1997 New Mexico Lobos football team

American college football season

1997 New Mexico Lobos football

WAC Mountain Division champion

WAC Championship Game, L 13–41 vs. Colorado State

Insight.com Bowl, L 14–20 vs. Arizona

Conference| Western Athletic Conference
Division| Mountain Division
Record| 9–4 (6–2 WAC)
Head coach|

* Dennis Franchione (6th season)

Offensive coordinator| Dennis Darnell (4th season)
Defensive coordinator| Gary Patterson (2nd season)
Home stadium| University Stadium

Seasons

<- 1996

1998 ->

1997 Western Athletic Conference football standings

* v
* t
* e

| Conf |  |  | Overall

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|
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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

The 1997 New Mexico Lobos football team represented the University of New Mexico in the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Lobos were led by sixth-year head coach Dennis Franchione, in his final year with the team, and played their home games at University Stadium in Albuquerque, New Mexico. They finished the regular season atop the Mountain Division of the Western Athletic Conference with a 6–2 conference record, and lost to Colorado State in the 1997 WAC Championship Game. New Mexico was invited to the 1997 Insight.com Bowl, their first bowl game since 1961, where they lost to Arizona, 14–20.

The season is also notable for the Lobos because their brief appearance in the Coaches' Poll in Week 15 is the last time that the team has been featured in either the Coaches' Poll or the AP Poll, as of 2024[update].

## Schedule

[edit]

Date| Opponent| Site| Result| Attendance| Source

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August 30| Northern Arizona*|

* University Stadium
* Albuquerque, NM

| W 33–10| 25,643| [1][2]
September 6| New Mexico State*|

* University Stadium
* Albuquerque, NM (Rio Grande Rivalry)

| W 61–24| |
September 13| at UTEP|

* Sun Bowl
* El Paso, TX

| W 38–20| 19,857|
September 20| at Utah State*|

* Romney Stadium
* Logan, UT

| W 25–22| 15,112|
October 4| SMU|

* University Stadium
* Albuquerque, NM

| W 22–15| 33,128|
October 11| at San Diego State|

* Jack Murphy Stadium
* San Diego, CA

| W 36–21| 28,732|
October 18| Rice|

* University Stadium
* Albuquerque, NM

| L 23–35| |
October 25| at Utah|

* Rice Stadium
* Salt Lake City, UT

| L 10–15| 28,129|
November 1| at TCU|

* Amon G. Carter Stadium
* Fort Worth, TX

| W 40–10| |
November 15| BYU|

* University Stadium
* Albuquerque, NM

| W 38–28| 30,363|
November 22| Tulsa|

* University Stadium
* Albuquerque, NM

| W 51–13| 29,217|
December 6| vs. No. 20 Colorado State|

* Sam Boyd Stadium
* Whitney, NV (WAC Championship Game)

| L 13–41| 12,706| [3]
December 27| at Arizona*|

* Arizona Stadium
* Tucson, AZ (Insight.com Bowl, rivalry)

| L 14–20| 49,385|

* *Non-conference game
* Homecoming
* Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Source:[4]

## Rankings

[edit]

See also: 1997 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked| Week

|

Poll| Pre| 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| 6| 7| 8| 9| 10| 11| 12| 13| 14| 15| 16| Final
AP| —| —| —| —| —| —| —| —| —| —| —| —| —| —| —| —| —| —
Coaches| —| | —| —| —| —| —| —| —| —| —| —| —| —| —| 25| —| —

## Roster

[edit]

1997 New Mexico Lobos football team roster

Players  | Coaches
Offense | Pos. | # | Name | Class

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|
|

Defense | Pos. | # | Name | Class

|
|
|

WS | `6` | Scott McGarrahan | Sr
FS | `16` | Billy Austin | Sr
LB | `44` | Brian Urlacher | So
LB | `51` | Bart Barnard | Sr
Special teams | Pos. | # | Name | Class

|
|
|

Head coach

* Dennis Franchione

Coordinators/assistant coaches

* * *

Legend

* (C) Team captain
* (S) Suspended
* (I) Ineligible

* Injured
* Redshirt

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Easier Said Than Done: Lobos Begin Season With Victory Over Lumberjacks". Albuquerue Journal. August 31, 1997. pp. E1, E12 - via Newspapers.com.
2. ^ Jason Stone (August 31, 1997). "4th quarter barrage too much for Jacks". Arizona Daily Sun. p. 21 - via Newspapers.com.
3. ^ "Western Athletic Conf. Championship". Akron Beacon Journal. Akron, Ohio. December 7, 1997. p. C9. Retrieved March 8, 2019 - via newspapers.com.
4. ^ "1997 New Mexico Lobos Schedule & Results". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 10, 2017.

* v
* t
* e

New Mexico Lobos football

Venues|

* University Field (1892–1937)
* Zimmerman Field (1938–1959)
* University Stadium (1960–2019, 2021–present)
* Sam Boyd Stadium (2020)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Bowl games
* Arizona
* New Mexico State: Rio Grande Rivalry

Culture & lore|

* Lobo
* "Hail, New Mexico"
* Spirit Marching Band
* Red Menace

People|

* Head coaches
* NFL draftees
* Statistical leaders

Seasons|

* 1892
* 1893
* 1894
* 1895–1898
* 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
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* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
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* 1985
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* 1995
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* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
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* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
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* 2022
* 2023
* 2024

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*[Conf]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
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*[No.]: Number