# 1997 Tennessee Volunteers football team

The 1997 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. Quarterback Peyton Manning had already completed his degree in three years and had been projected to be the top overall pick in the 1997 NFL draft, but he returned to Tennessee for his senior year. The Volunteers opened the season with victories against Texas Tech and UCLA, but for the third time in his career, Manning fell to Florida, 33–20. The Vols won the rest of their regular season games, finishing 10–1, and advanced to the SEC Championship Game against Auburn. Down 20–7, Manning led the Vols to a 30–29 victory. Throwing for four touchdowns, he was named the game's MVP but injured himself in the process. The #3 Vols were matched up with #2 Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. Had Tennessee won and top-ranked Michigan lost to Washington State in the Rose Bowl, the Vols would have been expected to win the national championship. However, the Vols' defense could not stop Nebraska's rushing attack, giving up more than 400 yards on the ground in a 42–17 loss. As a senior, Manning won numerous awards. He was a consensus first-team All-American and won the Maxwell Award, the Davey O'Brien Award, the Johnny Unitas Award, and the Best College Football Player ESPY Award, among others. However, he did not win the Heisman Trophy, finishing runner-up to Charles Woodson, a CB from Michigan and the only defensive player ever to win the Heisman Trophy.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 30 | 7:45 p.m. | Texas Tech* | No. 5 | Neyland StadiumKnoxville, TN | ESPN | W 52–17 | 106,285 |
| September 6 | 3:30 p.m. | at UCLA* | No. 3 | Rose BowlPasadena, CA | ABC | W 30–24 | 62,619 |
| September 20 | 3:30 p.m. | at No. 1 Florida | No. 4 | Ben Hill Griffin StadiumGainesville, FL (rivalry, College GameDay) | CBS | L 20–33 | 85,714 |
| October 4 | 3:30 p.m. | Ole Miss | No. 10 | Neyland StadiumKnoxville, TN (rivalry) | CBS | W 31–17 | 106,229 |
| October 11 | 3:30 p.m. | No. 15 Georgia | No. 10 | Neyland StadiumKnoxville, TN (rivalry) | CBS | W 38–13 | 106,656 |
| October 18 | 7:00 p.m. | at Alabama | No. 9 | Legion FieldBirmingham, AL (Third Saturday in October) | ESPN | W 38–21 | 83,091 |
| November 1 | 12:30 p.m. | South Carolina | No. 8 | Neyland StadiumKnoxville, TN (rivalry) | JPS | W 22–7 | 106,301 |
| November 8 | 4:00 p.m. | No. 25 Southern Miss* | No. 7 | Neyland StadiumKnoxville, TN | PPV | W 44–20 | 107,073 |
| November 15 | 8:00 p.m. | at Arkansas | No. 5 | War Memorial StadiumLittle Rock, AR | ESPN2 | W 30–22 | 53,235 |
| November 22 | 12:30 p.m. | at Kentucky | No. 5 | Commonwealth StadiumLexington, KY (rivalry) | ESPN2 | W 59–31 | 61,076 |
| November 29 | 12:00 p.m. | Vanderbilt | No. 3 | Neyland StadiumKnoxville, TN (rivalry) | CBS | W 17–10 | 106,683 |
| December 6 | 8:00 p.m. | vs. No. 11 Auburn | No. 3 | Georgia DomeAtlanta, GA (SEC Championship Game) | ABC | W 30–29 | 74,896 |
| January 2 | 8:00 p.m. | vs. No. 2 Nebraska* | No. 3 | Pro Player StadiumMiami Gardens, FL (Orange Bowl, College GameDay) | CBS | L 17–42 | 74,002 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from Coaches Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = First-place votes :
| | 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 | 5 (8) | 5 (7) | 3 (7) | 4 (6) | 4 (6) | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 7 |
| Coaches Poll | 5 (8) | 5 (8) | 3 (10) | 4 (5) | 4 (6) | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 8 |

## Game summaries
### Texas Tech

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Red Raiders | 0 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 17 |
| • No. 5 Volunteers | 7 | 17 | 21 | 7 | 52 |

### At UCLA

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 3 Volunteers | 9 | 15 | 3 | 3 | 30 |
| Bruins | 0 | 3 | 3 | 18 | 24 |

### At Florida

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Tennessee | 0 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 20 |
| Florida | 14 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 33 |
at Ben Hill Griffith Stadium, Gainesville, Florida
* Date: September 20
* Game time: 3:30 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Sunny, 95 °F (35 °C)
* Game attendance: 85,714
* Box Score/Recap
Game information :
First quarter
UF – Jamie Richardson 11-yard pass from Doug Johnson (Collins Cooper kick), 9:43. Florida 7–0.
UF – Tony George 88-yard interception return (Collins Cooper kick), 0:15. Florida 14–0.
Second quarter
UT – Jermaine Copeland 22-yard pass from Peyton Manning (Jeff Hall kick), 1:33. Florida 14–7.
UF – Jacquez Green 19-yard pass from Doug Johnson (kick failed), 0:45. Florida 20–7.
Third quarter
UF – Collins Cooper 37-yard field goal, 8:33. Florida 23–7.
UF – Collins Cooper 40-yard field goal, 3:44. Florida 26–7.
UT – Jermaine Copeland 8-yard pass from Peyton Manning (Jeff Hall kick), 2:32. Florida 26–14.
Fourth quarter
UF – Taran Ross 30-yard pass from Doug Johnson (Collins Cooper kick), 6:23. Florida 33–14.
UT – Cedrick Wilson 16-yard pass from Peyton Manning (pass failed), 2:21. Florida 33–20.
Top passers
UT – Peyton Manning – 29/51, 353 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT
UF – Doug Johnson – 14/32, 261 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT
Top rushers
UT – Mark Levine – 4 rushes, 27 yards
UF – Fred Taylor – 17 rushes, 134 yards
Top receivers
UT – Andy McCullough – 5 receptions, 105 yards
UF – Jacquez Green – 8 receptions, 185 yards, TD :

### Ole Miss

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Rebels | 0 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 17 |
| • No. 9 Volunteers | 0 | 7 | 14 | 10 | 31 |

### Georgia

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 13 Bulldogs | 3 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
| • No. 9 Volunteers | 7 | 17 | 0 | 14 | 38 |

### At Alabama

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 9 Volunteers | 7 | 14 | 10 | 7 | 38 |
| Crimson Tide | 6 | 0 | 8 | 7 | 21 |

### South Carolina

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Gamecocks | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| • No. 9 Volunteers | 9 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 22 |

### Southern Miss

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 24 Golden Eagles | 7 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 20 |
| • No. 8 Volunteers | 6 | 14 | 21 | 3 | 44 |

### At Arkansas

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 5 Volunteers | 7 | 7 | 3 | 13 | 30 |
| Razorbacks | 0 | 10 | 6 | 6 | 22 |

### At Kentucky

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 5 Volunteers | 17 | 7 | 21 | 14 | 59 |
| Wildcats | 7 | 14 | 3 | 7 | 31 |
Peyton Manning threw for a school-record 523 yards and tied the school-record with 5 passing touchdowns in this high-scoring win over Kentucky. The single-game TD record fell in 2007 and the single-game yardage record stood until 2012. In all, Manning and Kentucky QB Tim Couch combined for 999 passing yards (Couch threw for a then-school-record 476 yards).

### Vanderbilt

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Commodores | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| • No. 3 Volunteers | 0 | 10 | 7 | 0 | 17 |

### Vs. Auburn

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 3 Volunteers | 7 | 3 | 13 | 7 | 30 |
| No. 11 Tigers | 13 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 29 |
The Vols struck first just over two minutes into the game, but found themselves trailing 20–7 only 48 seconds into the second quarter. Despite six turnovers, Tennessee clawed all the way back. Peyton Manning threw for 373 yards and 4 TD, including a game winning 73-yard touchdown to Marcus Nash.

### Vs. Nebraska (Orange Bowl)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 3 Volunteers | 0 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 17 |
| • No. 2 Cornhuskers | 7 | 7 | 21 | 7 | 42 |

## Awards and honors

* Peyton Manning, consensus first-team All-American
* Peyton Manning, Maxwell Award winner
* Peyton Manning, Davey O'Brien Award winner
* Peyton Manning, James E. Sullivan Award
* Peyton Manning, Johnny Unitas Award winner
* Peyton Manning, Best College Football Player ESPY Award winner
* Peyton Manning, runner-up, Heisman Trophy

## Team players drafted into the NFL

Tennessee had eight players selected in the 1998 NFL Draft.
| Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL club |
| Peyton Manning | Quarterback | 1 | 1 | Indianapolis Colts |
| Terry Fair | Cornerback | 1 | 20 | Detroit Lions |
| Marcus Nash | Wide receiver | 1 | 30 | Denver Broncos |
| Leonard Little | Defensive end | 3 | 65 | St. Louis Rams |
| Jonathan Brown | Defensive end | 3 | 90 | Green Bay Packers |
| Trey Teague | Center | 7 | 200 | Denver Broncos |
| Andy McCullough | Wide receiver | 7 | 204 | New Orleans Saints |
| Corey Gaines | Safety | 7 | 231 | Indianapolis Colts |