1997 San Diego State Aztecs football team

The 1997 San Diego State Aztecs football team represented San Diego State University during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).

1997 San Diego State Aztecs football
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Division	Pacific Division
1997 record	5–7 (4–4 WAC)
Head coach	Ted Tollner (4th season)
Home stadium	Jack Murphy Stadium (Capacity: 54,000)

1997 Western Athletic Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
Mountain Division
New Mexico x		6	–	2					9	–	4
Rice		5	–	3					7	–	4
SMU		5	–	3					6	–	5
Utah		5	–	3					6	–	5
BYU		4	–	4					6	–	5
UTEP		3	–	5					4	–	7
Tulsa		2	–	6					2	–	9
TCU		1	–	7					1	–	10
Pacific Division
No. 17 Colorado State x$		7	–	1					11	–	2
Air Force		6	–	2					10	–	3
Fresno State		5	–	3					6	–	6
Wyoming		4	–	4					7	–	6
San Diego State		4	–	4					5	–	7
San Jose State		4	–	4					4	–	7
UNLV		2	–	6					3	–	8
Hawaii		1	–	7					3	–	9
Championship: Colorado State 41, New Mexico 13
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The team was led by head coach Ted Tollner, in his third year. They played home games at Jack Murphy Stadium[note 1] in San Diego, California. They completed the season with a record of five wins, seven losses (5–7, 4–4 WAC).

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 5	Navy*	Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego, CA	Fox West	W 45–31	21,176
September 13	at No. 3 Washington*	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	Fox West	L 3–36	71,081
September 20	at Wisconsin*	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI		L 10–38	76,864
September 27	at No. 25 Air Force	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	ESPN2	L 18–24 ^OT	48,399
October 4	at Arizona*	Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ	Fox West	L 28–31	39,195
October 11	New Mexico	Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego, CA		L 21–36	28,732
October 18	UNLV	Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego, CA		W 20–17 ^OT	24,628
October 25	at Hawaii	Aloha Stadium Halawa, HI	Cox 4	W 10–3	29,342
November 1	at Wyoming	War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY	Cox 4	L 17–41	15,157
November 8	San Jose State	Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego, CA	Cox 4	W 48–21	29,869
November 15	at Fresno State[note 2]	Bulldog Stadium Fresno, CA (rivalry)	Cox 4	W 20–19	34,195
November 22	No. 25 Colorado State	Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego, CA	ESPN	L 17–38	25,704
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game

[1][2]

Team players in the NFL

The following were selected in the 1998 NFL Draft.[3]

Player	Position	Round	Overall	NFL Team
Kyle Turley	Tackle - Guard	1	7	New Orleans Saints
Az-Zahir Hakim	Wide Receiver	4	96	St. Louis Rams
Ephraim Salaam	Tackle	7	199	Atlanta Falcons

The following finished their college career in 1997, were not drafted, but played in the NFL.[4]

Player	Position	First NFL Team
Jason Moore	Defensive Back	1999 Denver Broncos
Justin Watson	Running Back	1999 St. Louis Rams

Team awards

Award	Player
Most Valuable Player (John Simcox Memorial Trophy)	Kyle Turley
Outstanding Players (Byron H. Chase Memorial Trophy)	Kyle Turley, OT Jonas Lewis, RB Az-Zahir Hakim, WR Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila, DE Rico Curtis, SS Andy Osbourne, LB
Team Captains Dr. R. Hardy / C.E. Peterson Memorial Trophy	Kyle Turley, Off Andy Osbourne, Def Julius McChristian, Def
Most Inspirational Player	Julius McChristian

[2]

Notes

1. San Diego County Credit Union Stadium (SDCCU Stadium) was known as Jack Murphy Stadium from 1981 through 1997.
2. The official name of Fresno State has been California State University, Fresno since 1972. However, it is still commonly known as Fresno State.

References

1. "San Diego State 1997 Schedule". Retrieved December 8, 2016.
2. "San Diego State 2016 Football Media Guide". Archived from the original on 2016-10-18. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
3. "1998 NFL Draft". Retrieved December 8, 2016.
4. "San Diego St. Players/Alumni". Retrieved December 8, 2016.