1997 Tennessee Volunteers football team

1997 Southeastern Conference football standings
	Eastern Division
	Western Division
	Championship: Tennessee 30, Auburn 29
	$ – Conference champion; x – Division champion/co-champions; Rankings from AP Poll

1997 Tennessee Volunteers football
1997 Tennessee Volunteers football
SEC champion; SEC Eastern Division champion
SEC Championship Game, W 30–29 vs. Auburn
Orange Bowl, L 17–42 vs. Nebraska
Conference	Southeastern Conference
	Eastern Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 8
AP	No. 7
1997 record	11–2 (7–1 SEC)
Head coach	Phillip Fulmer (5th season);
Offensive coordinator	David Cutcliffe
Defensive coordinator	John Chavis
Captains	Leonard Little; Peyton Manning;
Home stadium	Neyland Stadium; (Capacity: 102,854)
	Seasons ← 1996 1998 →

The 1997 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. Quarterback Peyton Manning had already completed his degree in three years, and had been projected to be the top overall pick in the 1997 NFL Draft, but returned to Tennessee for his senior year.^[2] The Volunteers opened the season with victories against Texas Tech and UCLA, but for the third time in his career, Manning fell to Florida, 33–20.^[3]^[4]^[5] The Vols won the rest of their regular season games, finishing 10–1, and advanced to the SEC Championship Game against Auburn. Down 20–7, Manning led the Vols to a 30–29 victory. Throwing for four touchdowns, he was named the game's MVP, but injured himself in the process.^[6]^[7] The #3 Vols were matched up with #2 Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. Had Tennessee won and top-ranked Michigan lost to Washington State in the Rose Bowl, the Vols would have been expected to win the national championship.^[8] However, the Vols' defense could not stop Nebraska's rushing attack, giving up more than 400 yards on the ground in a 42–17 loss.^[9] As a senior, Manning won numerous awards. He was a consensus first-team All-American and won the Maxwell Award, the Davey O'Brien Award, the Johnny Unitas Award, and the Best College Football Player ESPY Award, among others. However, he did not win the Heisman Trophy, finishing runner-up to Charles Woodson, a CB from Michigan, and the only defensive player ever to win the Heisman Trophy.^[10]^[11]^[12]

Schedule[]

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	7:45 p.m.	Texas Tech*	No. 5	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, Tennessee	ESPN	W 52–17	106,285
September 6	3:30 p.m.	at UCLA*	No. 3	Rose Bowl Pasadena, California	ABC	W 30-24	62,619
September 20	3:30 p.m.	at No. 1 Florida	No. 4	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, Florida (Third Saturday in September) (College GameDay)	CBS	L 20–33	85,714
October 4	3:30 p.m.	Ole Miss	No. 10	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, Tennessee	CBS	W 31–17	106,229
October 11	3:30 p.m.	No. 15 Georgia	No. 10	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, Tennessee (rivalry)	CBS	W 38–13	106,656
October 18	7:00 p.m.	at Alabama	No. 9	Legion Field Birmingham, Alabama (Third Saturday in October)	ESPN	W 38–21	83,091
November 1	12:30 p.m.	South Carolina	No. 8	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, Tennessee	JPS	W 22–7	106,301
November 8	4:00 p.m.	No. 25 Southern Miss*	No. 7	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, Tennessee	PPV	W 44–20	107,073
November 15	8:00 p.m.	at Arkansas	No. 5	War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, Arkansas	ESPN2	W 30–22	53,235
November 22	12:30 p.m.	at Kentucky	No. 5	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, Kentucky (Battle for the Barrel)	ESPN2	W 59–31	61,076
November 29	12:00 p.m.	Vanderbilt	No. 3	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, Tennessee (rivalry)	CBS	W 17–10	106,683
December 6	8:00 p.m.	vs. No. 11 Auburn	No. 3	Georgia Dome Atlanta (SEC Championship Game)	ABC	W 30–29	74,896
January 2	8:00 p.m.	vs. No. 2 Nebraska*	No. 3	Pro Player Stadium Miami Gardens, Florida (Orange Bowl) (College GameDay)	CBS	L 17–42	74,002
*Non-conference game Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Rankings[]

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AP	5 (8)	5 (7)	3 (7)	4 (6)	4 (6)	9	9	9	9	8	8	8	5	5	3	3	3	7
Coaches Poll	5 (8)	5 (8)	3 (10)	4 (5)	4 (6)	10	10	10	9	8	8	7	5	5	3	3	3	8

Roster[]

1997 Tennessee Volunteers football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
RB	`24`	Shawn Bryson	Jr
OT	`67`	Chad Clifton	So
QB	`16`	Peyton Manning	Sr
QB	`17`	Tee Martin	So
WR	`88`	Andy McCullough	Sr
WR	`12`	Marcus Nash	Sr
WR	`37`	Peerless Price	Jr
WR	`81`	Benjie Shuler	Sr
C	`70`	Trey Teague	Sr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
LB	`99`	Eric Brown	Sr
DE	`91`	Jonathan Brown	Sr
DE	`93`	Shaun Ellis	So
DB	`13`	Terry Fair	Sr
DT	`60`	Matt Goodin	Jr
DB	`23`	Dwayne Goodrich	So
DE	`1`	Leonard Little	Sr
DE	`58`	Darwin Walker	So
DB	`42`	Eric Westmoreland	So
DB	`2`	Fred White	So
DE	`22`	Corey Terry	Jr
LB	`46`	Raynoch Thompson	So
LB	`27`	Al Wilson	Jr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K	`4`	Jeff Hall	Jr
P	`43`	David Leaverton	Fr

Head coach

Phillip Fulmer

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

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

Injured
Redshirt

Awards and honors[]

Peyton Manning, consensus first-team All-American
Peyton Manning, Maxwell Award winner
Peyton Manning, Davey O'Brien Award winner
Peyton Manning, James E. Sullivan Award^[13]
Peyton Manning, Johnny Unitas Award winner
Peyton Manning, Best College Football Player ESPY Award winner
Peyton Manning, runner-up, Heisman Trophy

Team players drafted into the NFL[]

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Peyton Manning	Quarterback	1	1	Indianapolis Colts
Terry Fair	Cornerback	1	20	Detroit Lions
Marcus Nash	Wide receiver	1	30	Denver Broncos
Leonard Little	Defensive end	3	65	St. Louis Rams
Jonathan Brown	Defensive end	3	90	Green Bay Packers
Trey Teague	Center	7	200	Denver Broncos
Andy McCullough	Wide receiver	7	204	New Orleans Saints
Corey Gaines	Safety	7	231	Indianapolis Colts

References:^[14]

References[]

^ "Neyland Stadium". utsports.com. Archived from the original on November 19, 2012. Retrieved November 14, 2012.
^ "Nothing to Prove; Manning Made His Decision to Stay at Tennessee, and the Rest Is History". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. September 3, 1997.
^ "Tenn. Jumps To No. 3 in Poll". The Washington Post. September 1, 1997.
^ "UCLA Rallies in Second Half Against Tennessee, but Comes Up Short for Second Week in a Row, 30–24". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. September 7, 1997.
^ Rhoden, William C. (September 21, 1997). "Manning's Nightmare Continues". The New York Times. Retrieved December 24, 2007.
^ Sallee, Barrett (August 24, 2012). "Classic SEC Football: Tennessee Tops Auburn in the 1997 SEC Championship Game". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on August 26, 2012. Retrieved December 26, 2014.
^ Fulmer, Phillip (1999). A Perfect Season. Rutledge Hill Press. p. 7. ISBN 1-55853-798-8. Peyton had played with a lot of pain in the Orange Bowl because of an injury he had suffered in our SEC Championship victory against Auburn, and his mobility was limited throughout the game against Nebraska
^ MacCambridge, Michael (2005). ESPN College Football Encyclopedia. ESPN Books. p. 1401. ISBN 1-4013-3703-1.
^ MacCambridge, Michael (2005). ESPN College Football Encyclopedia. ESPN Books. p. 1462. ISBN 1-4013-3703-1.
^ MacCambridge, Michael (2005). ESPN College Football Encyclopedia. ESPN Books. p. 1402. ISBN 1-4013-3703-1.
^ "The 2005 ESPY Awards – ESPY Awards past winners". ESPN. Retrieved December 20, 2007.
^ "1997 Heisman Trophy". Heisman.com. Archived from the original on February 1, 2008. Retrieved February 3, 2008.
^ "AAU Sullivan Award".
^ 2011 Tennessee Football Record Book, p. 102.

[1] "Neyland Stadium". utsports.com. Archived from the original on November 19, 2012. Retrieved November 14, 2012.

[2] "Nothing to Prove; Manning Made His Decision to Stay at Tennessee, and the Rest Is History". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. September 3, 1997.

[3] "Tenn. Jumps To No. 3 in Poll". The Washington Post. September 1, 1997.

[4] "UCLA Rallies in Second Half Against Tennessee, but Comes Up Short for Second Week in a Row, 30–24". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. September 7, 1997.

[5] Rhoden, William C. (September 21, 1997). "Manning's Nightmare Continues". The New York Times. Retrieved December 24, 2007.

[secchampionship-6] Sallee, Barrett (August 24, 2012). "Classic SEC Football: Tennessee Tops Auburn in the 1997 SEC Championship Game". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on August 26, 2012. Retrieved December 26, 2014.

[fulmer-7] Fulmer, Phillip (1999). A Perfect Season. Rutledge Hill Press. p. 7. ISBN 1-55853-798-8. Peyton had played with a lot of pain in the Orange Bowl because of an injury he had suffered in our SEC Championship victory against Auburn, and his mobility was limited throughout the game against Nebraska

[8] MacCambridge, Michael (2005). ESPN College Football Encyclopedia. ESPN Books. p. 1401. ISBN 1-4013-3703-1.

[9] MacCambridge, Michael (2005). ESPN College Football Encyclopedia. ESPN Books. p. 1462. ISBN 1-4013-3703-1.

[10] MacCambridge, Michael (2005). ESPN College Football Encyclopedia. ESPN Books. p. 1402. ISBN 1-4013-3703-1.

[espy-11] "The 2005 ESPY Awards – ESPY Awards past winners". ESPN. Retrieved December 20, 2007.

[12] "1997 Heisman Trophy". Heisman.com. Archived from the original on February 1, 2008. Retrieved February 3, 2008.

[13] "AAU Sullivan Award".

[14] 2011 Tennessee Football Record Book, p. 102.

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v t Tennessee Volunteers football
Venues	Waite Field (1892–1920) Shields-Watkins Field (1921–1962) Neyland Stadium (1962–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Alabama: Third Saturday in October Auburn Florida Georgia Georgia Tech Kentucky Vanderbilt
Culture & lore	History Smokey "Rocky Top" Pride of the Southland Band Battle at Bristol Porter Cup
People	Head coaches Starting quarterbacks NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 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 1944 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
National championship seasons in bold

1997 Tennessee Volunteers football

SEC champion SEC Eastern Division champion
SEC Championship Game, W 30–29 vs. Auburn
Orange Bowl, L 17–42 vs. Nebraska
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Eastern Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 8
AP	No. 7
1997 record	11–2 (7–1 SEC)
Head coach	Phillip Fulmer (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	David Cutcliffe
Defensive coordinator	John Chavis
Captains	Leonard Little Peyton Manning
Home stadium	Neyland Stadium (Capacity: 102,854)^[1]
Seasons ← 1996 1998 →

1997 Southeastern Conference football standings
v t	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
Vanderbilt		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