# 1997 Wisconsin Badgers football team

The 1997 Wisconsin Badgers football team represented the University of Wisconsin during the 1997 Big Ten Conference football season. They were led by eight year head coach Barry Alvarez and participated as members of the Big Ten Conference. The Badgers played their home games at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.
After suffering a humiliating loss at the hands of Donovan McNabb and the Syracuse Orangemen in their season opener, the Wisconsin Badgers sprang back to win eight of their next nine games. After defeating Boise State, San Jose State, and San Diego State, the Badgers won consecutive games with field goals as time expired against Indiana and Northwestern. In the course of this streak, the Badgers snapped a long losing streak at the hands of the Iowa Hawkeyes with a 13–10 win, the first Wisconsin win over a Hayden Fry-coached team ever. After defeating Iowa, Barry Alvarez's team fell apart down the stretch, losing to eventual national champion Michigan, Penn State, and Georgia in the Outback Bowl.
While the Badgers suffered a 3-game losing streak to close out the year, the 1997 campaign set the stage for the incredibly successful 1998 season.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| August 24 | 1:00 p.m. | vs. No. 17 Syracuse* | No. 24 | Giants StadiumEast Rutherford, NJ (Kickoff Classic) | ABC | L 0–34 | 51,185 |
| September 6 | 2:00 p.m. | Boise State* | | Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI | | W 28–24 | 73,209 |
| September 13 | 5:30 p.m. | at San Jose State* | | Spartan StadiumSan Jose, CA | | W 56–10 | 23,042 |
| September 20 | 1:00 p.m. | San Diego State* | | Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI | | W 36–10 | 76,864 |
| September 27 | 11:20 a.m. | Indiana | | Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI | ESPN Plus | W 27–26 | 78,211 |
| October 4 | 6:00 p.m. | at Northwestern | | Ryan FieldEvanston, IL | ESPN | W 26–25 | 47,129 |
| October 11 | 11:20 a.m. | Illinois | | Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI | ESPN Plus | W 31–7 | 79,327 |
| October 18 | 1:00 p.m. | at Purdue | No. 24 | Ross–Ade StadiumWest Lafayette, IN | | L 20–45 | 54,252 |
| October 25 | 11:30 a.m. | at Minnesota | | Hubert H. Humphrey MetrodomeMinneapolis, MN (rivalry) | ESPN2 | W 22–21 | 57,563 |
| November 8 | 11:30 a.m. | No. 12 Iowa | | Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI (rivalry) | ESPN | W 13–10 | 79,864 |
| November 15 | 2:30 p.m. | No. 1 Michigan | No. 23 | Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI | ABC | L 16–26 | 79,806 |
| November 22 | 2:30 p.m. | at No. 6 Penn State | No. 24 | Beaver StadiumUniversity Park, PA | ABC | L 10–35 | 96,934 |
| January 1, 1998 | 10:00 a.m. | vs. No. 11 Georgia* | | Houlihan's StadiumTampa, FL (Outback Bowl) | ESPN | L 6–33 | 56,186 |
| *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 — = Not ranked :
| | 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 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 24 | — | — | — | 23 | 24 | — | — | — | — |
| Coaches | 24 | | — | — | — | — | — | — | 24 | — | — | — | 24 | 24 | — | — | — | — |

## Game summaries
### Syracuse

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Syracuse | 10 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 34 |
| Wisconsin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Boise State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Boise St | 10 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 24 |
| • Wisconsin | 7 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 28 |

### San Jose State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Wisconsin | 14 | 28 | 14 | 0 | 56 |
| San Jose St | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |

### San Diego State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| San Diego St | 0 | 0 | 3 | 7 | 10 |
| • Wisconsin | 17 | 5 | 7 | 7 | 36 |

### Indiana

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Indiana | 7 | 10 | 6 | 3 | 26 |
| • Wisconsin | 7 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 27 |

### Northwestern

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Wisconsin | 13 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 26 |
| Northwestern | 6 | 8 | 11 | 0 | 25 |

### Illinois

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Illinois | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| • Wisconsin | 14 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 31 |

### Purdue

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wisconsin | 0 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 20 |
| • Purdue | 21 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 45 |

### Minnesota

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Wisconsin | 7 | 6 | 0 | 9 | 22 |
| Minnesota | 8 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 21 |

### Iowa

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Iowa | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 10 |
| • Wisconsin | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 13 |

### Michigan

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • Michigan | 7 | 9 | 0 | 10 | 26 |
| Wisconsin | 0 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 16 |

### Penn State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wisconsin | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| • Penn St | 7 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 35 |

### Outback Bowl

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Wisconsin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| • Georgia | 12 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 33 |

## Roster

    Source:

## Regular starters

| Position | Player |
| Quarterback | Mike Samuel |
| Running Back | Ron Dayne |
| Fullback | Cecil Martin |
| Wide Receiver | Donald Hayes |
| Wide Receiver | Tony Simmons |
| Tight End | Eric Grams |
| Left Tackle | Chris McIntosh |
| Left Guard | Bill Ferrario |
| Center | Casey Rabach |
| Right Guard | Dave Costa |
| Right Tackle | Aaron Gibson |
| Position | Player |
| Defensive End | John Favret |
| Defensive Tackle | Ross Kolodziej |
| Nose Guard | Chris Janek |
| Defensive End | Tom Burke |
| Outside Linebacker | Bob Adamov |
| Inside Linebacker | Donnel Thompson |
| Outside Linebacker | David Lysek |
| Cornerback | Jason Suttle |
| Free Safety | Bobby Myers |
| Strong Safety | Leonard Taylor |
| Cornerback | Lamar Campbell |

## Team players selected in the 1998 NFL Draft

| Player | Position | Round | Overall Selection | NFL Team |
| Tony Simmons | Wide Receiver | 2 | 52 | New England Patriots |
| Donald Hayes | Wide Receiver | 4 | 106 | Carolina Panthers |