# 1997 Auburn Tigers football team

The 1997 Auburn Tigers football team represented Auburn University in the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team, coached by Terry Bowden, finished with a 10–3 record and won the school's first SEC West Division championship, but lost by a point to Tennessee in the 1997 SEC Championship Game. The Tigers ended the season with a #11 ranking in the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll after winning the Peach Bowl against Clemson on January 2.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 4 | 7:00 p.m. | at Virginia* | No. 18 | Scott StadiumCharlottesville, VA | ESPN | W 28–17 | 45,300 |
| September 13 | 11:30 a.m. | Ole Miss | No. 16 | Jordan-Hare StadiumAuburn, AL (rivalry) | JPS | W 19–9 | 81,203 |
| September 20 | 6:30 p.m. | at No. 10 LSU | No. 12 | Tiger StadiumBaton Rouge, LA (rivalry) | ESPN | W 31–28 | 80,538 |
| September 27 | 6:00 p.m. | UCF* | No. 8 | Jordan-Hare StadiumAuburn, AL | PPV | W 41–14 | 82,109 |
| October 4 | 11:30 a.m. | at South Carolina | No. 8 | Williams-Brice StadiumColumbia, SC | JPS | W 23–6 | 79,411 |
| October 11 | 1:00 p.m. | Louisiana Tech* | No. 8 | Jordan-Hare StadiumAuburn, AL | PPV | W 49–13 | 84,761 |
| October 18 | 2:30 p.m. | No. 7 Florida | No. 6 | Jordan-Hare StadiumAuburn, AL (rivalry, College GameDay) | CBS | L 10–24 | 85,214 |
| October 25 | 5:00 p.m. | at Arkansas | No. 11 | Razorback StadiumFayetteville, AR | ESPN2 | W 26–21 | 41,277 |
| November 1 | 1:00 p.m. | Mississippi State | No. 11 | Jordan-Hare StadiumAuburn, AL | | L 0–20 | 82,736 |
| November 15 | 4:50 p.m. | at No. 7 Georgia | No. 16 | Sanford StadiumAthens, GA (Deep South's Oldest Rivalry) | ESPN | W 45–34 | 86,117 |
| November 22 | 6:30 p.m. | Alabama | No. 13 | Jordan-Hare StadiumAuburn, AL (Iron Bowl) | ESPN | W 18–17 | 85,214 |
| December 6 | 8:00 p.m. | vs. No. 3 Tennessee | No. 11 | Georgia DomeAtlanta, GA (SEC Championship Game, rivalry) | ABC | L 29–30 | 74,896 |
| January 2 | 2:00 p.m. | vs. Clemson* | No. 13 | Georgia DomeAtlanta, GA (Peach Bowl, rivalry) | ESPN | W 21–17 | 71,212 |
| *Non-conference gameHomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Central time |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Final |
| AP | 16 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 11 | 11 | 17 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 11 |
| Coaches | 19 | | 18 | 16 | 12 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 11 | 11 | 17 | 16 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 13 | 11 |

## Game summaries
### At Auburn

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Florida | 10 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
| Auburn | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
at Jordan–Hare Stadium, Auburn, Alabama
* Date: October 18
* Game time: 2:30 p.m. CDT
* Game weather: Partly cloudy, 65 °F (18 °C)
* Game attendance: 85,244
* Referee: A. Sizemore
* Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
UF – Jamie Richardson 12-yard pass from Jacquez Green (Collins Cooper kick), 11:00. Florida 7–0. Drive: 4 plays, 43 yards, 1:41.
UF – Collins Cooper 22-yard field goal, 5:49. Florida 10–0. Drive: 8 plays, 19 yards, 4:03.
AUB – Tyrone Dillard 15-yard pass from Dameyune Craig (Jaret Holmes kick), 0:16. Florida 10–7. Drive: 5 plays, 49 yards, 1:56.
Second quarter
AUB – Jaret Holmes 20-yard field goal, 0:00. Tie 10–10. Drive: 11 plays, 81 yards, 2:28.
Third quarter
UF – Jacquez Green 10-yard pass from Noah Brindise (Collins Cooper kick), 7:50. Florida 17–10. Drive: 14 plays, 97 yards, 5:20.
Fourth quarter
UF – Jacquez Green 5-yard run (Collins Cooper kick), 4:27. Florida 24–10. Drive: 2 plays, 6 yards, 0:49.
Top passers
UF – Jesse Palmer – 8/14, 92 yards, 2 INT
AUB – Dameyune Craig – 18/34, 187 yards, TD, INT
Top rushers
UF – Fred Taylor – 34 rushes, 140 yards
AUB – Rusty Williams – 8 rushes, 22 yards
Top receivers
UF – Travis McGriff – 3 receptions, 44 yards
AUB – Karsten Bailey – 4 receptions, 56 yards :