1997 Arkansas Razorbacks football team

The 1997 Arkansas Razorbacks football team was an American football team that represented the University of Arkansas as a member of the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fifth and final year under head coach Danny Ford, the team compiled a 4–7 record, with a conference record of 2–6, and finished fifth in the Western Division (ahead of Alabama based upon a 17-16 victory at Tuscaloosa).^[1]

1997 Arkansas Razorbacks football
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Western Division
Record	4–7 (2–6 SEC)
Head coach	Danny Ford (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Kay Stephenson (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	Miles Aldridge (2nd season)
Base defense	4–4
Home stadium	Razorback Stadium War Memorial Stadium
Seasons ← 1996 1998 →

1997 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	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

The day after a season ending loss to rival LSU, Ford was fired by athletic director Frank Broyles following four non-winning seasons out of five and a 25-31-1 overall worksheet. Houston Nutt, then the head coach at Boise State, as well as a former Razorback player and assistant coach, succeeded Ford.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 6	6:00 p.m.	Northeast Louisiana*	Razorback Stadium Fayetteville AR		W 28–16	45,832	[2]
September 13	7:00 p.m.	vs. SMU*	Independence Stadium Shreveport, LA		L 9–31	23,500	[3]
September 20	11:30 a.m.	at No. 11 Alabama	Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL	JPS	W 17–16	70,123	[4]
September 27	5:00 p.m.	Louisiana Tech*	War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR		W 17–13	51,291	[5]
October 4	5:00 p.m.	at No. 1 Florida	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL	ESPN2	L 7–56	85,235	[6]
October 18	6:00 p.m.	South Carolina	War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR		L 13–39	49,178	[7]
October 25	5:00 p.m.	No. 11 Auburn	Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR	ESPN2	L 21–26	41,277	[8]
November 6	7:00 p.m.	at Ole Miss	Vaught–Hemingway Stadium Oxford, MS (rivalry)	ESPN	L 9–19	30,620	[9]
November 15	7:00 p.m.	No. 5 Tennessee	War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR	ESPN2	L 22–30	53,235	[10]
November 22	1:00 p.m.	No. 15 Mississippi State	Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR		W 17–7	39,911	[11]
November 28	1:30 p.m.	at No. 17 LSU	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry)	CBS	L 21–31	79,619	[12]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time