1997 Wisconsin Badgers football team

The 1997 Wisconsin Badgers football team was an American football team that represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their eighth year under head coach Barry Alvarez, the Badgers compiled an 8–5 record (5–3 in conference games), finished in fifth place in the Big Ten, and were outscored by a total of 306 to 291. After a 34–0 loss to Donovan McNabb and Syracuse in the Kickoff Classic, the Badgers won six straight games against unranked teams, before losing to unranked Purdue, and then rebounding for the program's first victory over a Hayden Fry-coached Iowa team. The Badgers concluded their season with three consecutive defeats, losing to No. 1 Michigan, No. 6 Penn State, and in the Outback Bowl against No. 12 Georgia. The Badgers were unranked in the final AP and Coaches polls.

The team's statistical leaders for all games, including the Outback Bowl, were quarterback Mike Samuel (1,896 passing yards, 55.5% completion percentage), running back Ron Dayne (1,457 rushing yards, 5.5 yards per carry, 90 points scored), wide receiver Donald Hayes (45 receptions for 618 yards), and linebacker Donnel Thompson (82 solo tackles, 141 total tackles). Defensive end Tom Burke led the team with 16 tackles for loss (including eight sacks) and won the team's most valuable player award. Dayne received first-team All-America honors from Football News. Kicker Matt Davenport, who converted 14 of 17 field goals and 31 of 33 extra points, was the only Badger to receive first-team honors on the 1997 All-Big Ten Conference football team; Dayne was placed on the second team by both the coaches and media.

The team played its home games at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.

Schedule

Rankings

Game summaries Syracuse