1997 New Mexico Lobos football team

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.

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
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 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 2018^[update].

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
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

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

1997 New Mexico Lobos football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class	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

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.