1997 Colorado State Rams football team

American college football season August 2023 December 2025 1997 Colorado State Rams football Colorado State Script Logo.png 200 Western Athletic Conference Pacific Division WAC 16 17 11–2 7–1 Sonny Lubick 5th Steve Fairchild 1st Larry Kerr 5th Hughes Stadium WAC championWAC Pacific Division championHoliday Bowl champion Holiday Bowl W 35–24 vs. Missouri The 1997 Colorado State Rams football team represented Colorado State University in the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Rams were led by fifth-year head coach Sonny Lubick and played their home games at Hughes Stadium in Fort Collins, Colorado. Colorado State competed as a member of the Western Athletic Conference in the Pacific Division. They won that division with a 7–1 conference record, earning them a spot in the 1997 WAC Championship Game, where they defeated New Mexico to earn their third WAC title in four years. They were invited to the 1997 Holiday Bowl, where they defeated Missouri, and were ranked 17th in the final AP Poll of the season, the second ranked finish in school history and first since 1994. Schedule 1997 AP August 30 w y Nevada Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, CO 45–13 29,672 September 6 l y y 24 Colorado 8 Folsom Field Boulder, CO Rocky Mountain Showdown 21–31 53,416 September 13 w y y 25 Utah State Romney Stadium Logan, UT 35–24 22,097 September 20 l 23 Air Force Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, CO rivalry 0–24 34,071 October 4 w Hawaii Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, CO 63–0 30,047 October 11 w y San Jose State Spartan Stadium San Jose, CA 55–20 10,384 October 18 w y Wyoming War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY Border War 14–7 34,745 October 26 Sunday w Tulsa Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, CO 44–8 27,542 November 1 w y UNLV Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV 45–19 19,654 November 8 w Fresno State Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, CO 41–3 27,641 November 22 w y 25 San Diego State Qualcomm Stadium San Diego, CA 38–17 25,704 December 6 w y 20 New Mexico Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV WAC Championship Game 41–13 12,706 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29292635/western_athletic_conf_championship/ Western Athletic Conf. Championship Akron Beacon Journal Akron, Ohio C9 December 7, 1997 March 8, 2019 newspapers.com December 29 Monday w y y 18 Missouri 19 Qualcomm Stadium San Diego, CA Holiday Bowl 35–24 50,761 https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/colorado-state/1997-schedule.html 1997 Colorado State Rams Schedule and Results Rankings 1997 NCAA Division I-A football rankings AP 0 17 NR NR 24 25 23 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 25 20 20 18 17 Coaches 0 17 NR 25 NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR NR 22 19 18 17 16 Roster 1997 Colorado State Rams f 15 Fr Matt Newton QB 20 Jr Damon Washington FB y 36 So Kevin McDougal Kevin McDougal (running back) RB y 61 So Blaine Saipaia G y 71 Sr Eric Bailey OT 38 Fr John Howell John Howell (defensive back) DB y 90 So Greg Pollard DL https://web.archive.org/web/19980115222608/http://www.colostate.edu:80/athletics/fb/roster.htm *Sonny Lubick * Brian Schneider STC/TE 1998-01-15 References Colorado State Category:Colorado State Rams football seasons Category:Western Athletic Conference football champion seasons Category:Holiday Bowl champion seasons Colorado State Rams football