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1997 SMU Mustangs football team

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1997 SMU Mustangs football
ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
DivisionMountain Division
Record6–5 (5–3 WAC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorDarrell Dickey (1st season)
Offensive schemePro spread
Defensive coordinatorEric Schumann (1st season)
Base defense4–3
Home stadiumCotton Bowl
Seasons
← 1996
1998 →
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

The 1997 Western Athletic Conference Mustangs football team represented Southern Methodist University (SMU) as a member of the Mountain Division of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by first-year head coach Mike Cavan, the Mustangs compiled an overall record of 6–5 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, tying for second place in the WAC's Mountain Division. Ten years after the NCAA's 1987 "death penalty" on SMU football, SMU's 1997 campaign was the program's first winning season since the football program resumed operations in 1989. The Mustangs played their home games at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.

Schedule

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DateTimeOpponentSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 66:00 p.m.Ole Miss*
L 15–2336,521[1]
September 137:00 p.m.vs. Arkansas*
W 31–923,500[2]
September 207:00 p.m.Navy*
L 16–4620,011
September 272:00 p.m.No. 23 BYU
  • Cotton Bowl
  • Dallas, TX
KSLL 16–19 OT23,701
October 47:05 p.m.at New Mexico
L 15–2233,128
October 112:05 p.m.at Utah
W 20–1926,611
October 252:00 p.m.Wyoming
  • Cotton Bowl
  • Dallas, TX
W 22–1722,403
November 12:00 p.m.Rice
W 24–620,024
November 82:00 p.m.UTEPdagger
  • Cotton Bowl
  • Dallas, TX
W 28–1421,280
November 151:30 p.m.at Tulsa
W 42–4115,234
November 207:05 p.m.at TCU
ESPNL 18–2119,094
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

Roster

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1997 SMU Mustangs football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
C 70 Austin Adami Jr
RB 21 Kelsey Adams Jr
WR 5 Albert Johnson Jr
RB 46 Jeff Pennington So
RB 28 Rodnick Phillips So
QB 12 Chris Sanders So
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
LB 42 Chris Bordano Sr
DB 25 Chris Campbell Sr
LB 97 Jon Wilson Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Personnel

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Mike Cavan succeeded Tom Rossley as SMU head coach. Rossley coached SMU from 1991 to 1996 and left with a 15–48–3 record.[3] Cavan became SMU's third head coach in the post-"death penalty" era for SMU. Cavan was previously head coach at Valdosta State from 1986 to 1991 and East Tennessee State from 1992 to 1996. This is Cavan's first head coaching job at a Division I-A school.

Name Position Seasons at
SMU		 Alma Mater
Mike Cavan Head coach 1 Georgia (1972)
Warren Belin Linebackers 1 Wake Forest (1990)
Darrell Dickey Offensive coordinator, quarterbacks 1 Kansas State (1984)
Derek Dooley Wide receivers 1 Virginia (1991)
Troy Douglas Running backs 1 Appalachian State (1988)
Steve Malin Defensive ends 4 East Texas State (1993)
David McKnight Tight ends 1 Georgia (1969)
Eric Schumann Defensive coordinator, defensive backs 1 Alabama (1977)
Randy Williams Offensive line 1 Valdosta State (1991)
Source:[4]

After the season

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Coaching changes

[edit]

Offensive coordinator Darrell Dickey left SMU to take the head coaching job at North Texas in 1998; Greg Briner, previously the quarterbacks and wide receivers coach at Georgia, succeeded Dickey as offensive coordinator.[5] Offensive line graduate assistant Paul Etheridge was promoted to tight ends and offensive tackles[6] David McKnight moved to running backs coach.[7]

NFL draft

[edit]

In the 1998 NFL draft, linebacker Chris Bordano was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the sixth round and 161st overall.[8]

References

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  1. ^ "Ole Miss holds on to beat SMU, 23–15". Hattiesburg American. September 7, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Mustangs stun Hogs". The Shreveport Times. September 14, 1997. Retrieved July 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Tom Rossley Coaching Record".
  4. ^ "SMU Football: Assistant Coaches". www.smu.edu. Archived from the original on June 14, 1997. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  5. ^ "SMU Football: Assistant Coach". www.smumustangs.com. Archived from the original on May 7, 1999. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  6. ^ "SMU Football: Assistant Coach". www.smumustangs.com. Archived from the original on May 7, 1999. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  7. ^ "SMU Football: Assistant Coach". smumustangs.com. Archived from the original on August 25, 1999. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  8. ^ "SMU Drafted Players/Alumni". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
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