1997 Washington Huskies football team


The 1997 Washington Huskies football team was an American football team that represented the University of Washington during the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. In its fifth season under head coach Jim Lambright, the team compiled an 8–4 record, finished fourth in the Pacific-10 Conference, and outscored its opponents 420 to 259. Receiver Jerome Pathon was selected as the team's most valuable player. Seniors Pathon, Jerry Jensen, Rashaan Shehee, Tony Parrish were the team captains.
After a 27–0 shutout of USC on November 1, the Huskies were 7–1 and ranked sixth in the nation. Saddled with injuries, they lost the final three conference games to unranked Oregon, #9 UCLA, and #11 Washington State.
At the Aloha Bowl on Christmas Day against #25 Michigan State, Washington built a 31–10 lead at halftime and won 51–23; it was Lambright's sole bowl victory in his six seasons as head coach. The win moved UW up three spots in the final rankings, to #18 in both major polls.

Schedule

Roster

NFL Draft

Ten Huskies were selected in the 1998 NFL Draft, which lasted seven rounds.
PlayerPositionRoundOverallFranchise
Jerome PathonWR2nd32Indianapolis Colts
Tony ParrishS2nd35Chicago Bears
Cameron CleelandTE2nd40New Orleans Saints
Olin KreutzC3rd64Chicago Bears
Rashaan SheheeRB3rd88Kansas City Chiefs
Jeremy BrighamTE5th127Oakland Raiders
Jerry JensenLB5th136Carolina Panthers
Benji OlsonG5th139Tennessee Oilers
Fred ColemanWR6th160Buffalo Bills
Jason ChorakLB7th236St. Louis Rams