1997 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

1997 Nebraska Cornhuskers football

Coaches' Poll national champion
Big 12 champion
Orange Bowl champion

Big 12 Championship Game, W 54–15 vs. Texas A&M

Orange Bowl, W 42–17 vs. Tennessee

Conference

Big 12 Conference

North Division

Ranking

Coaches

No. 1

No. 2

1997 record

13–0 (8–0 Big 12)

Head coach

Tom Osborne (25th year)

Offensive coordinator

Tom Osborne (28th year)

Offensive scheme

I formation

Defensive coordinator

Charlie McBride (17th year)

Home stadium

Memorial Stadium

Seasons

« 1996

1998 »

1997 Big 12 football standings
	Conf				Overall
Team		W		L		W		L
Northern Division
#2 Nebraska † xy$		8	–	0		13	–	0
#8 Kansas State %		7	–	1		11	–	1
#23 Missouri		5	–	3		7	–	5
Colorado		3	–	5		5	–	6
Kansas		3	–	5		6	–	5
Iowa State		1	–	7		1	–	10
Southern Division
#20 Texas A&M xy		6	–	2		9	–	4
#24 Oklahoma State		5	–	3		8	–	4
Texas Tech		5	–	3		6	–	5
Texas		2	–	6		4	–	7
Oklahoma		2	–	6		4	–	8
Baylor		1	–	7		2	–	9
Championship: Nebraska 54, Texas A&M 15
† – Coaches Poll National Champion $ – Bowl Alliance representative as champion % – Bowl Alliance at-large representative x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

Akron at Nebraska

	1	2	3	4	Total
Akron	0	0	7	7	14
• Nebraska	14	24	14	7	59

Date: 1997-08-30
Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska
Game attendance: 75,126

Central Florida at Nebraska

	1	2	3	4	Total
Central Florida	7	10	0	7	24
• Nebraska	0	14	17	7	38

Date: 1997-09-13
Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska
Game attendance: 75,327

Nebraska at Washington

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Nebraska	14	7	0	6	27
Washington	0	7	7	0	14

Date: 1997-09-20
Location: Husky Stadium, Seattle
Game attendance: 74,023

Kansas State at Nebraska

	1	2	3	4	Total
Kansas State	6	0	6	14	26
• Nebraska	10	10	21	15	56

Date: 1997-10-04
Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska
Game attendance: 75,856

Nebraska at Baylor

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Nebraska	14	28	7	0	49
Baylor	7	0	0	14	21

Date: 1997-10-11
Location: Floyd Casey Stadium, Waco, Texas
Game attendance: 38,175

Texas Tech at Nebraska

	1	2	3	4	Total
Texas Tech	0	0	0	0	0
• Nebraska	3	10	9	7	29

Date: 1997-10-18
Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska
Game attendance: 75,764

Nebraska at Kansas

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Nebraska	7	14	0	14	35
Kansas	0	0	0	0	0

Date: 1997-10-25
Location: University of Kansas Memorial Stadium, Lawrence, Kansas
Game attendance: 75,764

Oklahoma at Nebraska

	1	2	3	4	Total
Oklahoma	0	0	7	0	7
• Nebraska	20	14	21	14	69

Date: 1997-11-01
Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska
Game attendance: 75,926

The 1997 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Tom Osborne and played their home games in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Nebraska Head Coach Tom Osborne announced his retirement just prior to the 1998 Orange bowl, capping a remarkable career of success. The #2 Cornhuskers handily defeated the #3 Tennessee Volunteers 42-17, while #1 Michigan defeated #7 Washington State team 21-16. In postgame coverage on the field, Nebraska quarterback Scott Frost openly lobbied Coaches' Poll voters for support based on performance comparisons between Nebraska and Michigan, also mentioning Osborne's retirement. The voters apparently agreed, as Nebraska was ranked #1 in the final Coaches' Poll, while Michigan retained their pre-bowl #1 ranking in the AP Poll, creating a split National Championship. The 1997 Huskers set an NCAA record that still stands by scoring an average of 5.5 rushing touchdowns per game (66 rushing touchdowns in twelve games, not including the six scored in the Orange Bowl).

The following Nebraska players who participated in the 1997 season later moved on to the next level and joined a professional or semi-pro team as draftees or free agents.

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