CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1997 Texas

4–⁠7 (2–⁠6 Big 12), coached by John Mackovic.

Schedule and results

Texas in 1997, game by game: won vs. Rutgers 48–14; lost vs. UCLA 3–66; won at Rice 38–31; lost at Oklahoma State 16–42; won vs. Oklahoma 27–24; lost at Missouri 29–37; lost vs. Colorado 30–47; lost at Baylor 21–23; lost vs. Texas Tech 10–24; won vs. Kansas 45–31; lost at No. 15 Texas A&M 16–27+34−63Won 48–14 vs. Rutgers+34RutgersLost 3–66 vs. UCLA-63UCLAWon 38–31 at Rice+7RiceLost 16–42 at Oklahoma State-26Oklahoma StateWon 27–24 vs. Oklahoma+3OklahomaLost 29–37 at Missouri-8MissouriLost 30–47 vs. Colorado-17ColoradoLost 21–23 at Baylor-2BaylorLost 10–24 vs. Texas Tech-14Texas TechWon 45–31 vs. Kansas+14KansasLost 16–27 at No. 15 Texas A&M-11No. 15 Texas A&M
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 6vsRutgersW 48–⁠1486%
Sep 13vsUCLAL 3–⁠6673%
Sep 27atRiceW 38–⁠3146%
Oct 4atOklahoma StateL 16–⁠4251%
Oct 11vsOklahomaW 27–⁠2464%
Oct 18atMissouriL 29–⁠3754%
Oct 25vsColoradoL 30–⁠4744%
Nov 1atBaylorL 21–⁠2364%
Nov 8vsTexas TechL 10–⁠2449%
Nov 15vsKansasW 45–⁠3159%
Nov 28at15Texas A&ML 16–⁠2724%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Texas A&M 27–⁠16; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 9th in the Big 12.

In program history: The 116th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 126 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 12
  2. Wk 2: 12
  3. Wk 3: 12
  4. Wk 4: 11

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.

Led the nationRicky Williams: rushing yards (1,893 yds), rushing touchdowns (25 TD)

Doak Walker AwardRicky Williams, RB

Consensus All-AmericanRicky Williams, RB

Record
4–⁠7
Conference
2–⁠6 tied for 9th in Big 12
AP final
Unranked peak No. 11
Points
283–⁠366
Coach
John Mackovic
Elo
1490 −138 this season
SP+ rating
-6.7 No. 77 of 112; offense No. 48, defense No. 94
SRS
−5.8 No. 76 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Gene Dahlquist
Defensive coordinator
Bobby Jack Wright
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1998

The 1998 draft
Rd 7Chris Akins DTPhiladelphia Eagles

All-Big 12

1 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

  • Phil DawsonKCoaches-2

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.