1997 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team

The 1997 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team represented Oklahoma State University during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. They participated as members of the Big 12 Conference in the South Division. They played their home games at Lewis Field in Stillwater, Oklahoma. They were coached by head coach Bob Simmons.

1997 Oklahoma State Cowboys football
Alamo Bowl, L 20–33 vs. Purdue
Conference	Big 12 Conference
Division	South Division
Ranking
Coaches	No. 24
AP	No. 24
Record	8–4 (5–3 Big 12)
Head coach	Bob Simmons (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Les Miles (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Rob Ryan (1st season)
Home stadium	Lewis Field
Seasons ← 1996 1998 →

1997 Big 12 Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
North Division
No. 2 Nebraska † xy$		8	–	0					13	–	0
No. 8 Kansas State  %		7	–	1					11	–	1
No. 23 Missouri		5	–	3					7	–	5
Colorado		3	–	5					5	–	6
Kansas		3	–	5					5	–	6
Iowa State		1	–	7					1	–	10
South Division
No. 20 Texas A&M xy		6	–	2					9	–	4
No. 24 Oklahoma State		5	–	3					8	–	4
Texas Tech		5	–	3					6	–	5
Texas		2	–	6					4	–	7
Oklahoma		2	–	6					4	–	8
Baylor		1	–	7					2	–	9
Championship: Nebraska 54, Texas A&M 15
x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant † – Coaches Poll National Champion $ – Bowl Alliance representative as champion % – Bowl Alliance at-large representative Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
August 30	5:30 p.m.	at Iowa State		Jack Trice Stadium Ames, IA	FSN	W 21–14	43,841
September 6	7:00 p.m.	at Southwestern Louisiana*		Cajun Field Lafayette, LA		W 31–7	16,724
September 13	6:00 p.m.	Fresno State*		Lewis Field Stillwater, OK		W 35–0	36,000
September 27	6:00 p.m.	Northeast Louisiana*		Lewis Field Stillwater, OK		W 38–7	35,200	[1]
October 4	11:30 a.m.	Texas		Lewis Field Stillwater, OK	FSN	W 42–16	43,100
October 11	6:00 p.m.	No. 24 Colorado	No. 20	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK	FSN	W 33–29	50,100
October 25	11:30 a.m.	Missouri	No. 12	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK	FSN	L 50–51 2OT	33,300
November 1	6:00 p.m.	at No. 25 Texas A&M	No. 19	Kyle Field College Station, TX	FSN	L 25–28 OT	60,776
November 8	1:00 p.m.	at Oklahoma	No. 25	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK (Bedlam)	PPV	W 30–7	72,422
November 15	2:00 p.m.	Texas Tech	No. 24	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK		L 3–27	39,400
November 22	2:30 p.m.	at Baylor		Floyd Casey Stadium Waco, TX	ABC	W 24–14	34,794
December 30	7:00 p.m.	vs. No. 17 Purdue*	No. 24	Alamodome San Antonio, TX (Alamo Bowl)	ESPN	L 20–33	55,552
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[2]

Rankings

See also: 1997 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked т = Tied with team above or below

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	20	16	12	19	25	24	—	25	24	24	24
Coaches	—		—	—	—	—	—	20т	16	12	19	23	21	—	25	24	24	24

After the season

The 1998 NFL draft was held on April 18–19, 1998. The following Cowboys were selected.^[3]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL club
1	28	R. W. McQuarters	Defensive back	San Francisco 49ers
3	87	Kevin Williams	Defensive back	New York Jets
4	94	Alonzo Mayes	Tight end	Chicago Bears