1997 Georgia Bulldogs football team

1997 Georgia Bulldogs football
Outback Bowl champion
Outback Bowl, W 33–6 vs. Wisconsin
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Eastern Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 10
AP	No. 10
Record	10–2 (6–2 SEC)
Head coach	Jim Donnan (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Greg Briner (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Joe Kines (3rd season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Sanford Stadium

1997 Southeastern Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
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 Georgia Bulldogs football team represented the University of Georgia during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season The Bulldogs completed the season with a 10–2 record.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	1:00 p.m.	Arkansas State*		Sanford Stadium Athens, GA		W 38–7	79,145
September 13	3:30 p.m.	South Carolina		Sanford Stadium Athens, GA (rivalry)	CBS	W 31–15	86,117
September 20	1:00 p.m.	Northeast Louisiana*	No. 25	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA		W 42–3	74,113
October 4	1:00 p.m.	Mississippi State	No. 18	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA		W 47–0	83,211
October 11	3:30 p.m.	at No. 10 Tennessee	No. 13	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)	CBS	L 13–38	106,656
October 18	9:00 p.m.	at Vanderbilt	No. 19	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN (rivalry)	ESPN2	W 34–13	35,124
October 25	3:30 p.m.	Kentucky	No. 16	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA	CBS	W 23–13	85,672
November 1	3:30 p.m.	vs. No. 6 Florida	No. 14	Alltel Stadium Jacksonville, FL (rivalry)	CBS	W 37–17	84,297
November 15	5:30 p.m.	No. 16 Auburn	No. 7	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA (Deep South's Oldest Rivalry)	ESPN	L 34–45	86,117
November 22	2:00 p.m.	at Ole Miss	No. 14	Vaught–Hemingway Stadium Oxford, MS		W 21–14	35,473
November 29	1:00 p.m.	at Georgia Tech*	No. 14	Bobby Dodd Stadium Atlanta, GA (Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate)	ABC	W 27–24	46,015
January 1, 1998	11:00 a.m.	vs. Wisconsin*	No. 12	Houlihan's Stadium Tampa, FL (Outback Bowl)	ESPN	W 33–6	56,186
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Rankings

See also: 1997 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	25	19	18	13	19	16	14	9	7	14	14	13	12	11
Coaches	—		—	—	25	20	19	15	21	18	15	9	7	14	14	13	11	10

Personnel

1997 Georgia Bulldogs football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR Corey Allen RB Robert Arnaud QB Mike Bobo Sr RB Ronnie Bradley TE Larry Brown RB Selma Calloway WR Andrew Cronic RB Robert Edwards QB Jon England OL Antonio Fleming RB Olandis Gary WR Michael Greer OL Steve Herndon OL Kenley Ingram OL Jonas Jennings OL Miles Luckie RB Brett Millican WR Thad Parker RB Patrick Pass WR Tony Small OL Brad Stafford OL Matt Stinchcomb OL Chris Terry QB Mike Usry WR Hines Ward Sr TE Jermaine Wiggins OL Kelvin Williams	Defense Pos. # Name Class CB, WR 4 Champ Bailey CB 5 Ronald Bailey LB Greg Bright DB Derrick Byrd DB Earl Chambers DL Antonio Cochran DB Glenn Ford DB Drantes Grant DB Dustin Luckie LB Mike Luckie DB Larry Mann DL Brandon Miller DL Richard Seymour DB Trey Sipe DB Kirby Smart DL Paul Snellings DL Travis Stroud LB Brandon Tolbert	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K Hap Hines So P, K Dax Langley	Head coach Jim Donnan Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Season summary

Vs. Florida

#6 Florida Gators (6–1) vs. #17 Georgia Bulldogs (6–1)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Georgia	7	7	7	16	37
Florida	0	3	14	0	17

at Alltel Stadium, Jacksonville, Florida

• Date: November 1
• Game attendance: 84,297
• TV: CBS
• Box Score/Recap

Game information

First quarter UGA – Robert Edwards 27-yard run (Hap Hines kick), 10:16. Georgia 7–0. Second quarter UF – Collins Cooper 36-yard field goal, 6:03. Georgia 7–3. UGA – Robert Edwards 1-yard run (Hap Hines kick), 3:23. Georgia 14–3. Third quarter UF – Noah Brindise 1-yard run (Collins Cooper kick), 11:23. Georgia 14–10. UF – Rod Frazier 3-yard run (Collins Cooper kick), 6:32. Florida 17–14. UGA – Robert Edwards 1-yard run (Hap Hines kick), 1:30. Georgia 21–17. Fourth quarter UGA – Dax Langley 27-yard field goal, 9:02. Georgia 24–17. UGA – Robert Edwards 37-yard run (kick failed), 5:58. Georgia 30–17. UGA – Olandis Gary 7-yard run (Hap Hines kick), 2:44. Georgia 37–17. Top passers UGA – Mike Bobo – 16/27, 260 yards, 3 INT UF – Doug Johnson – 12/25, 115 yards, 2 INT Top rushers UGA – Robert Edwards – 26 rushes, 124 yards, 4 TD UF – Fred Taylor – 18 rushes, 85 yards Top receivers UGA – Corey Allen – 5 receptions, 116 yards UF – Jamie Richardson – 6 receptions, 97 yards