1997 Tennessee Volunteers football team

The 1997 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee as a member of the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Phillip Fulmer, the Volunteers compiled an overall record of 11–2 with a mark of 7–1, winning the SEC's Eastern Division title. Tennessee advanced to the SEC Championship Game, where the Volunteers defeated Auburn to capture the conference championship. Tennessee was then invited to the Orange Bowl, which served as the Bowl Alliance's national title game. There the Volunteers lost to Nebraska. The team played home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee.

1997 Tennessee Volunteers football
SEC champion SEC Eastern Division champion
SEC Championship Game, W 30–29 vs. Auburn
Orange Bowl (BA NCG), L 17–42 vs. Nebraska
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Division	Eastern Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 8
AP	No. 7
Record	11–2 (7–1 SEC)
Head coach	Phillip Fulmer (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	David Cutcliffe (5th season)
Offensive scheme	Pro-style
Defensive coordinator	John Chavis (3rd season)
Base defense	Multiple 4–3
Captains	Leonard Little Peyton Manning
Home stadium	Neyland 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

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 he returned to Tennessee for his senior year.^[1] 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.^[2][3][4] 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.^[5][6] The No. 3 Vols were matched up with No. 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.^[7] 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.^[8] 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 cornerback for Michigan and the only defensive player ever to win the award.^[9][10][11]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 30	7:45 p.m.	Texas Tech*	No. 5	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN	ESPN	W 52–17	106,285	[12]
September 6	3:30 p.m.	at UCLA*	No. 3	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA	ABC	W 30–24	62,619	[13]
September 20	3:30 p.m.	at No. 3 Florida	No. 4	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL (rivalry, College GameDay)	CBS	L 20–33	85,714	[14]
October 4	3:30 p.m.	Ole Miss	No. 9	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)	CBS	W 31–17	106,229	[15]
October 11	3:30 p.m.	No. 13 Georgia	No. 9	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)	CBS	W 38–13	106,656	[16]
October 18	7:00 p.m.	at Alabama	No. 9	Legion Field Birmingham, AL (Third Saturday in October)	ESPN	W 38–21	83,091	[17]
November 1	12:30 p.m.	South Carolina	No. 8	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)	JPS	W 22–7	106,301	[18]
November 8	4:00 p.m.	No. 24 Southern Miss*	No. 8	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN	PPV	W 44–20	107,073	[19]
November 15	8:00 p.m.	at Arkansas	No. 5	War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR	ESPN2	W 30–22	53,235	[20]
November 22	12:30 p.m.	at Kentucky	No. 5	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY (rivalry)	ESPN2	W 59–31	61,076	[21]
November 29	12:00 p.m.	Vanderbilt	No. 3	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)	CBS	W 17–10	106,683	[22]
December 6	8:00 p.m.	vs. No. 11 Auburn	No. 3	Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA (SEC Championship Game)	ABC	W 30–29	74,896	[23]
January 2	8:00 p.m.	vs. No. 2 Nebraska*	No. 3	Pro Player Stadium Miami Gardens, FL (Orange Bowl, College GameDay)	CBS	L 17–42	74,002	[24]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Rankings

See also: 1997 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = 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	5 (8)	5 (8)	3 (10)	4 (5)	4 (6)	10	10	10	9	8	8	7	5	5	3	3	3	8

Game summaries

Texas Tech

See also: 1997 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team

Texas Tech at Tennessee

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Red Raiders	0	3	0	14	17
• No. 5 Volunteers	7	17	21	7	52

• Date: August 30
• Location: Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tennessee
• Game start: 7:35 pm EDT
• Elapsed time: 3:20
• Game attendance: 106,285

• Source: Box score

At UCLA

See also: 1997 UCLA Bruins football team

Tennessee at UCLA

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• No. 3 Volunteers	9	15	3	3	30
Bruins	0	3	3	18	24

• Date: September 6
• Location: Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California
• Game start: 3:35 pm EDT
• Elapsed time: 3:41
• Game attendance: 62,619

• Source: Box score

       

Scoring summary

1	8:28	UT	Safety, Leonard Little sack of Cade McNown in end zone	Tenn 2–0
	3:05	UT	Cory Gaines 57-yard interception return (Jeff Hall kick)	Tenn 9–0
2	9:35	UT	Jeremaine Copeland 24-yard pass from Peyton Manning (conversion)	Tenn 17–0
	4:07	UT	Marcus Nash 39-yard pass from Peyton Manning (kick)	Tenn 24–0
		UCLA	Chris Sailer ?-yard field goal	Tenn 24–3
3		UCLA	Chris Sailer ?-yard field goal	Tenn 24–6
		UT	Jeff Hall ?-yard field goal	Tenn 27–6
4		UCLA	Skip Hicks ?-yard pass from Cade McNown (conversion failed)	Tenn 27–12
		UCLA	Skip Hicks ?-yard run (conversion failed)	Tenn 27–18
		UCLA	Skip Hicks ?-yard pass from Cade McNown (conversion failed)	Tenn 27–24
		UT	Jeff Hall ?-yard field goal	Tenn 30–24

^[25]

At Florida

#4 Tennessee Volunteers (2–0) at #3 Florida Gators (2–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Tennessee	0	7	7	6	20
Florida	14	6	6	7	33

at Ben Hill Griffith Stadium, Gainesville, Florida

• Date: September 20
• Game time: 3:30 p.m. EDT
• Game weather: Sunny, 95 °F (35 °C)
• Game attendance: 85,714
• Box Score/Recap

Game information

First quarter UF – Jamie Richardson 11-yard pass from Doug Johnson (Collins Cooper kick), 9:43. Florida 7–0. UF – Tony George 88-yard interception return (Collins Cooper kick), 0:15. Florida 14–0. Second quarter UT – Jermaine Copeland 22-yard pass from Peyton Manning (Jeff Hall kick), 1:33. Florida 14–7. UF – Jacquez Green 19-yard pass from Doug Johnson (kick failed), 0:45. Florida 20–7. Third quarter UF – Collins Cooper 37-yard field goal, 8:33. Florida 23–7. UF – Collins Cooper 40-yard field goal, 3:44. Florida 26–7. UT – Jermaine Copeland 8-yard pass from Peyton Manning (Jeff Hall kick), 2:32. Florida 26–14. Fourth quarter UF – Taran Ross 30-yard pass from Doug Johnson (Collins Cooper kick), 6:23. Florida 33–14. UT – Cedrick Wilson 16-yard pass from Peyton Manning (pass failed), 2:21. Florida 33–20. Top passers UT – Peyton Manning – 29/51, 353 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT UF – Doug Johnson – 14/32, 261 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT Top rushers UT – Mark Levine – 4 rushes, 27 yards UF – Fred Taylor – 17 rushes, 134 yards Top receivers UT – Andy McCullough – 5 receptions, 105 yards UF – Jacquez Green – 8 receptions, 185 yards, TD

^[26]

Ole Miss

See also: 1997 Ole Miss Rebels football team

Ole Miss at Tennessee

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Rebels	0	3	6	8	17
• No. 9 Volunteers	0	7	14	10	31

• Date: October 4
• Location: Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tennessee
• Game start: 3:34 pm EDT
• Elapsed time: 3:15
• Game attendance: 106,229

• Source: Box score

Georgia

See also: 1997 Georgia Bulldogs football team

Georgia at Tennessee

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 13 Bulldogs	3	7	0	3	13
• No. 9 Volunteers	7	17	0	14	38

• Date: October 11
• Location: Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tennessee
• Game start: 3:41 pm EDT
• Elapsed time: 3:13
• Game attendance: 106,656

• Source: Box score

At Alabama

See also: 1997 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

Tennessee at Alabama

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• No. 9 Volunteers	7	14	10	7	38
Crimson Tide	6	0	8	7	21

• Date: October 18
• Location: Legion Field, Birmingham, Alabama
• Game start: 6:06 pm EDT
• Elapsed time: 3:06
• Game attendance: 83,091

• Source: Box score

South Carolina

See also: 1997 South Carolina Gamecocks football team

South Carolina at Tennessee

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Gamecocks	0	0	0	7	7
• No. 9 Volunteers	9	0	3	10	22

• Date: November 1
• Location: Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tennessee
• Game start: 12:38 pm EDT
• Elapsed time: 3:04
• Game attendance: 106,301

• Source: Box score

Southern Miss

See also: 1997 Southern Miss Golden Eagles football team

Southern Miss at Tennessee

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 24 Golden Eagles	7	6	7	0	20
• No. 8 Volunteers	6	14	21	3	44

• Date: November 8
• Location: Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tennessee
• Game start: 4:08 pm EST
• Elapsed time: 3:10
• Game attendance: 107,073

• Source: Box score

At Arkansas

See also: 1997 Arkansas Razorbacks football team

Tennessee at Arkansas

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• No. 5 Volunteers	7	7	3	13	30
Razorbacks	0	10	6	6	22

• Date: November 15 ^[27]
• Location: War Memorial Stadium, Little Rock, Arkansas
• Game start: 7:15 pm EDT
• Elapsed time: 3:20
• Game attendance: 53,235

• Source: Box score

At Kentucky

See also: 1997 Kentucky Wildcats football team

Tennessee at Kentucky

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• No. 5 Volunteers	17	7	21	14	59
Wildcats	7	14	3	7	31

• Date: November 22
• Location: Commonwealth Stadium, Lexington, Kentucky
• Game start: 12:30 pm EDT
• Elapsed time: 3:40
• Game attendance: 61,076

• Source: Box score

Peyton Manning threw for a school-record 523 yards and tied the school-record with 5 passing touchdowns in this high-scoring win over Kentucky. The single-game TD record fell in 2007 and the single-game yardage record stood until 2012. In all, Manning and Kentucky QB Tim Couch combined for 999 passing yards (Couch threw for a then-school-record 476 yards).^[28]

Vanderbilt

See also: 1997 Vanderbilt Commodores football team

Vanderbilt at Tennessee

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Commodores	0	3	7	0	10
• No. 3 Volunteers	0	10	7	0	17

• Date: November 29
• Location: Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tennessee
• Game start: 12:12 pm EST
• Elapsed time: 3:00
• Game attendance: 106,683

^[29]

Vs. Auburn

Main article: 1997 SEC Championship Game

See also: 1997 Auburn Tigers football team

Tennessee vs Auburn

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• No. 3 Volunteers	7	3	13	7	30
No. 11 Tigers	13	7	9	0	29

• Date: December 6
• Location: Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Georgia
• Game start: 8:06 pm EST
• Elapsed time: 3:34
• Game attendance: 74,896
• Referee: Al Ford

• Source: Box score

       

Scoring summary

1	12:41	UT	Peerless Price 40-yard pass from Peyton Manning (Jeff Hall kick)	Tenn 7–0
	10:25	Aub	Jaret Holmes 30-yard field goal	Tenn 7–3
	5:36	Aub	Brad Ware 24-yard fumble return (Jaret Holmes kick)	Aub 10–7
	1:27	Aub	Jaret Holmes 48-yard field goal	Aub 13–7
2	14:12	Aub	Tyrone Goodson 51-yard pass from Dameyune Craig (Jaret Holmes kick)	Aub 20–7
	7:46	UT	Jeff Hall 27-yard field goal	Aub 20–10
3	11:56	UT	J. Copeland 5-yard pass from Peyton Manning (Jeff Hall kick)	Aub 20–17
	6:14	Aub	Fred Beasley 24-yard pass from Dameyune Craig (Jaret Holmes kick)	Aub 27–17
	1:06	UT	Peerless Price 46-yard pass from Peyton Manning (Jeff Hall kick)	Aub 27–23
	1:06	Aub	Quinton Reese 98-yard PAT return	Aub 29–23
4	11:14	UT	Marcus Nash 73-yard pass from Peyton Manning (Jeff Hall kick)	Tenn 30–29

The Vols struck first just over two minutes into the game, but found themselves trailing 20–7 only 48 seconds into the second quarter. Despite six turnovers, Tennessee clawed all the way back. Peyton Manning threw for 373 yards and 4 TD, including a game winning 73-yard touchdown to Marcus Nash.^[30]

Vs. Nebraska (Orange Bowl)

Main article: 1998 Orange Bowl

See also: 1997 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

Tennessee vs Nebraska

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 3 Volunteers	0	3	6	8	17
• No. 2 Cornhuskers	7	7	21	7	42

• Date: January 2, 1998 ^[31]
• Location: Pro Player Stadium, Miami Gardens, Florida
• Game attendance: 72,385

Roster

1997 Tennessee Volunteers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB 24 Shawn Bryson Jr OT 67 Chad Clifton So OL Cosey Coleman WR Jermaine Copeland WR Graff Corby RB Phillip Crosby RB Brian Darden TE Eric Diogu RB Derrick Edmonds OL Mercedes Hamilton RB Travis Henry TE Neil Johnson RB Mark Levine RB Jamal Lewis QB 16 Peyton Manning Sr WR David Martin QB 17 Tee Martin So WR 88 Andy McCullough Sr WR 12 Marcus Nash Sr TE Antron Peebles WR 37 Peerless Price Jr OL Spencer Riley OL Diron Robinson WR 81 Benjie Shuler Sr RB Travis Stephens C 70 Trey Teague Sr WR Cedrick Wilson	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 99 Eric Brown Sr DE 91 Jonathan Brown Sr DL Jeff Coleman DL Bill Duf DE 93 Shaun Ellis So DB 13 Terry Fair Sr DB Cory Gaines DT 60 Matt Goodin Jr DB 23 Dwayne Goodrich So DB Tyrone Graham DB Deon Grant DL Ron Green DL Gerald Griffin DB Steve Johnson DE 1 Leonard Little Sr DB Tori Noel DL Billy Raltliff DE 58 Darwin Walker So DB 30 Cory Gaines Sr DE 22 Corey Terry Jr LB 46 Raynoch Thompson So DL Darwin Walker DB 42 Eric Westmoreland So DB 2 Fred White 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 David Cutcliffe – Offensive coordinator/assistant head coach/quarterbacks Randy Sanders – Running backs/recruiting coordinator Pat Washington – Wide receivers Rodney Garner – Tight ends/offensive tackles Mark Bradley – Offensive line John Chavis – Defensive coordinator/linebackers Dan Brooks – Defensive line Kevin Ramsey – Defensive backs Steve Caldwell – Special teams/defensive ends Kurt Roper – Graduate assistant 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^[32]
• Peyton Manning, Johnny Unitas Award winner
• Peyton Manning, Best College Football Player ESPY Award winner
• Peyton Manning, runner-up, Heisman Trophy^[33]

Team players drafted into the NFL

Main article: 1998 NFL draft

Tennessee had eight players selected in the 1998 NFL Draft.^[34][35][36]

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
Cory Gaines	Safety	7	231	Indianapolis Colts