# 1997–98 NCAA football bowl games

The 1997–98 NCAA football bowl games concluded the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. In the third and final year of the Bowl Alliance era, Nebraska defeated Tennessee in the 1998 Orange Bowl, designated as the Bowl Alliance national championship for the 1997 season. AP-No. 1 ranked Michigan defeated Washington State in the 1998 Rose Bowl, which was not a part of the Bowl Alliance. Michigan was awarded the national championship by the AP Poll and Nebraska by the Coaches Poll.
A total of 20 bowl games were played between December 20, 1997 and January 2, 1998 by 40 bowl-eligible teams. Two new bowl games were added this year: the Motor City Bowl (now known as the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl), and the Humanitarian Bowl (now known as the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl).

## Non-Bowl Alliance bowls

| Date | Time | Game | Site | Result |
| Dec 20 | 6:00 PM | Las Vegas Bowl | Sam Boyd Stadium Las Vegas, NV | Oregon 41, No. 23 Air Force 13 |
| Dec 25 | 3:30 PM | Aloha Bowl | Aloha Stadium Honolulu, HI | No. 21 Washington 51, No. 25 Michigan State 23 |
| Dec 26 | 8:00 PM | Motor City Bowl | Pontiac Silverdome Pontiac, MI | Ole Miss 34, Marshall 31 |
| Dec 27 | 2:30 PM | Insight.com Bowl | Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ | Arizona 20, New Mexico 14 |
| Dec 28 | 8:00 PM | Independence Bowl | Independence Stadium Shreveport, LA | No. 15 LSU 27, Notre Dame 9 |
| Dec 29 | 3:30 PM | Humanitarian Bowl | Bronco Stadium Boise, ID | Cincinnati 35, Utah State 19 |
| Dec 29 | 7:30 PM | Carquest Bowl | Pro Player Stadium Miami Gardens, FL | Georgia Tech 35, West Virginia 30 |
| Dec 29 | 8:00 PM | Holiday Bowl | Qualcomm Stadium San Diego, CA | No. 18 Colorado State 35, No. 19 Missouri 24 |
| Dec 30 | 8:00 PM | Alamo Bowl | Alamodome San Antonio, TX | No. 17 Purdue 33, No. 24 Oklahoma State 20 |
| Dec 31 | 2:00 PM | Sun Bowl | Sun Bowl El Paso, TX | No. 16 Arizona State 17, Iowa 7 |
| Dec 31 | 3:30 PM | Liberty Bowl | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN | No. 22 Southern Miss 41, Pittsburgh 7 |
| Jan 1 | 11:00 AM | Outback Bowl | Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL | No. 12 Georgia 33, Wisconsin 6 |
| Jan 1 | 12:30 PM | Gator Bowl | Alltel Stadium Jacksonville, FL | No. 7 North Carolina 42, Virginia Tech 3 |
| Jan 1 | 1:00 PM | Florida Citrus Bowl | Florida Citrus Bowl Orlando, FL | No. 6 Florida 21, No. 11 Penn State 6 |
| Jan 1 | 1:30 PM | Cotton Bowl Classic | Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX | No. 5 UCLA 29, No. 20 Texas A&M 23 |
| Jan 1 | 5:00 PM | Rose Bowl | Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA | No. 1 Michigan 21, No. 8 Washington State 16 |
| Jan 2 | 3:00 PM | Peach Bowl | Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA | No. 13 Auburn 21, Clemson 17 |
| Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||

## Bowl Alliance bowls

| Date | Time | Game | Site | Result |
| Dec 31 | 7:00 PM | Fiesta Bowl | Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ | No. 10 Kansas State 35, No. 14 Syracuse 18 |
| Jan 1 | 8:00 PM | Sugar Bowl | Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA | No. 4 Florida State 31, No. 9 Ohio State 14 |
| Jan 2 | 8:00 PM | Orange Bowl (championship game) | Pro Player Stadium Miami Gardens, FL | No. 2 Nebraska 42, No. 3 Tennessee 17 |
| Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||