The 1997 Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football team represented Western Kentucky University in the 1997 NCAA Division I-AA football season and were led by quarterback Willie Taggart and head coach Jack Harbaugh. The team was an independent and earned their first NCAA Division I-AA Playoff berth since 1988, making it to the quarterfinals. The Hilltoppers primarily ran an option offense and were ranked 1st in Rush Offence for NCAA Division I-AA. They finished the season ranked 5th in final I-AA postseason national poll.[1]
1997 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings |
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| Conf | | | Overall |
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Team | | W | | L | | | | | W | | L | |
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No. 18 Cal Poly | | 0 | – | 0 | | | | | 10 | – | 1 | |
No. 5 Western Kentucky ^ | | 0 | – | 0 | | | | | 10 | – | 2 | |
No. 17 Hofstra ^ | | 0 | – | 0 | | | | | 9 | – | 2 | |
No. 25 Liberty | | 0 | – | 0 | | | | | 9 | – | 2 | |
Samford | | 0 | – | 0 | | | | | 7 | – | 4 | |
Morehead State | | 0 | – | 0 | | | | | 5 | – | 4 | |
South Florida | | 0 | – | 0 | | | | | 5 | – | 6 | |
Southern Utah | | 0 | – | 0 | | | | | 5 | – | 6 | |
Saint Mary's | | 0 | – | 0 | | | | | 4 | – | 6 | |
Davidson | | 0 | – | 0 | | | | | 3 | – | 8 | |
Buffalo | | 0 | – | 0 | | | | | 2 | – | 9 | |
La Salle | | 0 | – | 0 | | | | | 1 | – | 8 | |
Charleston Southern | | 0 | – | 0 | | | | | 1 | – | 9 | |
Austin Peay | | 0 | – | 0 | | | | | 0 | – | 10 | |
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- ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from The Sports Network poll |
Western Kentucky's roster included future NFL players Rod “He Hate Me” Smart and Ben Wittman. Patrick Goodman and Andy Hape were named to All-America teams,[citation needed] while Harbaugh was Division I-AA Independents and AFCA Region 3 Coach of the Year.[2] The I-AA Independent All-Star Team included Goodman, Bryan Heyward, Joey Stockton, Hape, Ron Kelly, and Taggart.[3]