1997 Colorado State Rams football team

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.

1997 Colorado State Rams football
WAC champion WAC Pacific Division champion Holiday Bowl champion
Holiday Bowl, W 35–24 vs. Missouri
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Division	Pacific Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 16
AP	No. 17
Record	11–2 (7–1 WAC)
Head coach	Sonny Lubick (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Steve Fairchild (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Larry Kerr (5th season)
Home stadium	Hughes Stadium

1997 Western Athletic Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
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

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
August 30	Nevada*		Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, CO	W 45–13	29,672
September 6	at No. 8 Colorado*	No. 24	Folsom Field Boulder, CO (Rocky Mountain Showdown)	L 21–31	53,416
September 13	at Utah State*	No. 25	Romney Stadium Logan, UT	W 35–24	22,097
September 20	Air Force	No. 23	Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, CO (rivalry)	L 0–24	34,071
October 4	Hawaii		Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, CO	W 63–0	30,047
October 11	at San Jose State		Spartan Stadium San Jose, CA	W 55–20	10,384
October 18	at Wyoming		War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY (Border War)	W 14–7	34,745
October 26	Tulsa		Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, CO	W 44–8	27,542
November 1	at UNLV		Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV	W 45–19	19,654
November 8	Fresno State		Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, CO	W 41–3	27,641
November 22	at San Diego State	No. 25	Qualcomm Stadium San Diego, CA	W 38–17	25,704
December 6	vs. New Mexico	No. 20	Sam Boyd Stadium Whitney, NV (WAC Championship Game)	W 41–13	12,706
December 29	vs. No. 19 Missouri*	No. 18	Qualcomm Stadium San Diego, CA (Holiday Bowl)	W 35–24	50,761
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Rankings

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	—	—	24	25	23	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	25	20	20	18	17
Coaches	—		25	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	22	19	18	17	16

Roster

1997 Colorado State Rams football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 15 Matt Newton Fr RB 36 Kevin McDougal So G 61 Blaine Saipaia So	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 38 John Howell Fr DL 90 Greg Pollard So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Sonny Lubick Coordinators/assistant coaches Brian Schneider STC/TE Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: 1998-01-15