1997 Furman Paladins football team

The 1997 Furman Paladins football team was an American football team that represented Furman University as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 1997 NCAA Division I-AA football season. In their fourth year under head coach Bobby Johnson, the Paladins compiled an overall record of 7–4, with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, finishing tied for third in the SoCon.

1997 Furman Paladins football
Conference	Southern Conference
Record	7–4 (5–3 SoCon)
Head coach	Bobby Johnson (4th season)
Captain	Orlando Ruff, Jay Thier, Jeremy Osborne, Jody Wade
Home stadium	Paladin Stadium
Seasons ← 1996 1998 →

1997 Southern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 8 Georgia Southern $^		7	–	1					10	–	3
No. 15 Appalachian State		6	–	2					7	–	4
East Tennessee State		5	–	3					7	–	4
Furman		5	–	3					7	–	4
The Citadel		4	–	4					6	–	5
Chattanooga		4	–	4					7	–	4
Western Carolina		3	–	5					3	–	8
Wofford		2	–	6					3	–	7
VMI		0	–	8					0	–	11
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network I-AA Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 4	at Samford*	No. 13	Seibert Stadium Homewood, AL	W 29–10	4,763	^[1]
September 13	at South Carolina State*	No. 10	Oliver C. Dawson Stadium Orangeburg, SC	L 6–17	6,626	^[2]
September 27	VMI	No. 18	Paladin Stadium Greenville, SC	W 35–14	7,175	^[3]
October 4	at Western Carolina	No. 18	Whitmire Stadium Cullowhee, NC	L 16–17	10,479	^[4]
October 11	No. 14 Appalachian State		Paladin Stadium Greenville, SC	W 24–22	9,686	^[5]
October 18	at The Citadel	No. 22	Johnson Hagood Stadium Charleston, SC (rivalry)	W 21–7	11,245	^[6]
October 25	No. 13 East Tennessee State	No. 19	Paladin Stadium Greenville, SC	L 28–58	9,105	^[7]
November 1	Elon*		Paladin Stadium Greenville, SC	W 38–20	7,817	^[8]
November 8	at No. 11 Georgia Southern		Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA	L 13–30	18,269	^[9]
November 15	Wofford*		Paladin Stadium Greenville, SC (rivalry)	W 28–7	9,560	^[10]
November 22	at Chattanooga		Chamberlain Field Chattanooga, TN	W 43–23	10,102	^[11]
*Non-conference game Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game

References

1. "Receiver gives Furman a big boost". The Greenville News. September 6, 1997. Retrieved September 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "SCSU stuns Paladins". The Times and Democrat. September 14, 1997. Retrieved September 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Freshman QB leads Furman past VMI". The State. September 28, 1997. Retrieved September 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Furman tops CaBig win: WCU upsets No. 18 Furman". Asheville Citizen-Times. October 5, 1997. Retrieved September 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Ruff saves Furman's day". The Greenville News. October 12, 1997. Retrieved September 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Furman puts itself in position". The State. October 19, 1997. Retrieved September 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "ETSU goes on 48–0 run beat Paladins". The State. October 26, 1997. Retrieved September 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Furman runs past Elon". The Herald-Sun. November 2, 1997. Retrieved September 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Seven turnovers prove too costly for Paladins". The Greenville News. November 9, 1997. Retrieved September 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Furman offense grinds up Terriers". The State. November 16, 1997. Retrieved September 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Dailer, Furman sack UTC's playoff hopes". The Greenville News. November 23, 1997. Retrieved September 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.