1997 Toledo Rockets football team

1997 Toledo Rockets football
MAC West Division champion
ConferenceMid-American Conference
DivisionWest Division
Record9–3 (7–1 MAC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorDave Christensen (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorTom Amstutz (4th season)
Home stadiumGlass Bowl
1997 Mid-American Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
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
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.[1]

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendance
September 6Purdue*
W 36–2227,700
September 13Eastern Michigan
  • Glass Bowl
  • Toledo, OH
W 38–35
September 20at Western Michigan
W 23–13
September 27Nevada*
  • Glass Bowl
  • Toledo, OH
W 31–13
October 11at Central Michigan
W 41–10
October 18Northern Illinois
  • Glass Bowl
  • Toledo, OH
W 41–1422,183
October 25at Bowling GreenNo. 24
W 35–20
November 1Miami (OH)No. 22
  • Glass Bowl
  • Toledo, OH
W 35–28
November 8at Ball StateNo. 18
L 3–35
November 15Akron
  • Glass Bowl
  • Toledo, OH
W 42–10
November 22at UCF*
L 17–3415,062
December 5at Marshall
ESPN2L 14–3428,021
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[2]

Rankings

See also: 1997 NCAA Division I-A football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516Final
AP—————————242218——————
Coaches—————————2320——————

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
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.[3]

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

References

  1. ^ "1997 Toledo Rockets Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
  2. ^ "1997 Toledo Rockets Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 22, 2016.
  3. ^ "1998 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved July 29, 2023.
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