CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1997 Washington State

10–⁠2 (7–⁠1 Pac-10), coached by Mike Price, finished No. 9 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Washington State in 1997, game by game: won vs. UCLA 37–34; won at No. 23 USC 28–21; won at Illinois 35–22; won vs. Boise State 58–0; won at Oregon 24–13; won vs. California 63–37; won vs. Arizona 35–34; lost at No. 20 Arizona State 31–44; won vs. Louisiana 77–7; won vs. Stanford 38–28; won at No. 17 Washington 41–35; lost vs. No. 1 Michigan 16–21+70−13Won 37–34 vs. UCLA+3UCLAWon 28–21 at No. 23 USC+7No. 23 USCWon 35–22 at Illinois+13IllinoisWon 58–0 vs. Boise State+58Boise StateWon 24–13 at Oregon+11OregonWon 63–37 vs. California+26CaliforniaWon 35–34 vs. Arizona+1ArizonaLost 31–44 at No. 20 Arizona State-13No. 20 Arizona StateWon 77–7 vs. Louisiana+70LouisianaWon 38–28 vs. Stanford+10StanfordWon 41–35 at No. 17 Washington+6No. 17 WashingtonLost 16–21 vs. No. 1 Michigan-5No. 1 Michigan
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 30vsUCLAW 37–⁠3448%
Sep 13at23USCW 28–⁠2135%
Sep 20atIllinoisW 35–⁠2260%
Sep 27vsBoise StateW 58–⁠087%
Oct 4atOregonW 24–⁠1340%
Oct 18vsCaliforniaW 63–⁠3774%
Oct 25vsArizonaW 35–⁠3470%
Nov 1at20Arizona StateL 31–⁠4430%
Nov 8vsLouisianaW 77–⁠790%
Nov 15vsStanfordW 38–⁠2870%
Nov 22at17WashingtonW 41–⁠3531%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs1MichiganRose BowlL 16–⁠2126%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Michigan 21–⁠16 in the Rose Bowl; No. 9 in the final AP poll; Pac-10 champions.

In program history: The 6th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 111 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 5: 19
  2. Wk 6: 15
  3. Wk 7: 15
  4. Wk 8: 12
  5. Wk 9: 13
  6. Wk 10: 10
  7. Wk 11: 10
  8. Wk 12: 16
  9. Wk 13: 14
  10. Wk 14: 11
  11. Wk 15: 10
  12. Wk 16: 8
  13. Wk 17: 8
  14. Final: 9

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.

Pac-10 champions7–⁠1 in the conference, shared with UCLA

Heisman voteRyan Leaf, third

Led the nationCorey Alston: yards per catch (23.8)

Eddie Robinson Coach of the YearMike Price, coach; also the Bobby Dodd Award

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Pac-10
AP final
No. 9 peak No. 8
Points
483–⁠296
Coach
Mike Price
Elo
1624 +150 this season
SP+ rating
19.7 No. 15 of 112; offense No. 4, defense No. 66
SRS
15.7 No. 15 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Jim McDonell
Defensive coordinator
Bill Doba
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1998

The 1998 draft
Rd 1Ryan Leaf QBSan Diego Chargers
Rd 2Leon Bender DTOakland Raiders
Rd 2Dorian Boose DENew York Jets
Rd 7Jason McEndoo CSeattle Seahawks

All-Pac-10

2 first team, 6 second team

First team

Second team

  • Michael BlackRBCoaches-2
  • Jason McEndooOLCoaches-2
  • Cory WithrowOLCoaches-2
  • Dorian BooseDECoaches-2
  • Duane StewartDBCoaches-2
  • Jeff BanksPCoaches-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 Pac-10 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Washington State7–⁠110–⁠29
UCLA7–⁠110–⁠25
Arizona State6–⁠29–⁠314
Washington5–⁠38–⁠418
Arizona4–⁠47–⁠5
USC4–⁠46–⁠5
Oregon3–⁠57–⁠5
Stanford3–⁠55–⁠6
California1–⁠73–⁠8
Oregon State0–⁠83–⁠8

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