1997 Georgia Bulldogs football team

American college football season

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
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 Georgia Bulldogs football team was an American football team that represented the University of Georgia as a member of the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their second year under head coach Jim Donnan, the team compiled a 10–2 record, with a conference record of 6–2, and finished second in the Eastern Division.^[1]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 30	1:00 p.m.	Arkansas State*		Sanford Stadium Athens, GA		W 38–7	79,145	^[2]
September 13	3:30 p.m.	South Carolina		Sanford Stadium Athens, GA (rivalry)	CBS	W 31–15	86,117	^[3]
September 20	1:00 p.m.	Northeast Louisiana*	No. 25	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA		W 42–3	74,113	^[4]
October 4	1:00 p.m.	Mississippi State	No. 18	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA		W 47–0	83,211	^[5]
October 11	3:30 p.m.	at No. 10 Tennessee	No. 13	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)	CBS	L 13–38	106,656	^[6]
October 18	9:00 p.m.	at Vanderbilt	No. 19	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN (rivalry)	ESPN2	W 34–13	35,124	^[7]
October 25	3:30 p.m.	Kentucky	No. 16	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA	CBS	W 23–13	85,672	^[8]
November 1	3:30 p.m.	vs. No. 6 Florida	No. 14	Alltel Stadium Jacksonville, FL (rivalry)	CBS	W 37–17	84,297	^[9]
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	^[10]
November 22	2:00 p.m.	at Ole Miss	No. 14	Vaught–Hemingway Stadium Oxford, MS		W 21–14	35,473	^[11]
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	^[12]
January 1, 1998	11:00 a.m.	vs. Wisconsin*	No. 12	Houlihan's Stadium Tampa, FL (Outback Bowl)	ESPN	W 33–6	56,186	^[13]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

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

Game summaries

Vs. Florida

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

Quarter	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

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	`75`	Jonas Jennings	Fr
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
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

Phil Jones (graduate assistant)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

References

^ "1997 Georgia Bulldogs Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
^ "Bulldogs build momentum with 38–7 win". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. August 31, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "USC whipped between the hedges". The Herald. September 14, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Bulldogs take care of business, rout Indians". Ledger-Enquirer. September 21, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Georgia rolls over Mississippi State". The Montgomery Advertiser. October 5, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "No. 9 Volunteers romp past soaked Bulldogs". Anderson Independent-Mail. October 12, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Even without Ward, Bulldogs sink Commodores". The Macon Telegraph. October 19, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "UK gambles, but Georgia hits jackpot". Lexington Herald-Leader. October 26, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "The party's over as Dawgs chomp on Gators". Tallahassee Democrat. November 2, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Tigers top Dawgs, stay in title hunt". The Sun Herald. November 16, 1997. Retrieved July 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "'Lackadaisical' Rebels unable to hang with Georgia". The Greenwood Commonwealth. November 23, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Georgia shocks state rival with last-second TD pass". The Tennessean. November 30, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Dawgs make quick work of Wisconsin". St. Petersburg Times. January 2, 1998. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

v t e Georgia Bulldogs football
Venues	Herty Field (1892–1910) Sanford Field (1911–1928) Sanford Stadium (1929–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Alabama Auburn: Deep South's Oldest Rivalry Clemson Florida Georgia Tech: Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate South Carolina Tennessee Vanderbilt
Culture & lore	History Hairy Dawg Uga "Glory, Glory" Georgia Redcoat Marching Band First forward pass 1927 Yale game Prayer at Jordan-Hare
People	Head coaches Steadman V. Sanford Georgia Joker Larry Munson Morgan Blake NFL draftees Starting quarterbacks Statistical leaders
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National championship seasons in bold