CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1997 Tennessee

11–⁠2 (7–⁠1 Southeastern Conference), coached by Phillip Fulmer, finished No. 7 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Tennessee in 1997, game by game: won vs. Texas Tech 52–17; won at UCLA 30–24; lost at No. 3 Florida 20–33; won vs. Ole Miss 31–17; won vs. No. 13 Georgia 38–13; won at Alabama 38–21; won vs. South Carolina 22–7; won vs. No. 24 Southern Miss 44–20; won at Arkansas 30–22; won at Kentucky 59–31; won vs. Vanderbilt 17–10; won vs. No. 13 Auburn 30–29; lost vs. No. 2 Nebraska 17–42+35−25Won 52–17 vs. Texas Tech+35Texas TechWon 30–24 at UCLA+6UCLALost 20–33 at No. 3 Florida-13No. 3 FloridaWon 31–17 vs. Ole Miss+14Ole MissWon 38–13 vs. No. 13 Georgia+25No. 13 GeorgiaWon 38–21 at Alabama+17AlabamaWon 22–7 vs. South Carolina+15South CarolinaWon 44–20 vs. No. 24 Southern Miss+24No. 24 Southern MissWon 30–22 at Arkansas+8ArkansasWon 59–31 at Kentucky+28KentuckyWon 17–10 vs. Vanderbilt+7VanderbiltWon 30–29 vs. No. 13 Auburn+1No. 13 AuburnLost 17–42 vs. No. 2 Nebraska-25No. 2 Nebraska
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsTexas TechW 52–⁠1771%
Sep 6atUCLAW 30–⁠2466%
Sep 20at3FloridaL 20–⁠3335%
Oct 4vsOle MissW 31–⁠1782%
Oct 11vs13GeorgiaW 38–⁠1372%
Oct 18atAlabamaW 38–⁠2153%
Nov 1vsSouth CarolinaW 22–⁠779%
Nov 8vs24Southern MissW 44–⁠2071%
Nov 15atArkansasW 30–⁠2285%
Nov 22atKentuckyW 59–⁠3179%
Nov 29vsVanderbiltW 17–⁠1094%
Dec 6Bowls & playoffvs13AuburnSEC Championship GameW 30–⁠2969%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs2NebraskaOrange BowlL 17–⁠4242%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Nebraska 42–⁠17 in the Orange Bowl; No. 7 in the final AP poll; Southeastern Conference champions.

In program history: The 6th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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.

Southeastern Conference champions7–⁠1 in the conference, won the SEC Championship Game

Heisman votePeyton Manning, second

Maxwell AwardPeyton Manning, QB; also the Davey O’Brien, Unitas Golden Arm and Campbell Trophy

Consensus All-AmericanPeyton Manning, QB

Record
11–⁠2
Conference
7–⁠1 first in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 7 peak No. 3
Points
428–⁠286
Coach
Phillip Fulmer
Elo
1769 +93 this season
SP+ rating
28.0 No. 5 of 112; offense No. 6, defense No. 13
SRS
21.8 No. 5 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
David Cutcliffe
Defensive coordinator
John Chavis
Captains
Leonard Little and Peyton Manning
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
Multiple 4–⁠3

Drafted in 1998

The 1998 draft
Rd 1Peyton Manning QBIndianapolis Colts
Rd 1Terry Fair DBDetroit Lions
Rd 1Marcus Nash WRDenver Broncos
Rd 3Leonard Little DESt. Louis Rams
Rd 3Jonathan Brown DEGreen Bay Packers
Rd 7Trey Teague OTDenver Broncos
Rd 7Andy McCullough WRNew Orleans Saints
Rd 7Cory Gaines DBIndianapolis Colts

All-SEC

7 first team, 1 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 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.