# 1997 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

The 1997 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was led by 25th-year head coach Tom Osborne and played their home games in Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska. The Cornhuskers competed as members of the Big 12 Conference in the league's second year of existence.
The Cornhuskers compiled a perfect 13–0 record and claimed their third national championship in four years. Nebraska was ranked first in the final Coaches Poll of the year, but was ranked second behind Michigan (also undefeated, at 12–0) in the final AP Poll. Of the 20 official championship selectors designated by the NCAA, 13 selected Nebraska as national champions, six selected Michigan, and one declared them co-champions. It remains one of the most hotly contested national championship debates in college football history.
Nebraska secured their first Big 12 Conference championship by defeating Texas A&M by a score of 54–15 in the Big 12 Championship Game. Nebraska had been upset by Texas in the inaugural Big 12 Championship Game in 1996. The season ended with a 42–17 victory over No. 3 Tennessee in the 1998 Orange Bowl for their fourth consecutive major bowl victory.
The Nebraska offense, which led the country in scoring, was led by quarterback Scott Frost and running back Ahman Green. Frost became just the tenth player in college football history to both pass and run for 1,000 yards. Green finished second in the country in rushing yards with 1,877 yards, and tied for third in touchdowns with 22. Offensive lineman Aaron Taylor was named a consensus All-American and was the recipient of the Outland Trophy. The Cornhusker defense was anchored by All-American defensive linemen Jason Peter and Grant Wistrom, winner of the Lombardi Award.
Head coach Tom Osborne announced after the regular season that the Orange Bowl would be his final game as head coach. He retired as Nebraska's all-time winningest coach, and was sixth in wins all-time in major college football history at the time of his retirement.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 30 | 1:00 pm | Akron* | No. 6 | Memorial StadiumLincoln, NE | | W 59–14 | 75,124 |
| September 13 | 12:30 pm | UCF* | No. 6 | Memorial StadiumLincoln, NE | | W 38–24 | 75,327 |
| September 20 | 2:30 pm | at No. 2 Washington* | No. 7 | Husky StadiumSeattle, WA | ABC | W 27–14 | 74,023 |
| October 4 | 6:00 pm | No. 17 Kansas State | No. 3 | Memorial StadiumLincoln, NE (rivalry) | FSN | W 56–26 | 75,856 |
| October 11 | 6:00 pm | at Baylor | No. 3 | Floyd Casey StadiumWaco, TX | | W 49–21 | 38,175 |
| October 18 | 12:30 pm | Texas Tech | No. 2 | Memorial StadiumLincoln, NE | | W 29–0 | 75,764 |
| October 25 | 6:00 pm | at Kansas | No. 1 | Memorial StadiumLawrence, KS (rivalry) | FSN | W 35–0 | 42,000 |
| November 1 | 2:30 pm | Oklahoma | No. 1 | Memorial StadiumLincoln, NE (rivalry) | ABC | W 69–7 | 75,926 |
| November 8 | 2:30 pm | at Missouri | No. 1 | Faurot FieldColumbia, MO (Flea Kicker, rivalry) | ABC | W 45–38 $^{OT}$ | 66,846 |
| November 15 | 11:30 am | Iowa State | No. 3 | Memorial StadiumLincoln, NE | FSN | W 77–14 | 75,613 |
| November 28 | 1:30 pm | at Colorado | No. 2 | Folsom FieldBoulder, CO (rivalry) | ABC | W 27–24 | 52,738 |
| December 6 | 3:30 pm | vs. No. 14 Texas A&M | No. 2 | AlamodomeSan Antonio, TX (Big 12 Championship Game) | ABC | W 54–15 | 64,824 |
| January 2, 1998 | 7:00 pm | vs. No. 3 Tennessee* | No. 2 | Pro Player StadiumMiami Gardens, Florida (Orange Bowl, College GameDay) | CBS | W 42–17 | 74,002 |
| *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 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Coaches | 6 | | 6 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |

## Game summaries
### Akron

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Akron | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| • Nebraska | 14 | 24 | 14 | 7 | 59 |

### UCF

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| UCF | 7 | 10 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
| • Nebraska | 0 | 14 | 17 | 7 | 38 |

### Washington

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Nebraska | 14 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 27 |
| Washington | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |

### Kansas State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Kansas State | 6 | 0 | 6 | 14 | 26 |
| • Nebraska | 10 | 10 | 21 | 15 | 56 |

### Baylor

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Nebraska | 14 | 28 | 7 | 0 | 49 |
| Baylor | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 21 |

### Texas Tech

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Texas Tech | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • Nebraska | 3 | 10 | 9 | 7 | 29 |

### Kansas

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Nebraska | 7 | 14 | 0 | 14 | 35 |
| Kansas | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Oklahoma

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Oklahoma | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| • Nebraska | 20 | 14 | 21 | 14 | 69 |

### Missouri

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Total |
| • Nebraska | 14 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 45 |
| Missouri | 7 | 17 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 38 |

### Iowa State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Iowa State | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| • Nebraska | 35 | 28 | 7 | 7 | 77 |

### Colorado

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Nebraska | 3 | 7 | 17 | 0 | 27 |
| Colorado | 0 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 24 |

### Texas A&M

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Texas A&M | 0 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 15 |
| • Nebraska | 16 | 21 | 3 | 14 | 54 |

### Tennessee

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Tennessee | 0 | 3 | 6 | 8 | 17 |
| • Nebraska | 7 | 7 | 21 | 7 | 42 |

## Personnel
### Depth chart

Defense :
* FS
* Eric Warfield
* Clint Finley
* Eric Walther
| WILL | MIKE | SAM |
| Octavious McFarlin | Jay Foreman | Brian Shaw |
| Eric Johnson | Carlos Polk | Tony Ortiz |
| Juiles Jackson | Ben Buettenback | Quint Hogrefe |
* ROVER
* Mike Brown
* Brandon Quindt
* Gregg List
* CB
* Erwin Swiney
* Joe Walker
* Brandon Harrison
| DE | DT | DT | DE |
| Grant Wistrom | Jason Peter | Jason Wiltz | Chad Kelsay Mike Rucker |
| Travis Toline | Brandon Drum | Steve Warren | Kyle Vanden Bosch |
| Aaron Wills | Loran Kaiser | Derek Allen | Brandon Mooberry |
* CB
* Ralph Brown
* Jerome Peterson
* Khari Reynolds
Offense :
* WR
* Kenny Cheatham
* Jeff Lake Matt Davison
| LT | LG | C | RG | RT |
| Fred Pollack | Aaron Taylor | Josh Heskew | Jon Zatechka | Eric Anderson |
| Adam Julch | James Sherman | Matt Hoskinson | Matt Hoskinson | Jason Schwab |
| Mike Van Cleave | Brandt Wade | Matt Baldwin | Ben Gessford | Jeff Clausen |
* TE
* Vershan Jackson Tim Carpenter
* Sheldon Jackson
* T.J DeBates
* WR
* Lance Brown
* Bobby Newcombe Shevin Wiggins
* QB
* Scott Frost
* Frankie London
* Monte Christo
* RB
* Ahman Green
* Correll Buckhalter
* James Sims
* FB
* Joel Machovicka
* Billy Legate
* Willie Miller
* Special teams
* PK Kris Brown
* P Jesse Kosch
* KR Shevin Wiggins Joe Walker
* PR Bobby Newcombe

## Statistics

* QB Scott Frost: 88/159 (55.3%) for 1,237 yards (7.80) with 5 TD vs. 4 INT (2.52%). 176 carries for 1,095 yards (6.22) and 19 TD.
* RB Ahman Green: 278 carries for 1,877 yards (6.75) with 22 TD. 16 catches for 151 yards and 0 TD.
* FB Joel Makovicka: 105 carries for 685 yards (6.52) and 9 TD.
* RB Correll Buckhalter: 54 carries for 311 yards (5.76) and 6 TD.
* WR Lance Brown: 12 catches for 226 yards (18.83) and 0 TD.
* WR Matt Davison: 10 catches for 219 yards (21.90) and 1 TD.

## After the season

Nebraska Head Coach Tom Osborne announced his retirement just prior to the 1998 Orange bowl, capping a remarkable career of success. The #2 Cornhuskers handily defeated the #3 Tennessee Volunteers 42-17, while #1 Michigan defeated #7 Washington State team 21-16. In postgame coverage on the field, Nebraska quarterback Scott Frost openly lobbied Coaches Poll voters for support based on performance comparisons between Nebraska and Michigan. The voters apparently agreed, as Nebraska was ranked #1 in the final Coaches Poll, while Michigan retained their pre-bowl #1 ranking in the AP Poll, creating a split National Championship. The 1997 Huskers set an NCAA record that still stands by scoring an average of 5.5 rushing touchdowns per game (66 rushing touchdowns in twelve games, not including the six scored in the Orange Bowl).

### Awards

| Award | Name(s) |
| Lombardi Award | Grant Wistrom |
| Outland Trophy | Aaron Taylor |
| Big 12 Male Athlete of the Year | Grant Wistrom |
| All-America 1st team | Jason Peter, Aaron Taylor, Grant Wistrom |
| All-America 2nd team | Ahman Green |
| All-America 3rd team | Eric Anderson |
| All-Big 12 1st team | Eric Anderson, Mike Brown, Ralph Brown, Scott Frost, Ahman Green, Jason Peter, Aaron Taylor, Grant Wistrom |
| All-Big 12 2nd team | Jay Foreman |
| All-Big 12 3rd team | Josh Heskew, Chad Kelsay, Eric Warfield, Jon Zatechka |
| All-Big 12 honorable mention | Kris Brown, Jesse Kosch, Joel Makovicka, Fred Pollack, Mike Rucker, Jason Wiltz |

### NFL and pro players

The following Nebraska players who participated in the 1997 season later moved on to the next level and joined a professional or semi-pro team as draftees or free agents.
| Name | Team |
| Dan Alexander | Tennessee Titans |
| Eric Anderson | Amsterdam Admirals |
| Kris Brown | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| Mike Brown | Chicago Bears |
| Ralph Brown | New York Giants |
| Correll Buckhalter | Philadelphia Eagles |
| Eric Crouch | St. Louis Rams |
| Clint Finley | Kansas City Chiefs |
| Jay Foreman | Buffalo Bills |
| Scott Frost | New York Jets |
| Ahman Green | Seattle Seahawks |
| Russ Hochstein | Tampa Bay Buccaneers |
| Sheldon Jackson | Buffalo Bills |
| Vershan Jackson | Kansas City Chiefs |
| Eric Johnson | Oakland Raiders |
| Chad Kelsay | Pittsburgh Steelers |
| Bill Lafleur | Barcelona Dragons |
| Joel Makovicka | Arizona Cardinals |
| Bobby Newcombe | Montreal Alouettes |
| Tony Ortiz | Scottish Claymores |
| Jason Peter | Carolina Panthers |
| Carlos Polk | San Diego Chargers |
| Dominic Raiola | Detroit Lions |
| Mike Rucker | Carolina Panthers |
| Erwin Swiney | Green Bay Packers |
| Larry Townsend | Berlin Thunder |
| Kyle Vanden Bosch | Arizona Cardinals |
| Joe Walker | Tennessee Titans |
| Eric Warfield | Kansas City Chiefs |
| Steve Warren | Green Bay Packers |
| Jason Wiltz | New York Jets |
| Grant Wistrom | St. Louis Rams |
| Jon Zatechka | Berlin Thunder |