1997 Missouri Tigers football team

1997 Missouri Tigers football
Holiday Bowl, L 24–35 vs. Colorado State
Conference	Big 12 Conference
Division	North Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 23
AP	No. 23
1997 record	7–5 (5–3 Big 12)
Head coach	Larry Smith (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Jerry Berndt (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	Moe Ankney (4th season)
Home stadium	Faurot Field (Capacity: 62,023)
Seasons ← 1996 1998 →

1997 Big 12 Conference football standings
v t	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Northern Division
No. 2 Nebraska † xy$		8	–	0					13	–	0
No. 8 Kansas State  %		7	–	1					11	–	1
No. 23 Missouri		5	–	3					7	–	5
Colorado		3	–	5					5	–	6
Kansas		3	–	5					5	–	6
Iowa State		1	–	7					1	–	10
Southern Division
No. 20 Texas A&M xy		6	–	2					9	–	4
No. 24 Oklahoma State		5	–	3					8	–	4
Texas Tech		5	–	3					6	–	5
Texas		2	–	6					4	–	7
Oklahoma		2	–	6					4	–	8
Baylor		1	–	7					2	–	9
Championship: Nebraska 54, Texas A&M 15
x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant † – Coaches Poll National Champion $ – Bowl Alliance representative as champion % – Bowl Alliance at-large representative Rankings from AP Poll

The 1997 Missouri Tigers football team represented the University of Missouri during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. The 1997 Tigers went 7–5 (5–3 in Big 12 play), ending a streak of 13 consecutive losing seasons. However, the Tigers lost to Colorado State, 35–24, in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego. They played their home games at Faurot Field in Columbia, Missouri. They were members of the Big 12 Conference in the North Division. The team was coached by head coach Larry Smith.

The loss to eventual National Champion #1 ranked Nebraska in overtime came after the infamous Flea Kicker play. This was a deflection reception off an unintentionally kicked pass as the receiver that was falling and tried pull the ball to his chest with his foot, resulting in a deflection off the foot that another receiver was able to dive a catch.

Schedule[]

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 6	6:30 pm	Eastern Michigan*		Faurot Field Columbia, Missouri		W 44–24	52,514
September 13	11:30 am	at Kansas		Memorial Stadium Lawrence, Kansas (Border War)	FSN	L 7–15	38,000
September 20	4:00 pm	at Tulsa*		Skelly Stadium Tulsa, Oklahoma		W 42–21	40,385
September 27	11:00 am	No. 7 Ohio State*		Faurot Field Columbia, Missouri	ABC	L 10–31	58,882
October 4	1:00 pm	Iowa State		Faurot Field Columbia, Missouri (rivalry)		W 45–21	44,386
October 11	11:30 am	at No. 22 Kansas State		KSU Stadium Manhattan, Kansas	FSN	L 11–41	43,510
October 18	1:00 pm	Texas		Faurot Field Columbia, Missouri		W 37–29	48,451
October 25	11:30 am	at No. 12 Oklahoma State		Lewis Field Stillwater, Oklahoma	FSN	W 51–50 2OT	33,300
November 1	1:30 pm	at Colorado		Folsom Field Boulder, Colorado		W 41–31	43,119
November 8	2:30 pm	No. 1 Nebraska		Faurot Field Columbia, Missouri (rivalry)	ABC	L 38–45 OT	66,846
November 15	1:00 pm	Baylor	No. 25	Faurot Field Columbia, Missouri		W 42–24	43,825
December 29	7:00 pm	vs. No. 18 Colorado State*	No. 19	Qualcomm Stadium San Diego (Holiday Bowl)	ESPN	L 24–35	50,761
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

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Game summaries[]

Eastern Michigan[]

Kansas[]

Tulsa[]

Ohio State[]

Iowa State[]

Kansas State[]

Texas[]

Oklahoma State[]

Colorado[]

Nebraska[]

Baylor[]

1997 Holiday Bowl[]

References[]