1997 Kentucky Wildcats football team

The 1997 Kentucky Wildcats football team represented the University of Kentucky as a member of the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by first-year head coach Hal Mumme, the Wildcats compiled an overall record of 5–6 with a mark of 2–6 in conference place, placing fifth in the SEC's Eastern Division. The team played home games at Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky.

Eastern Division

Record5–6 (2–6 SEC)

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1997 Southeastern Conference football standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
Eastern Division
No. 7 Tennessee x$	7	–	1	11	–	2
No. 10 Georgia	6	–	2	10	–	2
No. 4 Florida	6	–	2	10	–	2
South Carolina	3	–	5	5	–	6
Kentucky	2	–	6	5	–	6
Vanderbilt	0	–	8	3	–	8
Western Division
No. 11 Auburn xy	6	–	2	10	–	3
No. 13 LSU x	6	–	2	9	–	3
No. 22 Ole Miss	4	–	4	8	–	4
Mississippi State	4	–	4	7	–	4
Arkansas	2	–	6	4	–	7
Alabama	2	–	6	4	–	7
Championship: Tennessee 30, Auburn 29
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

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Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 30	1:30 p.m.	Louisville*	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY (Governor's Cup)		W 38–24	59,186	^[1]
September 6	12:30 p.m.	at Mississippi State	Scott Field Starkville, MS	JPS^[2]	L 27–35	30,121	^[3]
September 20	2:00 p.m.	at Indiana*	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN (rivalry)		W 49–7	41,149	^[4]
September 27	3:30 p.m.	No. 1 Florida	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY (rivalry)	CBS^[2]	L 28–55	59,224	^[5]
October 4	7:00 p.m.	No. 20 Alabama	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY	PPV	W 40–34 ^OT	59,226	^[6]
October 11	12:30 p.m.	at South Carolina	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	JPS^[2]	L 24–38	75,936	^[7]
October 18	7:00 p.m.	Northeast Louisiana*	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY		W 49–14	57,500	^[8]
October 25	3:30 p.m.	at No. 16 Georgia	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA	CBS^[2]	L 13–23	85,672	^[9]
November 1	6:30 p.m.	No. 16 LSU	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY	ESPN2^[2]	L 28–63	58,450	^[10]
November 15	2:00 p.m.	at Vanderbilt	Vanderbilt Stadium Nashville, TN (rivalry)		W 21–10	40,256	^[11]
November 22	12:30 p.m.	No. 5 Tennessee	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY (rivalry)	ESPN2/JPS^[2]	L 31–59	61,076	^[12]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cardinals	0	3	14	7	24
Wildcats	21	0	7	10	38

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Louisville	Passing	Chris Redman	17/28, 204 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
	Rushing	Otis Floyd	14 rushes, 62 yards, TD
	Receiving	Rico Williams	3 receptions, 82 yards
Kentucky	Passing	Tim Couch	36/50, 398 yards, 4 TD, INT
	Rushing	Anthony White	16 rushes, 94 yards, TD
	Receiving	Kio Sanford	6 receptions, 120 yards, TD

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	7	14	6	0	27
Bulldogs	3	7	12	13	35

Schedule

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Florida	Passing	Doug Johnson	22/34, 286 yards, 5 TD
	Rushing	Fred Taylor	14 rushes, 126 yards, 2 TD
	Receiving	Jacquez Green	10 receptions, 139 yards, 3 TD
Kentucky	Passing	Tim Couch	33/59, 348 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT
	Rushing	Anthony White	14 rushes, 79 yards, TD
	Receiving	Craig Yeast	10 receptions, 125 yards

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Alabama	Passing	Freddie Kitchens	13/24, 125 yards, 2 TD
	Rushing	Curtis Alexander	15 rushes, 120 yards, TD
	Receiving	Chad Goss	3 receptions, 59 yards, TD
Kentucky	Passing	Tim Couch	32/49, 355 yards, 4 TD, 3 INT
	Rushing	Anthony White	15 rushes, 117 yards
	Receiving	Derek Homer	3 receptions, 103 yards, TD

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Northeast Louisiana	Passing	Jason Grein	4/6, 43 yards, TD
	Rushing	Marquis Williams	15 rushes, 54 yards
	Receiving	Marty Booker	2 receptions, 38 yards
Kentucky	Passing	Tim Couch	34/43, 428 yards, 6 TD, INT
	Rushing	Anthony White	11 rushes, 60 yards
	Receiving	Lance Mickelson	6 receptions, 131 yards, 3 TD

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
LSU	Passing	Herb Tyler	15/20, 213 yards, TD
	Rushing	Kevin Faulk	28 rushes, 212 yards, 5 TD
	Receiving	Larry Foster	5 receptions, 61 yards
Kentucky	Passing	Tim Couch	41/66, 410 yards, 4 TD, 3 INT
	Rushing	Anthony White	9 rushes, 63 yards
	Receiving	Jimmy Robinson	8 receptions, 100 yards

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Tennessee	Passing	Peyton Manning	25/35, 523 yards, 5 TD
	Rushing	Jamal Lewis	21 rushes, 128 yards, 3 TD
	Receiving	Marcus Nash	7 receptions, 195 yards, 3 TD
Kentucky	Passing	Tim Couch	35/50, 476 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT
	Rushing	Derek Homer	18 rushes, 137 yards
	Receiving	Kio Sanford	9 receptions, 147 yards, TD

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 1 Gators	28	0	21	6	55
Wildcats	0	7	7	14	28

	1	2	3	4	Total
Wildcats	0	7	0	6	13
No. 16 Bulldogs	0	14	3	6	23

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 16 Tigers	12	8	22	21	63
Wildcats	0	21	7	0	28

	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 5 Volunteers	17	7	21	14	59
Wildcats	7	14	3	7	31