1997 Vanderbilt Commodores football team

1997 Vanderbilt Commodores football
ConferenceSoutheastern conference
DivisionEastern Division
Record3–8 (0–8 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorEd Lambert (1st season)
Offensive schemeMultiple
Defensive coordinatorNorm Parker (1st season)
Base defense4–3
Captains
Home stadiumVanderbilt Stadium
1997 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
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  
  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 Vanderbilt Commodores football team represented Vanderbilt University as a member of the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by first-year head coach Woody Widenhofer, the Commodores compiled an overall record of 3–8 with a mark of 0–8 in conference play, placing last out of six teams in the SEC's Eastern Division. The team played home games at Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.

The low point of the Commodores' season came in their fifth game against 13th-ranked LSU, coached by Gerry DiNardo, Vanderbilt's head coach from 1991 to 1994. After scoring a touchdown with 12 seconds remaining to cut the Tigers' lead to 7–6, Widenhofer kept the offense on the field, intending to go for a two-point conversion and the win. After LSU called timeout, the Commodores were called twice for delay of game, pushing the ball back to the 13-yard line and forcing Widenhofer to send in kicker John Markham to attempt an extra point which would have forced overtime. Markham, who missed a 38-yard field goal earlier in the game, had his kick blocked, allowing the Tigers to escape despite gaining a meager 230 total yards.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
August 306:00 p.m.North Texas*
W 29–1238,281[1]
September 117:00 p.m.No. 15 Alabama
  • Vanderbilt Stadium
  • Nashville, TN
ESPNL 0–2041,448[2]
September 207:00 p.m.TCU*
  • Vanderbilt Stadium
  • Nashville, TN
W 40–1634,824[3]
September 276:00 p.m.at Ole Miss
L 3–1536,417[4]
October 42:30 p.m.No. 13 LSU
  • Vanderbilt Stadium
  • Nashville, TN
PPVL 6–737,045[5]
October 113:00 p.m.at Northern Illinois*
W 17–717,567[6]
October 188:00 p.m.No. 21 Georgia
  • Vanderbilt Stadium
  • Nashville, TN (rivalry)
ESPN2L 13–3435,124[7]
October 256:00 p.m.at South Carolina
L 3–3579,014[8]
November 811:30 a.m.at No. 13 Florida
JPSL 7–2085,301[9]
November 151:00 p.m.Kentucky
  • Vanderbilt Stadium
  • Nashville, TN (rivalry)
L 10–2140,256[10]
November 2911:00 a.m.at No. 3 Tennessee
CBSL 10–17106,683[11]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

[12][13]

Roster

1997 Vanderbilt Commodores football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
QB 6 Greg Zolman Fr
QB 17 Damian Allen Sr
RB 23 Tyrone Yarbrough Jr
RB 35 Marcus A. Williams Sr
G 51 Jim Anguiano Jr
WR 81 Todd Yoder So
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
CB 1 Fred Vinson Jr
CB 4 Corey Chavous Sr
CB 30 Damien Charley Jr
LB 34 Carlton Hall Sr
LB 49 Jamie Duncan Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt

Roster
Last update: 1998-12-02

References

  1. ^ "Vanderbilt dumps North Texas". The Commercial Appeal. August 31, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Nothing doing - Woodyball fails to fix old Vandy problem: no offense". The Tennessean. September 12, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Second-half fold decimates Frogs". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. September 21, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Vanderbilt unable to back up talk against Ole Miss". The Atlanta Constitution. September 28, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Mistakes tear up Vandy". The Commercial Appeal. October 5, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Northern fumbles its big chance". Chicago Tribune. October 12, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Even without Ward, Bulldogs sink Commodores". The Macon Telegraph. October 19, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Turnovers end hope of upset". The Tennessean. October 26, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "To Gators, Vandy is handy". South Florida Sun Sentinel. November 9, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "A new song in Music City". Lexington Herald-Leader. November 16, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Lewis leads Vols past Vandy". The State. November 30, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "1997 Vanderbilt Commodores Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 27, 2024.
  13. ^ "1997 Final Vanderbilt Stats". Vanderbilt University Department of Athletics. Archived from the original on October 10, 2007. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
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