1997 Kentucky Wildcats football team

American college football season

1997 Kentucky Wildcats football

Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Eastern Division
Record	5–6 (2–6 SEC)
Head coach	Hal Mumme (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Mike Leach (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Air raid
Defensive coordinator	Mike Major (1st season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Commonwealth Stadium
Seasons← 1996 1998 →

1997 Southeastern Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Eastern Division
No. 7 Tennessee x$	7	–	1	11	–	2
No. 10 Georgia	6	–	2	10	–	2
No. 4 Florida	6	–	2	10	–	2
South Carolina	3	–	5	5	–	6
Kentucky	2	–	6	5	–	6
Vanderbilt	0	–	8	3	–	8
Western Division
No. 11 Auburn xy	6	–	2	10	–	3
No. 13 LSU x	6	–	2	9	–	3
No. 22 Ole Miss	4	–	4	8	–	4
Mississippi State	4	–	4	7	–	4
Arkansas	2	–	6	4	–	7
Alabama	2	–	6	4	–	7
Championship: Tennessee 30, Auburn 29
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1997 Kentucky Wildcats football team represented the University of Kentucky during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. They participated as members of the Southeastern Conference in the Eastern Division. They played their home games at Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky. The team was coached by Hal Mumme.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	1:30 p.m.	Louisville*	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY (Governor's Cup)		W 38–24	59,186
September 6	12:30 p.m.	at Mississippi State	Scott Field Starkville, MS	JPS	L 27–35	30,121
September 20	2:00 p.m.	at Indiana*	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN (rivalry)		W 49–7	41,149
September 27	3:30 p.m.	No. 1 Florida	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY (rivalry)	CBS	L 28–55	59,224
October 4	7:00 p.m.	No. 20 Alabama	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY	PPV	W 40–34	59,226
October 11	12:30 p.m.	at South Carolina	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	JPS	L 24–38	75,936
October 18	7:00 p.m.	Northeast Louisiana*	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY		W 49–14	57,500
October 25	3:30 p.m.	at No. 16 Georgia	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA	CBS	L 13–23	85,672
November 1	6:30 p.m.	No. 16 LSU	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY	ESPN2	L 28–63	58,450
November 15	2:00 p.m.	at Vanderbilt	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN (rivalry)		W 21–10	40,256
November 22	12:30 p.m.	No. 5 Tennessee	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY (rivalry)	ESPN2	L 31–59	61,076
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Roster

1997 Kentucky Wildcats football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
QB	`2`	Tim Couch	So
RB	`3`	Craig Yeast	Jr
WR	`5`	Marvin Love	Jr
WR	`6`	Kio Sanford	Sr
RB	`32`	Anthony White	So
C	`61`	Paul McGonagle	Jr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
CB	`4`	Littleton Ward	Sr
FS	`8`	Marlon McCree	Fr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K	`9`	Marc Samuel	Fr
P	`19`	Jimmy Carter	Jr
K	`23`	Brian Johnson	Sr
K, P		Seth Hanson	Fr

Head coach

Hal Mumme

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Tony Franklin
Running backs
Mike Leach
Wide receivers/tight ends
Guy Morriss
Offensive line
Mike Major
Defensive coordinator/linebackers
Tom Adams
Defensive ends
Mike Fanoga
Defensive tackles
Darrell Patterson
Safeties
Tim Keane
Cornerbacks
Sonny Dykes
Graduate assistant
Bob Brush
Defensive assistant

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster

Game summaries

Louisville

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cardinals	0	3	14	7	24
Wildcats	21	0	7	10	38

Statistics	LOU	UK
First downs	25	15
Total yards	519	291
Rushing yards	121	87
Passing yards	398	204
Turnovers	1	4
Time of possession	35:18	24:42

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Louisville	Passing	Chris Redman	17/28, 204 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Otis Floyd	14 rushes, 62 yards, TD
	Receiving	Rico Williams	3 receptions, 82 yards
Kentucky	Passing	Tim Couch	36/50, 398 yards, 4 TD, INT
	Rushing	Anthony White	16 rushes, 94 yards, TD
	Receiving	Kio Sanford	6 receptions, 120 yards, TD

At Mississippi State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	7	14	6	0	27
Bulldogs	3	7	12	13	35

At Indiana

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	7	14	28	0	49
Hoosiers	0	0	0	7	7

No. 1 Florida

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 1 Gators	28	0	21	6	55
Wildcats	0	7	7	14	28

No. 20 Alabama

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
No. 20 Crimson Tide	7	7	10	10	0	34
Wildcats	10	3	14	7	6	40

At South Carolina

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	14	7	3	0	24
Gamecocks	0	24	7	7	38

Northeast Louisiana

	1	2	3	4	Total
Indians	0	7	7	0	14
Wildcats	21	14	7	7	49

At No. 16 Georgia

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	0	7	0	6	13
No. 16 Bulldogs	0	14	3	6	23

No. 16 LSU

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 16 Tigers	12	8	22	21	63
Wildcats	0	21	7	0	28

At Vanderbilt

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	0	7	7	7	21
Commodores	0	0	10	0	10

No. 5 Tennessee

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 5 Volunteers	17	7	21	14	59
Wildcats	7	14	3	7	31

Statistics	TENN	UK
First downs	30	27
Total yards	695	634
Rushing yards	150	158
Passing yards	545	476
Turnovers	2	3
Time of possession	25:12	34:48

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Tennessee	Passing	Peyton Manning	25/35, 523 yards, 5 TD
	Rushing	Jamal Lewis	21 rushes, 128 yards, 3 TD
	Receiving	Marcus Nash	7 receptions, 195 yards, 3 TD
Kentucky	Passing	Tim Couch	35/50, 476 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT
	Rushing	Derek Homer	18 rushes, 137 yards
	Receiving	Kio Sanford	9 receptions, 147 yards, TD

References

"It's 38–24 for blue sky guys". The Courier-Journal. August 31, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Couch not enough to save Cats". Messenger-Inquirer. September 7, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"UK's Couch throws for seven touchdowns in romp". The Jackson Sun. September 21, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Kentucky closes gap, but UF rolls". The Orlando Sentinel. September 28, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Tidings of great joy - Cats stun Alabama with 40–34 OT victory". Lexington Herald-Leader. October 5, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"USC gets it Wright; Slow start belies strong showing in 38–24 victory". The State. October 12, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Kentucky QB breaks record". The Montgomery Advertiser. October 19, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"UK gambles, but Georgia hits jackpot". Lexington Herald-Leader. October 26, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Kentucky pays for mistakes". Asheville Citizen-Times. November 2, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"A new song in Music City". Lexington Herald-Leader. November 16, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Manning leads Vols past UK in 59–31 win". The State Journal. November 23, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
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v t e Kentucky Wildcats football
Venues	Stoll Field/McLean Stadium (1916–1972) Kroger Field (1973–present) E.J. Nutter Training Facility (practice)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Centre Florida Indiana Louisville: Governor's Cup Tennessee Transylvania: Battle On Broadway Vanderbilt
Culture & lore	The Wildcat Scratch Blue "On, On, U of K" "Kentucky Fight" Marching band Bluegrass Miracle 2003 Arkansas game Big Blue Nation
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders NFL draftees Starting quarterbacks
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