 35–19 vs. Nevada+16NevadaLost 13–27 at No. 21 Alabama-14No. 21 AlabamaWon 42–24 vs. Louisville+18LouisvilleWon 23–13 at East Carolina+10East CarolinaWon 34–13 vs. Tulane+21TulaneWon 24–17 at Cincinnati+7CincinnatiLost 20–44 at No. 8 Tennessee-24No. 8 TennesseeWon 33–0 vs. Houston+33HoustonWon 42–18 at Memphis+24MemphisWon 41–7 vs. Pittsburgh+34Pittsburgh
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30at2FloridaL 6–⁠2122%
Sep 6atIllinoisW 24–⁠761%
Sep 20vsNevadaW 35–⁠1966%
Sep 27at21AlabamaL 13–⁠2735%
Oct 4vsLouisvilleW 42–⁠2478%
Oct 11atEast CarolinaW 23–⁠1355%
Oct 25vsTulaneW 34–⁠1374%
Nov 1atCincinnatiW 24–⁠1752%
Nov 8at8TennesseeL 20–⁠4429%
Nov 15vsHoustonW 33–⁠083%
Nov 22atMemphisW 42–⁠1873%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvsPittsburghLiberty BowlW 41–⁠772%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Pittsburgh 41–⁠7 in the Liberty Bowl; No. 19 in the final AP poll; Conference USA champions.

In program history: The 2nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 90 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 11: 24
  2. Wk 12: 24
  3. Wk 15: 23
  4. Wk 16: 22
  5. Wk 17: 22
  6. Final: 19

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.

Conference USA champions6–⁠0 in the conference

Led the nationEric Booth: kickoff return average (34.8)

Record
9–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠0 first in Conference USA
AP final
No. 19 peak No. 19
Points
337–⁠210
Coach
Jeff Bower
Elo
1679 +107 this season
SP+ rating
13.2 No. 27 of 112; offense No. 46, defense No. 21
SRS
10.1 No. 23 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Larry Kueck
Defensive coordinator
John Thompson
Offense
Multiple
Defense
Multiple

Drafted in 1998

The 1998 draft
Rd 2Patrick Surtain DBMiami Dolphins
Rd 5Terry Hardy TEArizona Cardinals
Rd 6Harold Shaw RBNew England Patriots
Rd 6Jamaal Alexander DBDetroit Lions

1997 Conference USA standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Southern Miss6–⁠09–⁠319
Tulane5–⁠17–⁠4
East Carolina4–⁠25–⁠6
Cincinnati2–⁠48–⁠4
Memphis2–⁠44–⁠7
Houston2–⁠43–⁠8
Louisville0–⁠61–⁠10

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