The 1997 Washington Huskies football team was an American football team that represented the University of Washington during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season . In its fifth season under head coach Jim Lambright , the team compiled an 8–4 record, finished fourth in the Pacific-10 Conference , and outscored its opponents 420 to 259.[ 1] Jerome Pathon was selected as the team's most valuable player. Seniors Pathon, Jerry Jensen , Rashaan Shehee , Tony Parrish were the team captains.
After a 27–0 shutout of USC on November 1,[ 2] ranked sixth in the nation. Saddled with injuries,[ 2] [ 3] Oregon ,[ 4] UCLA , and #11 Washington State .[ 5] [ 6]
At the Aloha Bowl on Christmas Day against #25 Michigan State , Washington built a 31–10 lead at halftime and won 51–23;[ 3] [ 7] final rankings , to #18 in both major polls.[ 8]
Date Time Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance September 6 12:30 p.m. at No. 19 BYU * No. 4 FSN W 42–2065,978 September 13 12:30 p.m. San Diego State * No. 3 FSN W 36–371,081 September 20 12:30 p.m. No. 7 Nebraska * No. 2 ABC L 14–2774,023 October 4 3:30 p.m. No. 25 Arizona State No. 10 FSN W 26–1474,986 October 11 12:30 p.m. at California No. 10 W 30–348,000 October 18 12:30 p.m. at Arizona No. 10 ABC W 58–2850,585 October 25 3:30 p.m. at Oregon State No. 7 FSN W 45–1728,067 November 1 12:30 p.m. USC No. 7 ABC W 27–073,401 November 8 12:30 p.m. Oregon No. 6 L 28–3173,775 November 15 12:30 p.m. at No. 9 UCLA No. 13 ABC L 28–5285,697 November 22 12:30 p.m. No. 11 Washington State No. 17 ABC L 35–4174,268 12:30 p.m. vs. No. 25 Michigan State * No. 21 ABC W 51–2334,419 *Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Pacific time
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking Week Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Final AP 4 (10) 4 (9) 4 (9) 3 (14) 2 (19) 10 10 10 10 7 7 6 13 17 21 21 21 18 Coaches 3 (15) 4 (7) 3 (13) 3 (12) 11 11 9 8 7 7 6 14 20 22 22 23 18
1997 Washington Huskies football team roster
Players
Coaches
Offense
Defense
Special teams
Pos.
#
Name
Class
PK
19
Nick Lentz Fr
P
13
Sean O'Laughlin Jr
Head coach Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain(S) Suspended(I) Ineligible
Source: [ 9] [ 10]
Ten Huskies were selected in the 1998 NFL draft , which lasted seven rounds (241 selections).
^ "Washington Yearly Results (1995–1999)" . College Football Data Warehouse . David DeLassus. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 15, 2015 .^ a b Condotta, Bob (November 2, 1997). "UW emerges battered, not beaten" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). (Tacoma News Tribune) . p. C1. ^ a b "UW leis Spartans low" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 26, 1997. p. C1.^ Conrad, John (November 9, 1997). "Ducks turn Huskies to mush" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). p. 1D. ^ Cour, Jim (November 23, 1997). "Everything comes up roses for WSU" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). Associated Press. p. 1G. ^ Sando, Mike (November 23, 1997). "On to Pasadena!" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). p. C1. ^ Withers, Bud (December 26, 1997). "Huskies too fast, too big for Spartans" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). (Seattle Post-Intelligencer) . p. 1C. ^ "College football final polls" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). wire services. January 3, 1998. p. 3D.^ "Washington Huskies" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). Football '97). August 26, 1997. p. C2.^ Conrad, John (November 8, 1997). "Ducks need special effort against Huskies" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). p. 1D.
