1997 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team

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1997 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football
WKU Hilltoppers wordmark.png
Division I-AA Playoffs, Lost Quarterfinals
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
FCS CoachesNo. 5
1997 record10–2
Head coach
Assistant coachDavid Elson
Home stadiumHouchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium
Seasons
← 1996
1998 →
1997 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings
  • v
  • t
 Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
No. 18 Cal Poly   0 – 0         10 – 1  
No. 5 Western Kentucky ^   0 – 0         10 – 2  
No. 17 Hofstra ^   0 – 0         9 – 2  
No. 25 Liberty   0 – 0         9 – 2  
Samford   0 – 0         7 – 4  
Morehead State   0 – 0         5 – 4  
South Florida   0 – 0         5 – 6  
Southern Utah   0 – 0         5 – 6  
Saint Mary's   0 – 0         4 – 6  
Davidson   0 – 0         3 – 8  
Buffalo   0 – 0         2 – 9  
La Salle   0 – 0         1 – 8  
Charleston Southern   0 – 0         1 – 9  
Austin Peay   0 – 0         0 – 10  
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll

The 1997 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team represented Western Kentucky University in the 1997 NCAA Division I-AA football season and were led by quarterback Willie Taggart and head coach Jack Harbaugh. The team was an independent and earned their first NCAA Division I-AA Playoff berth since 1988, making it to the quarterfinals. The Hilltoppers primarily ran an option offense and were ranked 1st in Rush Offence for NCAA Division I-AA. They finished the season ranked 5th in final I-AA postseason national poll.[1]

Western Kentucky's roster included future NFL players Rod “He Hate Me” Smart and Ben Wittman. Patrick Goodman and Andy Hape were named to All-America teams,[2] while Harbaugh was Division I-AA Independents and AFCA Region 3 Coach of the Year.[3] The I-AA Independent All-Star Team included Goodman, Bryan Heyward, Joey Stockton, Hape, Ron Kelly, and Taggart.[4]

Schedule[]

DateOpponentRankSiteResult
August 28at Tennessee-MartinNo. 10
W 42–0
September 6No. 12 Murray StateNo. 11
W 52–50 ot
September 13at Eastern KentuckyNo. 9
W 37–21
September 20Austin PeayNo. 6
  • L. T. Smith Stadium
  • Bowling Green, KY
W 53–7
September 27South FloridaNo. 3
  • L. T. Smith Stadium
  • Bowling Green, KY
W 31–3
October 4at D-1A UABNo. 3
L 16–20
October 18No. 3 D2 New HavenNo. 7
  • L. T. Smith Stadium
  • Bowling Green, KY
W 24–21
October 25at Southern IllinoisNo. 7
W 52–31
November 1Morehead StatedaggerNo. 5
  • L. T. Smith Stadium
  • Bowling Green, KY
W 38–24
November 8at Indiana StateNo. 5
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Terre Haute, IN
W 21–14
November 29No. 15 Eastern KentuckyNo. 5
  • L. T. Smith Stadium
  • Bowling Green, KY (I-AA Playoffs First Round)
W 41–14
December 3at No. 4 Eastern WashingtonNo. 5
  • Roos Field
  • Cheney, WA (I-AA Playoffs Quarterfinals)
L 21–38
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game

References[]

  1. ^ "Div. I-AA Poll". Longview News-Journal. Longview, Texas. November 18, 1997. p. 2D. Retrieved April 30, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.open access
  2. ^ WKU Football 2021 Media Guide retrieved 16 August 2021.
  3. ^ Coach Bio: Jack Harbaugh retrieved 6 April 2020.
  4. ^ WKU Football 2019 Media Guide retrieved 31 March 2020.
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