1997 Utah Utes football team

The Utes were unable to get another bowl bid in the 1997 season, going just 6–5. This was also the last season in the old Rice Stadium. Immediately after the final home game (against Rice University), the stadium was torn down and rebuilt into the new Rice-Eccles Stadium, partly in anticipation of the upcoming 2002 Olympic Games.

1997 Utah Utes football
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
DivisionMountain Division
1997 record6–5 (5–3 WAC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorFred Graves (3rd season)
Defensive coordinatorKyle Whittingham (3rd season)
Home stadiumRice Stadium (32,500)
1997 Western Athletic Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
Team W L    W L 
Mountain Division
New Mexico x  6 2     9 4  
Rice  5 3     7 4  
SMU  5 3     6 5  
Utah  5 3     6 5  
BYU  4 4     6 5  
UTEP  3 5     4 7  
Tulsa  2 6     2 9  
TCU  1 7     1 10  
Pacific Division
No. 17 Colorado State x$  7 1     11 2  
Air Force  6 2     10 3  
Fresno State  5 3     6 6  
Wyoming  4 4     7 6  
San Diego State  4 4     5 7  
San Jose State  4 4     4 7  
UNLV  2 6     3 8  
Hawaii  1 7     3 9  
Championship: Colorado State 41, New Mexico 13
  • $ Conference champion
  • x Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendance
August 307:00 pmUtah State*L 14–2133,804
September 61:00 pmat Louisville*KJZZW 27–2135,437
September 137:05 pmat TCUW 32–1825,382
September 207:00 pmUTEP
  • Rice Stadium
  • Salt Lake City, UT
W 56–328,820
October 26:00 pmat Fresno StateESPNL 13–2737,994
October 111:00 pmSMU
  • Rice Stadium
  • Salt Lake City, UT
L 19–2026,611
October 182:00 pmat Oregon*L 13–3139,389
October 251:00 pmNew Mexico
  • Rice Stadium
  • Salt Lake City, UT
W 15–1028,129
November 11:00 pmat TulsaL 13–2119,864
November 151:00 pmRice
  • Rice Stadium
  • Salt Lake City, UT
W 31–1427,049
November 221:30 pmat BYUABCW 20–1465,868

[1][2] [3]

Game summaries

BYU

1 234Total
Utah 10 0010 20
BYU 7 700 14

[4]

After the season

NFL draft

Two players went in the 1998 NFL Draft, including one in the first round (Kevin Dyson).

PlayerPositionRoundPickNFL Club
Kevin DysonWide Receiver116Tennessee Oilers
Chris Fuamatu-Ma'afalaFullback6178Pittsburgh Steelers

References

  1. "Ute Record Book" (PDF). University of Utah. Retrieved 2009-10-21.
  2. "1997 record". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved 2009-06-04.
  3. "1997 scoreboard and statistics". Utah Official Athletic Site. Archived from the original on 2007-12-18. Retrieved 2009-06-05.
  4. USA Today
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