1997 Toledo Rockets football team

American college football season

1997 Toledo Rockets football

MAC West Division champion
MAC Championship Game, L 14–34 vs. Marshall
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Division	West Division
Record	9–3 (7–1 MAC)
Head coach	Gary Pinkel (7th season)
Offensive coordinator	Dave Christensen (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Tom Amstutz (4th season)
Home stadium	Glass Bowl
Seasons← 1996 1998 →

1997 Mid-American Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
East Division
Marshall x$	7	–	1	10	–	3
Miami (OH)	6	–	2	8	–	3
Ohio	6	–	2	8	–	3
Bowling Green	3	–	5	3	–	8
Kent State	3	–	5	3	–	8
Akron	2	–	7	2	–	9
West Division
Toledo x	7	–	1	9	–	3
Western Michigan	6	–	2	8	–	3
Ball State	4	–	4	5	–	6
Eastern Michigan	4	–	5	4	–	7
Central Michigan	1	–	7	2	–	9
Northern Illinois	0	–	8	0	–	11
Championship: Marshall 34, Toledo 14
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions

The 1997 Toledo Rockets football team was an American football team that represented the University of Toledo in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their seventh season under head coach Gary Pinkel, the Rockets compiled a 9–3 record (7–1 against MAC opponents), finished in first place in the MAC's West Division, lost to Marshall in the MAC Football Championship Game (14–34), and outscored all opponents by a combined total of 356 to 268.

The team's statistical leaders included Chris Wallace with 2,955 passing yards, Dwayne Harris with 1,278 rushing yards, and Brock Kreitzburg with 626 receiving yards.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 6	Purdue*		Glass Bowl Toledo, OH		W 36–22	27,700
September 13	Eastern Michigan		Glass Bowl Toledo, OH		W 38–35
September 20	at Western Michigan		Waldo Stadium Kalamazoo, MI		W 23–13
September 27	Nevada*		Glass Bowl Toledo, OH		W 31–13
October 11	at Central Michigan		Kelly/Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI		W 41–10
October 18	Northern Illinois		Glass Bowl Toledo, OH		W 41–14	22,183
October 25	at Bowling Green	No. 24	Doyt Perry Stadium Bowling Green, OH (Battle of I-75 Trophy)		W 35–20
November 1	Miami (OH)	No. 22	Glass Bowl Toledo, OH		W 35–28
November 8	at Ball State	No. 18	Ball State Stadium Muncie, IN		L 3–35
November 15	Akron		Glass Bowl Toledo, OH		W 42–10
November 22	at UCF*		Citrus Bowl Orlando, FL		L 17–34	15,062
December 5	at Marshall		Marshall University Stadium Huntington, WV (MAC Championship Game)	ESPN2	L 14–34	28,021
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	24	22	18	—	—	—	—	—	—
Coaches	—		—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	23	20	—	—	—	—	—	—

Roster

1997 Toledo Rockets football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
TE	`82`	Mike Amrozowicz	Fr
C	`53`	James Bates	Sr
QB	`17`	Dan Cole	Fr
C	`79`	Andy Comer	So
HB	`6`	Ray Curry	Jr
WR	`12`	Romain Davis	Sr
LB	`44`	Romules Durant	Jr
WR	`4`	Christopher Hall	Sr
RB	`32`	Kevin Kidd	Sr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
LB	`15`	Derrick Beckwith	Jr
CB	`31`	Jason Bennett	Fr
CB	`22`	Fabian Burke	Fr
CB	`11`	Kelly Herndon	Jr
CB	`4`	Chris Holifield	Sr
CB	`42`	Maurice Jefferson	Jr
DT	`91`	Joey Jones	Sr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class

Head coach

Gary Pinkel

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Dave Christensen – Offensive coordinator & offensive line
David Yost – Quarterbacks and recruiting coordinator
Brian Jones – Running backs
Cornell Ford – Wide receivers
Bruce Walker – Tight end
Tom Amstutz – Defensive coordinator
Craig Kuligowski – Defensive line
Matt Eberflus – outside linebackers
Phil Parker – Defensive backs
Grant Elmquist – Graduate assistant
Dan Murphy – Graduate assistant
Jim Carmon – Graduate assistant

Legend

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

Injured
Redshirt

Roster
Last update: December 5, 2023

After the season

NFL Draft

The following Rocket was selected in the 1998 NFL draft following the season.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL club
4	116	Clarence Love	Defensive back	Philadelphia Eagles

References

"1997 Toledo Rockets Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
"1997 Toledo Rockets Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
"1998 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 29, 2023.

v t e Toledo Rockets football
Venues	Glass Bowl (1937–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Bowling Green: (Battle of I-75)
Culture & lore	Rocket Marching Band
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	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 1943–1945 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

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