1997 Auburn Tigers football team

American college football season

1997 Auburn Tigers football

SEC Western Division co-champion Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl champion
SEC Championship Game, L 29-30 vs. Tennessee
Peach Bowl, W 21–17 vs. Clemson
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Western Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 11
AP	No. 11
Record	10–3 (6–2 SEC)
Head coach	Terry Bowden
Offensive coordinator	Rodney Allison
Defensive coordinator	Bill Oliver
Home stadium	Jordan–Hare Stadium
Seasons ← 1996 1998 →

1997 Southeastern Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Eastern Division
No. 7 Tennessee x$	7	–	1	11	–	2
No. 10 Georgia	6	–	2	10	–	2
No. 4 Florida	6	–	2	10	–	2
South Carolina	3	–	5	5	–	6
Kentucky	2	–	6	5	–	6
Vanderbilt	0	–	8	3	–	8
Western Division
No. 11 Auburn xy	6	–	2	10	–	3
No. 13 LSU x	6	–	2	9	–	3
No. 22 Ole Miss	4	–	4	8	–	4
Mississippi State	4	–	4	7	–	4
Arkansas	2	–	6	4	–	7
Alabama	2	–	6	4	–	7
Championship: Tennessee 30, Auburn 29
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1997 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University in the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team, coached by Terry Bowden, finished with a 10–3 record and won the school's first SEC West Division championship, but lost by a point to Tennessee in the 1997 SEC Championship Game. The Tigers ended the season with a #11 ranking in the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll after winning the Peach Bowl against Clemson on January 2.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 4	7:00 p.m.	at Virginia*	No. 18	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, Virginia	ESPN	W 28–17	45,300
September 13	11:30 a.m.	Ole Miss	No. 16	Jordan–Hare Stadium Auburn, Alabama (rivalry)	JPS	W 19–9	81,203
September 20	6:30 p.m.	at No. 10 LSU	No. 12	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, Louisiana (Tiger Bowl)	ESPN	W 31–28	80,538
September 27	6:00 p.m.	Central Florida*	No. 8	Jordan–Hare Stadium Auburn, Alabama	PPV	W 41–14	82,109
October 4	11:30 a.m.	at South Carolina	No. 8	Williams-Brice Stadium Columbia, South Carolina	JPS	W 23–6	79,411
October 11	1:00 p.m.	Louisiana Tech*	No. 8	Jordan–Hare Stadium Auburn, Alabama	PPV	W 49–13	84,761	^[1]
October 18	2:30 p.m.	No. 7 Florida	No. 6	Jordan–Hare Stadium Auburn, Alabama (rivalry) (College GameDay)	CBS	L 10–24	85,214
October 25	5:00 p.m.	at Arkansas	No. 11	Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, Arkansas	ESPN2	W 26–21	41,277
November 1	1:00 p.m.	Mississippi State	No. 11	Jordan–Hare Stadium Auburn, Alabama		L 0–20	82,736
November 15	4:50 p.m.	at No. 7 Georgia	No. 16	Sanford Stadium Athens, Georgia (Deep South's Oldest Rivalry)	ESPN	W 45–34	86,117
November 22	6:30 p.m.	Alabama	No. 13	Jordan–Hare Stadium Auburn, Alabama (Iron Bowl)	ESPN	W 18–17	85,214	^[2]
December 6	8:00 p.m.	vs. No. 3 Tennessee	No. 11	Georgia Dome Atlanta (rivalry) (SEC Championship Game)	ABC	L 29–30	74,896
January 2	2:00 p.m.	vs. Clemson*	No. 13	Georgia Dome Atlanta (rivalry) (Peach Bowl)	ESPN	W 21–17	71,212
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AP	16	17	16	16	12	8	8	8	6	11	11	17	16	13	13	11	13	11
Coaches	19		18	16	12	8	9	8	7	11	11	17	16	13	13	11	13	11

Game summaries

Florida

At Auburn

#7 Florida Gators (5–1) at #6 Auburn Tigers (6–0)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Florida	10	0	7	7	24
Auburn	7	3	0	0	10

at Jordan–Hare Stadium, Auburn, Alabama

Date: October 18
Game time: 2:30 p.m. CDT
Game weather: Partly cloudy, 65 °F (18 °C)
Game attendance: 85,244
Referee: A. Sizemore
Box Score

Game information

First quarter

UF – Jamie Richardson 12-yard pass from Jacquez Green (Collins Cooper kick), 11:00. Florida 7–0. Drive: 4 plays, 43 yards, 1:41.
UF – Collins Cooper 22-yard field goal, 5:49. Florida 10–0. Drive: 8 plays, 19 yards, 4:03.
AUB – Tyrone Dillard 15-yard pass from Dameyune Craig (Jaret Holmes kick), 0:16. Florida 10–7. Drive: 5 plays, 49 yards, 1:56.

Second quarter

AUB – Jaret Holmes 20-yard field goal, 0:00. Tie 10–10. Drive: 11 plays, 81 yards, 2:28.

Third quarter

UF – Jacquez Green 10-yard pass from Noah Brindise (Collins Cooper kick), 7:50. Florida 17–10. Drive: 14 plays, 97 yards, 5:20.

Fourth quarter

UF – Jacquez Green 5-yard run (Collins Cooper kick), 4:27. Florida 24–10. Drive: 2 plays, 6 yards, 0:49.

Top passers

UF – Jesse Palmer – 8/14, 92 yards, 2 INT
AUB – Dameyune Craig – 18/34, 187 yards, TD, INT

Top rushers

UF – Fred Taylor – 34 rushes, 140 yards
AUB – Rusty Williams – 8 rushes, 22 yards

Top receivers

UF – Travis McGriff – 3 receptions, 44 yards
AUB – Karsten Bailey – 4 receptions, 56 yards

References

^ "Bring on the Gators! Auburn crushes La. Tech". The Montgomery Advertiser. October 12, 1997. Retrieved July 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Holmes cookin' - Tigers cash in late fumble to steal historic win". The Montgomery Advertiser. November 23, 1997. Retrieved February 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

v t e Auburn Tigers football
Venues	Drill Field (1892–1910) Drake Field (1911–1939) Legion Field (alternate, 1926–1991) Jordan-Hare Stadium (1939–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Alabama: Iron Bowl (James E. Foy, V-ODK Sportsmanship Trophy) Clemson Florida Georgia: Deep South's Oldest Rivalry Georgia Tech LSU Ole Miss Tennessee Tulane
Culture & lore	History Traditions Aubie "War Eagle" Marching band Toomer's Corner Punt Bama Punt Bo Over the Top Earthquake Game Prayer at Jordan-Hare Kick Six (Kick Bama Kick) Porter Cup
People	Head coaches Starting quarterbacks Statistical leaders NFL draftees
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National championship seasons in bold