American college football season
The 1997 North Carolina Tar Heels football team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season . The Tar Heels played their home games at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and competed in the Atlantic Coast Conference . The team was coached by Mack Brown and finished the season 11–1 overall, 7–1 in the conference.
At the end of the season, Brown left for the University of Texas at Austin and did not coach in the Gator Bowl victory over Virginia Tech . Carl Torbush , who was the defensive coordinator during the regular season, became the head coach when Brown left. North Carolina credits the regular season to Brown and the Gator Bowl victory to Torbush.
Schedule Date Time Opponent Rank Site TV Result Attendance Source September 6 12:00 p.m. Indiana * No. 7 ESPN2 W 23–657,800 [ 1]
September 13 6:00 p.m. No. 17 Stanford * No. 7 Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC ESPN2 W 28–1757,800 [ 2]
September 20 12:00 p.m. at Maryland No. 6 JPS W 40–1430,084 [ 3]
September 27 12:00 p.m. Virginia No. 5 ABC W 48–2057,800 [ 4]
October 4 8:05 p.m. at TCU * No. 5 W 31–1029,415 [ 5]
October 11 12:00 p.m. Wake Forest No. 5 Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC (rivalry ) JPS W 30–1257,000 [ 6]
October 18 6:00 p.m. at NC State No. 4 ESPN2 W 20–751,500 [ 7]
October 30 8:00 p.m. at Georgia Tech No. 5 ESPN W 16–1345,126 [ 8]
November 8 7:30 p.m. No. 3 Florida State No. 5 ESPN L 3–2062,000 [ 9]
November 15 3:30 p.m. at Clemson No. 8 ABC W 17–1071,514 [ 10]
November 22 12:00 p.m. Duke No. 8 JPS W 50–1453,500 [ 11]
January 1, 1998 12:30 p.m. vs. Virginia Tech * No. 7 NBC W 42–354,116 [ 12]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time
Roster
1997 North Carolina Tar Heels football team roster
Players
Coaches
Offense
Defense
Special teams
Pos.
#
Name
Class
P
23
Brian Schmitz
So
K
37
Josh McGee
So
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
Injured
Redshirt
Rankings Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = First-place votes Week Poll Pre 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Final AP 7 (4) 7 (4) 7 (4) 7 (2) 6 (1) 5 (2) 5 (2) 5 (2) 4 (2) 4 (2) 5 (2) 5 (2) 8 8 8 7 7 6 Coaches Poll 8 (1) 8 (1) 8 (1) 8 (1) 7 (1) 5 (1) 5 (1) 5 (1) 4 (1) 4 (1) 5 5 9 8 6 5 5 4
Game summaries
Vs. Virginia Tech (Gator Bowl)
North Carolina vs. Virginia Tech (Gator Bowl )
1
2 3 4 Total
• No. 7 Tar Heels
16
6 6 14
42
Hokies
0
0 3 0
3
[ 13]
Players in the 1998 NFL Draft
References
^ "Indiana can't find end zone in loss" . The Indianapolis Star . September 7, 1997. Retrieved July 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Cardinal streak snapped" . Santa Cruz Sentinel . September 14, 1997. Retrieved July 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Tar Heels thump Terrapins" . The Charlotte Observer . September 21, 1997. Retrieved July 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Reversal of fortune; UNC rallies for huge win over Cavs" . The Chapel Hill News . September 28, 1997. Retrieved July 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "TCU's rally falls short vs. Tar Heels" . The Atlanta Journal . October 5, 1997. Retrieved July 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "North Carolina has its flaws, but does enough to top Wake Forest" . Press of Atlantic City . October 12, 1997. Retrieved July 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Heels find another win" . The Herald-Sun . October 19, 1997. Retrieved July 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Tar Heels nip Jackets" . Winston-Salem Journal . October 31, 1997. Retrieved July 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "FSU downs Heels" . The Index-Journal . November 9, 1997. Retrieved July 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "North Carolina deals Clemson near-fatal blow" . Florence Morning News . November 16, 1997. Retrieved July 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Heels make big bowl plea" . The News and Observer . November 23, 1997. Retrieved July 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "North Carolina makes statement in rout" . Fort Worth Star-Telegram . January 2, 1998. Retrieved July 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "In Gator, UNC Gives Hokies a 'Good Whuppin',' 42-3" . The Washington Post . January 2, 1998. Retrieved January 23, 2021 .
^ a b c d e f g "1998 NFL Draft" . pro-football-reference.com .
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