The 1997 Western Athletic Conference Mustangs football team represented Southern Methodist University (SMU) as a member of the Mountain Division of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by first-year head coach Mike Cavan, the Mustangs compiled an overall record of 6–5 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, tying for second place in the WAC's Mountain Division. Ten years after the NCAA's 1987 "death penalty" on SMU football, SMU's 1997 campaign was the program's first winning season since the football program resumed operations in 1989. The Mustangs played their home games at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Source |
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| September 6 | 6:00 p.m. | Ole Miss* | | | L 15–23 | 36,521 | [1] |
| September 13 | 7:00 p.m. | vs. Arkansas* | | | W 31–9 | 23,500 | [2] |
| September 20 | 7:00 p.m. | Navy* | | | L 16–46 | 20,011 | |
| September 27 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 23 BYU | | KSL | L 16–19 OT | 23,701 | |
| October 4 | 7:05 p.m. | at New Mexico | | | L 15–22 | 33,128 | |
| October 11 | 2:05 p.m. | at Utah | | | W 20–19 | 26,611 | |
| October 25 | 2:00 p.m. | Wyoming | | | W 22–17 | 22,403 | |
| November 1 | 2:00 p.m. | Rice | | | W 24–6 | 20,024 | |
| November 8 | 2:00 p.m. | UTEP | | | W 28–14 | 21,280 | |
| November 15 | 1:30 p.m. | at Tulsa | | | W 42–41 | 15,234 | |
| November 20 | 7:05 p.m. | at TCU | | ESPN | L 18–21 | 19,094 | |
- *Non-conference game
- Homecoming
- Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
- All times are in Central time
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Personnel
Coaching staff
Mike Cavan succeeded Tom Rossley as SMU head coach. Rossley coached SMU from 1991 to 1996 and left with a 15–48–3 record.[3] Cavan became SMU's third head coach in the post-"death penalty" era for SMU. Cavan was previously head coach at Valdosta State from 1986 to 1991 and East Tennessee State from 1992 to 1996. This is Cavan's first head coaching job at a Division I-A school.
Roster
| 1997 SMU Mustangs football team roster
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| Players
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Coaches
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| Offense
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Defense
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Special teams
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- Head coach
- Coordinators/assistant coaches
- Legend
- (C) Team captain
- (S) Suspended
- (I) Ineligible
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After the season
Coaching changes
Offensive coordinator Darrell Dickey left SMU to take the head coaching job at North Texas in 1998; Greg Briner, previously the quarterbacks and wide receivers coach at Georgia, succeeded Dickey as offensive coordinator.[5] Offensive line graduate assistant Paul Etheridge was promoted to tight ends and offensive tackles[6] David McKnight moved to running backs coach.[7]
NFL draft
In the 1998 NFL draft, linebacker Chris Bordano was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the sixth round and 161st overall.[8]
References
- ^ "Ole Miss holds on to beat SMU, 23–15". Hattiesburg American. September 7, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Mustangs stun Hogs". The Shreveport Times. September 14, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Tom Rossley Coaching Record".
- ^ "SMU Football: Assistant Coaches". www.smu.edu. Archived from the original on June 14, 1997. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
- ^ "SMU Football: Assistant Coach". www.smumustangs.com. Archived from the original on May 7, 1999. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
- ^ "SMU Football: Assistant Coach". www.smumustangs.com. Archived from the original on May 7, 1999. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
- ^ "SMU Football: Assistant Coach". smumustangs.com. Archived from the original on August 25, 1999. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
- ^ "SMU Drafted Players/Alumni". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
External links
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National championship seasons in bold |