1997 Fresno State Bulldogs football team

The 1997 Fresno State Bulldogs football team represented California State University, Fresno as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by first-year head coach Pat Hill, Fresno State compiled an overall record of 6–6 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, placing third in the WAC's Pacific Division. The Bulldogs played their home games at Bulldog Stadium in Fresno, California.

1997 Fresno State Bulldogs football
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Division	Pacific Division
Record	6–6 (5–3 WAC)
Head coach	Pat Hill (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Jeff Tedford (5th season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Kevin Coyle (1st season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Bulldog Stadium
Seasons ← 1996 1998 →

1997 Western Athletic Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Mountain Division
New Mexico x		6	–	2					9	–	4
Rice		5	–	3					7	–	4
SMU		5	–	3					6	–	5
Utah		5	–	3					6	–	5
BYU		4	–	4					6	–	5
UTEP		3	–	5					4	–	7
Tulsa		2	–	6					2	–	9
TCU		1	–	7					1	–	10
Pacific Division
No. 17 Colorado State x$		7	–	1					11	–	2
Air Force		6	–	2					10	–	3
Fresno State		5	–	3					6	–	6
Wyoming		4	–	4					7	–	6
San Diego State		4	–	4					5	–	7
San Jose State		4	–	4					4	–	7
UNLV		2	–	6					3	–	8
Hawaii		1	–	7					3	–	9
Championship: Colorado State 41, New Mexico 13
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 30		Portland State*	Bulldog Stadium Fresno, CA		W 35–7	33,114	[1]
September 6	6:00 p.m.	Baylor*	Bulldog Stadium Fresno, CA		L 35–37	32,266
September 13	4:00 p.m.	at Oklahoma State*	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK		L 0–35	36,000
September 20	2:00 p.m.	at Oregon*	Autzen Stadium Eugene, OR		L 40–43 OT	38,288
October 2	5:00 p.m.	Utah	Bulldog Stadium Fresno, CA	ESPN	W 27–13	37,994
October 11	10:05 p.m.	at Hawaii	Aloha Stadium Halawa, HI (rivalry)		L 16–28	28,206
October 18		at No. 18 Air Force	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO		W 20–17	45,597
October 25		UNLV	Bulldog Stadium Fresno, CA		W 46–28	38,002
November 1		at San Jose State	Spartan Stadium San Jose, CA (rivalry)		W 53–12	18,753
November 8		at Colorado State	Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, CO		L 3–41	27,641
November 15		San Diego State	Bulldog Stadium Fresno, CA (rivalry)	Cox 4	L 19–20	34,195
November 22		Wyoming	Bulldog Stadium Fresno, CA		W 24–7	30,035
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Pacific time

^[2][3]

Team players in the NFL

The following were selected in the 1998 NFL draft.^[4][5]

Player	Position	Round	Overall	NFL team
Chris Conrad	Tackle	3	66	Pittsburgh Steelers
Michael Pittman	Running back	4	95	Arizona Cardinals