1997 Vanderbilt Commodores football team

The 1997 Vanderbilt Commodores football team represented Vanderbilt University as a member of the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by first-year head coach Woody Widenhofer, the Commodores compiled an overall record of 3–8 with a mark of 0–8 in conference play, placing last out of six teams in the SEC's Eastern Division. The team played home games at Vanderbilt Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.

1997 Vanderbilt Commodores football
Conference	Southeastern conference
Division	Eastern Division
Record	3–8 (0–8 SEC)
Head coach	Woody Widenhofer (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Ed Lambert (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	Norm Parker (1st season)
Base defense	4–3
Captains	Jamie Duncan Corey Chavous Jay Stallworth Damian Allen John Bradley
Home stadium	Vanderbilt 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 low point of the Commodores' season came in their fifth game against 13th-ranked LSU, coached by Gerry DiNardo, Vanderbilt's head coach from 1991 to 1994. After scoring a touchdown with 12 seconds remaining to cut the Tigers' lead to 7–6, Widenhofer kept the offense on the field, intending to go for a two-point conversion and the win. After LSU called timeout, the Commodores were called twice for delay of game, pushing the ball back to the 13-yard line and forcing Widenhofer to send in kicker John Markham to attempt an extra point which would have forced overtime. Markham, who missed a 38-yard field goal earlier in the game, had his kick blocked, allowing the Tigers to escape despite gaining a meager 230 total yards.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 30	6:00 p.m.	North Texas*	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN		W 29–12	38,281	[1]
September 11	7:00 p.m.	No. 15 Alabama	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN	ESPN	L 0–20	41,448	[2]
September 20	7:00 p.m.	TCU*	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN		W 40–16	34,824	[3]
September 27	6:00 p.m.	at Ole Miss	Vaught–Hemingway Stadium Oxford, MS (rivalry)		L 3–15	36,417	[4]
October 4	2:30 p.m.	No. 13 LSU	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN	PPV	L 6–7	37,045	[5]
October 11	3:00 p.m.	at Northern Illinois*	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL		W 17–7	17,567	[6]
October 18	8:00 p.m.	No. 21 Georgia	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN (rivalry)	ESPN2	L 13–34	35,124	[7]
October 25	6:00 p.m.	at South Carolina	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC		L 3–35	79,014	[8]
November 8	11:30 a.m.	at No. 13 Florida	Ben Hill Griffin Stadium Gainesville, FL	JPS	L 7–20	85,301	[9]
November 15	1:00 p.m.	Kentucky	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN (rivalry)		L 10–21	40,256	[10]
November 29	11:00 a.m.	at No. 3 Tennessee	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)	CBS	L 10–17	106,683	[11]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[12][13]

Roster

1997 Vanderbilt Commodores football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 6 Greg Zolman Fr QB 17 Damian Allen Sr RB 23 Tyrone Yarbrough Jr RB 35 Marcus A. Williams Sr G 51 Jim Anguiano Jr WR 81 Todd Yoder So	Defense Pos. # Name Class CB 1 Fred Vinson Jr CB 4 Corey Chavous Sr CB 30 Damien Charley Jr LB 34 Carlton Hall Sr LB 49 Jamie Duncan Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Woody Widenhofer Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: 1998-12-02