CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1997 Texas A&M

9–⁠4 (6–⁠2 Big 12), coached by R.C. Slocum, finished No. 20 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Texas A&M in 1997, game by game: won vs. Sam Houston 59–6; won vs. Louisiana 66–0; won vs. North Texas 36–10; won at No. 16 Colorado 16–10; won vs. Iowa State 56–17; lost at No. 20 Kansas State 17–36; lost at Texas Tech 13–16; won vs. No. 19 Oklahoma State 28–25; won vs. Baylor 38–10; won at Oklahoma 51–7; won vs. Texas 27–16; lost vs. No. 2 Nebraska 15–54; lost vs. No. 5 UCLA 23–29+66−39Won 59–6 vs. Sam Houston+53Sam HoustonWon 66–0 vs. Louisiana+66LouisianaWon 36–10 vs. North Texas+26North TexasWon 16–10 at No. 16 Colorado+6No. 16 ColoradoWon 56–17 vs. Iowa State+39Iowa StateLost 17–36 at No. 20 Kansas State-19No. 20 Kansas StateLost 13–16 at Texas Tech-3Texas TechWon 28–25 vs. No. 19 Oklahoma State+3No. 19 Oklahoma StateWon 38–10 vs. Baylor+28BaylorWon 51–7 at Oklahoma+44OklahomaWon 27–16 vs. Texas+11TexasLost 15–54 vs. No. 2 Nebraska-39No. 2 NebraskaLost 23–29 vs. No. 5 UCLA-6No. 5 UCLA
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 6vsSam HoustonW 59–⁠689%
Sep 20vsLouisianaW 66–⁠081%
Sep 27vsNorth TexasW 36–⁠1077%
Oct 4at16ColoradoW 16–⁠1034%
Oct 11vsIowa StateW 56–⁠1789%
Oct 18at20Kansas StateL 17–⁠3640%
Oct 25atTexas TechL 13–⁠1648%
Nov 1vs19Oklahoma StateW 28–⁠2562%
Nov 8vsBaylorW 38–⁠1084%
Nov 15atOklahomaW 51–⁠771%
Nov 28vsTexasW 27–⁠1676%
Dec 6Bowls & playoffvs2NebraskaBig 12 Championship GameL 15–⁠5426%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs5UCLACotton BowlL 23–⁠2937%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to UCLA 29–⁠23 in the Cotton Bowl; No. 20 in the final AP poll; 3rd in the Big 12.

In program history: The tied 41st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 6: 22
  2. Wk 7: 21
  3. Wk 8: 15
  4. Wk 9: 14
  5. Wk 10: 20
  6. Wk 11: 25
  7. Wk 12: 21
  8. Wk 13: 18
  9. Wk 14: 16
  10. Wk 15: 15
  11. Wk 16: 14
  12. Wk 17: 20
  13. Final: 20

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.

Big 12 South champions6–⁠2 in the conference

Record
9–⁠4
Conference
6–⁠2 3rd in Big 12
AP final
No. 20 peak No. 14
Points
445–⁠236
Coach
R.C. Slocum
Elo
1622 +53 this season
SP+ rating
11.8 No. 33 of 112; offense No. 28, defense No. 38
SRS
9.3 No. 29 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Steve Marshall
Defensive coordinator
Mike Hankwitz
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1998

The 1998 draft
Rd 3Chris Ruhman OTSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 4Steve McKinney OGIndianapolis Colts

All-Big 12

3 first team, 4 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 12 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Nebraska8–⁠013–⁠02
Kansas State7–⁠111–⁠18
Texas A&M6–⁠29–⁠420
Oklahoma State5–⁠38–⁠424
Missouri5–⁠37–⁠523
Texas Tech5–⁠36–⁠5
Colorado3–⁠55–⁠6
Kansas3–⁠55–⁠6
Texas2–⁠64–⁠7
Oklahoma2–⁠64–⁠8
Baylor1–⁠72–⁠9
Iowa State1–⁠71–⁠10

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