1997 South Carolina Gamecocks football team

American college football season

1997 South Carolina Gamecocks football

Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Eastern Division
Record	5–6 (3–5 SEC)
Head coach	Brad Scott (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	John Eason (3rd season)
Offensive scheme	Fast Break
Defensive coordinator	Wally Burnham (4th season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Williams-Brice 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 South Carolina Gamecocks football team represented the University of South Carolina in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Gamecocks were led by head coach Brad Scott and played their home games in Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina.

In 1997, South Carolina finished with a final record of 5–6, the first of three consecutive losing seasons ending the 1990s.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 6	7:00 p.m.	UCF*	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	FSS	W 33–31	81,908
September 13	3:30 p.m.	at No. 25 Georgia	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA (rivalry)	CBS	L 15–31	86,117
September 20	3:00 p.m.	at East Carolina*	Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium Greenville, NC	FSS	W 26–0	38,902
September 27	12:30 p.m.	at Mississippi State	Scott Field Starkville, MS	JPS	L 17–37	30,120
October 4	12:30 p.m.	No. 9 Auburn	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	JPS	L 6–23	79,411
October 11	12:30 p.m.	Kentucky	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	JPS	W 38–24	75,936
October 18	7:00 p.m.	at Arkansas	War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR		W 39–13	49,178
October 25	7:00 p.m.	Vanderbilt	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC		W 35–3	79,014
November 1	12:30 p.m.	at No. 8 Tennessee	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)	JPS	L 7–22	106,301
November 15	12:30 p.m.	No. 12 Florida	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	JPS	L 21–48	80,072
November 22	6:00 p.m.	Clemson*	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC (rivalry)	ESPN2	L 21–47	83,700
*Non-conference game Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Roster

1997 South Carolina Gamecocks football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense 74 Kevin Rolack OL 6-3 302 Jr. HS Saint George, S.C. (St.George) 78 Travis Whitfield OG 6-4 293 Sr./RS 3VL Honea-Path, S.C. (Belton-Honea Path)

Pos.	#	Name	Class
QB	`1`	Anthony Wright	Jr
RB	`4`	Boo Williams	So
WR	`8`	Ben Fleming	So
WR	`9`	Kerry Hood	So
WR	`10`	Carlos Spikes	Fr
FB	`11`	Jacob Bush	So
QB	`14`	Phil Petty	Fr
QB	`16`	Joey Unitas	Sr
QB	`17`	Victor Penn	Fr
QB	`18`	Kevin Sides	Jr
RB	`19`	Troy Hambrick	So
WR	`21`	Zola Davis	Jr
RB	`22`	Ryght Jordan	Fr
C	`53`	Paul Beckwith	Sr
G	`63`	Ed Hrubiec	Sr
OL	`64`	Taylor Irvin	Fr
OL	`65`	Philip Jones	Fr
OL	`67`	Jesse Washington	Sr
OT	`68`	Reggie Baker	Sr
OL	`69`	Todd Davis	Fr
OT	`70`	Andray Spearman	Jr
OL	`71`	Kevin Rivers	Fr
OL	`72`	Melvin Paige	Fr
OL	`73`	Jason Thomas	So
OL	`75`	Adam Buckley	Fr
OL	`77`	Jim Pietrzak	Fr
OT	`79`	Jamar Nesbit	Jr
WR	`80`	Donovan Norman	So
TE	`81`	Rod Trafford	Fr
WR	`82`	Calvin Owens	Sr
WR	`83`	Tyrance Williams	Fr
WR	`84`	Jermale Kelly	Fr
WR	`85`	Shah Mays	Jr
TE	`86`	Trevon Matthews	So

Defense 57 Errol Rochester LB 6-0 245 So./RS 1VL Miami Springs, Fla. (Miami Springs)

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DB	`3`	Ray Green	So
CB	`5`	Kevin Brooks	Jr
SS	`6`	Ben Washington	Sr
FS	`12`	Arturo Freeman	Jr
DB	`20`	Willie Offord	Fr
LB	`42`	Darren Hambrick	Sr
DE	`55`	Selvesta Miller	Sr
LB	`58`	Corey Atkins	So
LB	`45`	James McDougald	Sr
DT	`90`	Henry Taylor	Sr
DL	`91`	John Stamper	Fr
LB	`92`	Ryan Koop	Sr
DT	`93`	Michael Maddox	Sr
DE	`94`	Matt Marsters	So
DE	`95`	John Abraham	So
DT	`96`	Cecil Caldwell	So
DT	`97`	Trey Pennington	So
DT	`98`	Rachad Wilson	Jr
DE	`99`	Anthony Overstreet	Fr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
P/K	`7`	Courtney Leavitt	So
K	`15`	Steve Florio	Jr

Head coach

Brad Scott

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Oliver Pough
(Running backs coach)

Legend

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

Injured
Redshirt

Roster
Last update: 1998-01-28

References

"1997 South Carolina Gamecocks Schedule and Results". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
"South Carolina Gamecocks College Football History, Stats, Records". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
"Gamecocks overcome Golden Knights 33–31". The Index-Journal. September 7, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"USC whipped between the hedges". The Herald. September 14, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Gamecocks even a score with punchless Pirates". The News and Observer. September 21, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Gamecocks can't run, can't hide". The Charlotte Observer. September 28, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Craig-led Auburn shuts door on Gamecocks, 23–6". The Courier-Journal. 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.
"Gamecocks march forward with victory over Arkansas". The Greenville News. October 19, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Turnovers end hope of upset". The Tennessean. October 26, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Vols back in control". The Jackson Sun. November 2, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Florida pulls away from Gamecocks". The Times and Democrat. November 16, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Clemson bowls over USC". The Times and Democrat. November 23, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"College Football Data Warehouse". Archived from the original on September 15, 2010. Retrieved August 21, 2010.

v t e South Carolina Gamecocks football
Venues	Old State Fairgrounds (1894, 1896–1898) Shandon Park (1895) College Park/Davis Field (1899–1925) Melton Field (1926–1934) Williams–Brice Stadium (1934–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Clemson Georgia North Carolina Tennessee
Culture & lore	Spurrier Cocky "The Fighting Gamecocks Lead the Way" Mighty Sound of the Southeast "Sandstorm" The Brawl University of South Carolina steroid scandal
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders NFL draftees
Seasons	1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

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