1997 Georgia Southern Eagles football team

1997 Georgia Southern Eagles football
SoCon champion
NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal, L 7–16 at Delaware
Conference	Southern Conference
Ranking
Sports Network	No. 8
Record	10–3 (7–1 SoCon)
Head coach	Paul Johnson (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Mike Sewak (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Rusty Russell (1st season)
Home stadium	Paulson Stadium

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

The 1997 Georgia Southern Eagles football team represented Georgia Southern University as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 1997 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by first-year head coach Paul Johnson, the Eagles compiled an overall record of 10–3 with a mark of 7–1 in conference play, winning the SoCon title. Georgia Southern advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, where they beat Florida A&M in the first round before losing to Delaware in the quarterfinals. The Eagles played their home games at Paulson Stadium in Statesboro, Georgia.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
August 30		Valdosta State*		Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA	W 45–26	10,572
September 6		No. 3 William and Mary*	No. 23	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA	L 28–29	10,329
September 20		at Wofford	No. 20	Gibbs Stadium Spartanburg, SC	W 22–7	7,236
September 27		No. 22 Chattanooga	No. 20	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA	W 37–10	10,128
October 4		at VMI	No. 17	Alumni Memorial Field Lexington, VA	W 49–0	5,208	[1]
October 11		Western Carolina	No. 11	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA	W 30–7	11,368
October 18		at Appalachian State	No. 9	Kidd Brewer Stadium Boone, NC	L 12–24	13,887	[2]
October 25		The Citadel	No. 16	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA	W 49–7	14,731
November 1		at No. 12 East Tennessee State	No. 14	Memorial Center Johnson City, TN	W 38–30	5,629
November 8		Furman	No. 11	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA	W 30–13	18,269	[3]
November 15	7:00 pm	at South Florida*	No. 8	Houlihan's Stadium Tampa, FL	W 24–23	30,470
November 29		No. 10 Florida A&M*	No. 8	Paulson Stadium Statesboro, GA (NCAA Division I-AA First Round)	W 52–37	10,409
December 6		at No. 3 Delaware*	No. 8	Delaware Stadium Newark, DE (NCAA Division I-AA Quarterfinal)	L 7–16	11,203
*Non-conference game Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[4]

References

1. "Georgia Southern 49, VMI 0". The Atlanta Constitution. October 5, 1997. Retrieved February 6, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Third-quarter outbursts carry Appalachian State over Eagles". The Atlanta Constitution. October 19, 1997. Retrieved November 28, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Seven turnovers prove too costly for Paladins". The Greenville News. November 9, 1997. Retrieved September 22, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "1997 Football Schedule". CFBDataWarehouse.com. Archived from the original on January 13, 2016. Retrieved January 17, 2017.