1997 Wisconsin Badgers football team

1997 Wisconsin Badgers football
Outback Bowl, L 6–33 vs. Georgia
Conference	Big Ten Conference
1997 record	8–5 (5–3 Big Ten)
Head coach	Barry Alvarez (8th year)
Offensive coordinator	Brad Childress (6th year)
Defensive coordinator	Kevin Cosgrove (3rd year)
Home stadium	Camp Randall Stadium (Capacity: 76,129)
Seasons ← 1996 1998 →

1997 Big Ten football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
#1 Michigan $		8	–	0					12	–	0
#12 Ohio State		6	–	2					10	–	3
#16 Penn State		6	–	2					9	–	3
#15 Purdue		6	–	2					9	–	3
Wisconsin		5	–	3					8	–	5
Iowa		4	–	4					7	–	5
Michigan State		4	–	4					7	–	5
Northwestern		3	–	5					5	–	7
Minnesota		1	–	7					3	–	9
Indiana		1	–	7					2	–	9
Illinois		0	–	8					0	–	11
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

1 2 3 4 Total • Syracuse 10 14 7 3 34 Wisconsin 0 0 0 0 0 Date: August 24 Location: Giants Stadium Game attendance: 51,185

1 2 3 4 Total Boise St 10 7 0 7 24 • Wisconsin 7 7 7 7 28 Date: September 6 Location: Camp Randall Stadium

1 2 3 4 Total • Wisconsin 14 28 14 0 56 San Jose St 10 0 0 0 10 Date: September 13 Location: Spartan Stadium Game attendance: 23,042

1 2 3 4 Total San Diego St 0 0 3 7 10 • Wisconsin 17 5 7 7 36 Date: September 20 Location: Camp Randall Stadium

1 2 3 4 Total Indiana 7 10 6 3 26 • Wisconsin 7 10 0 10 27 Date: September 27 Location: Camp Randall Stadium

1 2 3 4 Total • Wisconsin 13 3 7 3 26 Northwestern 6 8 11 0 25 Date: October 4 Location: Ryan Field

1 2 3 4 Total Illinois 0 7 0 0 7 • Wisconsin 14 7 10 0 31 Date: October 11 Location: Camp Randall Stadium

1 2 3 4 Total Wisconsin 0 10 7 3 20 • Purdue 21 7 7 10 45 Date: October 18 Location: Ross–Ade Stadium

The 1997 Wisconsin Badgers football team represented the University of Wisconsin during the 1997 Big Ten Conference football season. They were led by eight year head coach Barry Alvarez and participated as members of the Big Ten Conference. The Badgers played their home games at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.

After suffering a humiliating loss at the hands of Donovan McNabb and the Syracuse Orangemen in their season opener, the Wisconsin Badgers sprang back to win eight of their next nine games. After defeating Boise State, San Jose State, and San Diego State, the Badgers won consecutive games with field goals as time expired against Indiana and Northwestern. In the course of this streak, the Badgers snapped a long losing streak at the hands of the Iowa Hawkeyes with a 13–10 win, the first Wisconsin win over a Hayden Fry-coached team ever. After defeating Iowa, Barry Alvarez's team fell apart down the stretch, losing to eventual national champion Michigan, Penn State, and Georgia in the Outback Bowl.

While the Badgers suffered a 3-game losing streak to close out the year, the 1997 campaign set the stage for the incredibly successful 1998 season.

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