1997 Alabama Crimson Tide football team

1997 Alabama Crimson Tide football
1997 Alabama Crimson Tide football
Conference	Southeastern Conference
	Western Division
Record	4–7 (2–6 SEC)
Head coach	Mike DuBose (1st season);
Offensive coordinator	Bruce Arians (1st year)
Defensive coordinator	Ellis Johnson (1st year)
Captains	Curtis Alexander; Paul Pickett; Rod Rutledge; Deshea Townsend;
Home stadium	Bryant–Denny Stadium; (Capacity: 70,123); Legion Field; (Capacity: 83,091)
	Seasons ← 1996 1998 →

1997 Southeastern Conference football standings
v t e
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 1997 Alabama Crimson Tide football team represented the University of Alabama in the college football season of 1997–98. The team's head coach was Mike DuBose, who was entering his first year at Alabama. They played their home games at both Bryant–Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa and Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama and competed in the West Division of the Southeastern Conference. Alabama would finish with a record of 4–7 record in suffering the program's first losing season since the 1984 season. The loss against Kentucky marked Alabama's first ever overtime game, as overtime rules for college football had gone into effect the previous season.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
August 30	11:30 a.m.	Houston*	No. 16	Legion Field Birmingham, AL	JPS	W 42–17	81,591
September 11	7:00 p.m.	at Vanderbilt	No. 15	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN	ESPN	W 20–0	41,448
September 20	11:30 a.m.	Arkansas	No. 11	Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL	JPS	L 16–17	70,123
September 27	2:00 p.m.	Southern Miss*	No. 21	Legion Field Birmingham, AL	PPV	W 27–14	83,091
October 4	6:00 p.m.	at Kentucky	No. 20	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY	PPV	L 34–40 ^OT	59,226
October 18	6:00 p.m.	No. 9 Tennessee		Legion Field Birmingham, AL (Third Saturday in October)	ESPN	L 21–38	83,091
October 25	11:30 a.m.	at No. 25 Ole Miss		Vaught–Hemingway Stadium Oxford, MS (rivalry)	JPS	W 29–20	41,548
November 1	1:00 p.m.	Louisiana Tech*		Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL	PPV	L 20–26	70,123
November 8	2:30 p.m.	No. 14 LSU		Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL (rivalry)	CBS	L 0–27	70,123
November 15	11:30 a.m.	No. 17 Mississippi State		Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL (rivalry)	JPS	L 20–32	70,123
November 22	6:00 p.m.	at No. 13 Auburn		Jordan–Hare Stadium Auburn, AL (Iron Bowl)	ESPN	L 17–18	85,214
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Coaching staff

Name	Position	Consecutive seasons at Alabama
Mike Dubose	Head coach	1st
Bruce Arians	Offensive coordinator/Quarterback coach	1st
Dabo Swinney	Tight end	5th
Neil Callaway	Offensive line coach	1st
Woody McCorvey	Wide receivers coach	8th
Ivy Williams	Running backs coach	4th
Ellis Johnson	Defensive coordinator/Defensive line	1st
Curley Hallman	Secondary coach	2nd
Jeff Rouzie	Linebackers coach	7th
Danny Pearman	Special teams coordinator	7th
Reference:^[1]

Game summaries

Houston

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cougars	0	7	7	3	17
#16 Crimson Tide	21	7	0	14	42

A sell-out crowd filled Legion Field as the Mike Dubose era got off to a great start with the Crimson Tide rolling to a big win over Houston. Alabama's 42 points was the most any Alabama team had put up in a game since the season opener in 1994.

Vanderbilt

	1	2	3	4	Total
#15 Crimson Tide	7	0	3	10	20
Commodores	0	0	0	0	0

Alabama defense would hold Vanderbilt offense to 124 yards as the Crimson Tide won its first road and conference game of the year in shutout fashion.

Arkansas

	1	2	3	4	Total
Razorbacks	3	0	7	7	17
#11 Crimson Tide	3	3	3	7	16

For the second time in a row, Arkansas would come to Bryant-Denny Stadium and upset a rank Alabama team by one point. Alabama held a 16-10 lead late in the game but, an Anthony Eubanks touchdown grab of 29 yards from Clint Stoerner gave Arkansas a one-point win.

Southern Miss

	1	2	3	4	Total
Golden Eagles	0	10	3	0	13
#21 Crimson Tide	0	10	7	10	27

After being tied at halftime, Alabama would outscore Southern Miss 17-3 in the second half lead by Alabama defense forcing three Southern Miss turnovers.

Kentucky

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Wildcats	10	3	14	7	6	40
#20 Crimson Tide	7	7	10	10	0	34

A back and forth shootout ended with a 26-yard game-winning touchdown pass from Kentucky QB Tim Couch to give Kentucky its first win over Alabama since 1922. Alabama had the ball first in overtime but, a Chad Goss fumble gave Kentucky an opportunity to score and win with their possession. This would mark the first overtime game ever for both teams.

Tennessee

	1	2	3	4	Total
#9 Volunteers	7	14	10	7	38
Crimson Tide	6	0	8	7	21

For the third straight year, Tennessee would beat Alabama. Alabama would kick two early field goals to have a 6-0 lead but Tennessee would score the next 28 points to put the game out of reach for Alabama. This game would be the last Third Saturday in October game to be played at Legion Field.

Ole Miss

	1	2	3	4	Total
Crimson Tide	0	7	10	12	29
#25 Rebels	7	7	0	6	20

Mike DuBose would get his first win against a rank team as the Crimson Tide ended their two-game losing streak with a win against Ole Miss.

Louisiana Tech

	1	2	3	4	Total
Bulldogs	10	3	7	6	26
Crimson Tide	7	0	6	7	20

For the first time since the 1990 season, Alabama would lose a non-conference game. This was also the first homecoming lost since 1990 as well as Louisiana Tech and their 3rd rank passing attack upset Alabama.

LSU

	1	2	3	4	Total
#14 Tigers	7	7	0	13	27
Crimson Tide	0	0	0	0	0

LSU return the favor after Alabama shutout LSU in Tiger Stadium in 1996 by shutting out Alabama at Bryant-Denny Stadium. This was the first time Alabama had been shutout since 1991.

Mississippi State

	1	2	3	4	Total
#17 Bulldogs	14	6	9	3	32
Crimson Tide	14	0	6	0	20

For the first time since 1957, Mississippi State would win in Bryant-Denny Stadium. The lose also meant Alabama would not win a game at Bryant-Denny Stadium for the first time since 1955. The lose also guaranteed Alabama first losing season since 1984.

Auburn

	1	2	3	4	Total
Crimson Tide	0	10	7	0	17
#13 Tigers	6	0	6	6	18

Despite being an underdog, Alabama would lead for most of the game and be in a position to put the game away but an Ed Scissum fumble recovered by Auburn put them in field goal range to take the lead and ultimately give them the win. Alabama would try a 57-yard field goal with A.J. Diaz as time expired but it fell short. Alabama 7 loses was the most Alabama has had in a season since 1957.

^[2]

References

^ 1997 Alabama Crimson Tide Football Media Guide, p. 2
^ "1997 Alabama Crimson Tide Football" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 26, 2012. Retrieved October 18, 2008.

[a2-1] 1997 Alabama Crimson Tide Football Media Guide, p. 2

[2] "1997 Alabama Crimson Tide Football" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 26, 2012. Retrieved October 18, 2008.

[1]

[2]

v t e Alabama Crimson Tide football
Venues	University of Alabama Quad (1893–1914) Denny Field (1915–1928) Bryant–Denny Stadium (1929–present) Rickwood Field (alternate, 1912–1927) Cramton Bowl (alternate, 1922–1954) Ernest F. Ladd Stadium (alternate, 1948–1968) Legion Field (alternate, 1927–2003)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Auburn: Iron Bowl (James E. Foy, V-ODK Sportsmanship Trophy) Clemson Florida Georgia Georgia Tech LSU Mississippi State Ole Miss Penn State Tennessee: Third Saturday in October
Culture & lore	History Saban era Traditions Big Al "Yea Alabama" "Dixieland Delight" A-Day 1922 Penn game Million Dollar Band Walk of Fame Paul W. Bryant Museum The Bear The Bear Bryant Show Porter Cup 1943 Informals Forrest Gump Punt Bama Punt Bo Over the Top 1992 SEC Championship Game 2009 SEC Championship Game 2011 "Game of the Century" Kick Six (Kick Bama Kick) 2019 "Game of the Century" 2024 Vanderbilt game
People	Head coaches All-Americans College Football Hall of Fame inductees NFL draftees Starting quarterbacks Statistical leaders Yearly leaders Champ Pickens
Seasons	1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
National championship seasons in bold