1997 Georgia Southern Eagles football
SoCon champion
ConferenceSouthern Conference
Ranking
Sports NetworkNo. 8
Record10–3 (7–1 SoCon)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorMike Sewak (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorRusty Russell (1st season)
Home stadiumPaulson Stadium
Seasons
← 1996
1998 →
1997 Southern Conference football standings
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

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
August 30Valdosta State*
W 45–2610,572
September 6No. 3 William and Mary*No. 23
  • Paulson Stadium
  • Statesboro, GA
L 28–2910,329
September 20at WoffordNo. 20
W 22–77,236
September 27No. 22 ChattanoogaNo. 20
  • Paulson Stadium
  • Statesboro, GA
W 37–1010,128
October 4at VMINo. 17
W 49–05,208[1]
October 11Western CarolinaNo. 11
  • Paulson Stadium
  • Statesboro, GA
W 30–711,368
October 18at Appalachian StateNo. 9
L 12–2413,887[2]
October 25The CitadelNo. 16
  • Paulson Stadium
  • Statesboro, GA
W 49–714,731
November 1at No. 12 East Tennessee StateNo. 14
W 38–305,629
November 8FurmanNo. 11
  • Paulson Stadium
  • Statesboro, GA
W 30–1318,269[3]
November 157:00 pmat South Florida*No. 8
W 24–2330,470
November 29No. 10 Florida A&M*No. 8
W 52–3710,409
December 6at No. 3 Delaware*No. 8
L 7–1611,203

[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.


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