1997 Troy State Trojans football team

American college football season

1997 Southland Football League standings
v t e
Team	W		L	W		L
No. 7 McNeese State +^	6	–	1	13	–	2
No. 21 Northwestern State +^	6	–	1	8	–	4
No. 13 Stephen F. Austin	5	–	2	8	–	3
Sam Houston State	3	–	4	5	–	6
Nicholls State	3	–	4	5	–	6
Southwest Texas State	2	–	5	5	–	6
Troy State	2	–	5	5	–	6
Jacksonville State	1	–	6	1	–	10
+ – Conference co-champions ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from The Sports Network poll

The 1997 Troy State Trojans football team represented Troy State University—now known as Troy University—as a member of the Southland Football League during the 1997 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by seventh-year head coach Larry Blakeney, the Trojans compiled an overall record of 5–6 with a mark of 2–5 in conference play, tying for sixth place in the Southland. Troy State began the season ranked No. 2 in the No. 5 in the Sports Network poll, but fell out of the rankings by November and missed the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs after qualifying the previous four seasons. The team played home games at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Troy, Alabama.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
August 30	vs. Alcorn State *	No. 2	Ernest F. Ladd Memorial Stadium Mobile, AL	W 30–0	^[1]
September 6	No. 21 Eastern Kentucky *	No. 2	Veterans Memorial Stadium Troy, AL	W 21–12
September 13	at Alabama State *	No. 2	Cramton Bowl Montgomery, AL	W 20–13	^[2]
September 20	at No. 25 Nicholls State	No. 2	John L. Guidry Stadium Thibodaux, LA	L 20–22
October 2	at Southwest Texas State	No. 7	Bobcat Stadium San Marcos, TX	L 17–31	^[3]
October 11	Sam Houston State	No. 19	Veterans Memorial Stadium Troy, AL	W 13–10 ^OT	5,013	^[4]
October 18	No. 12 Stephen F. Austin	No. 16	Veterans Memorial Stadium Troy, AL	L 13–20
October 25	at Samford *	No. 25	Seibert Stadium Homewood, AL	L 14–25
November 7	Northwestern State	Veterans Memorial Stadium Troy, AL	L 13–14
November 15	at No. 7 McNeese State	Cowboy Stadium Lake Charles, LA	L 7–10	^[5]
November 20	Jacksonville State	Veterans Memorial Stadium Troy, AL (Battle for the Ol' School Bell)	W 49–0	8,900
*Non-conference game Rankings from The Sports Network Poll released prior to the game

^ "Troy State rolls over Alcorn". The Montgomery Advertiser. August 31, 1997. Retrieved August 27, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Troy comes from behind to beat ASU". The Anniston Star. September 14, 1997. Retrieved July 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Bobcats barrage, ruthless defense, Mathis' running knock off No. 7 Troy". Austin American-Statesman. October 3, 1997. Retrieved March 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Troy State downs Sam Houston in OT". The Montgomery Advertiser. October 12, 1997. Retrieved December 18, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "McNeese slips past Troy St". The Daily Advertiser. November 16, 1997. Retrieved March 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "1997 Football Schedule". Troy University Athletics. Retrieved November 14, 2022.

v t e Troy Trojans football
Venues	Pace Field (1930–1949) Veterans Memorial Stadium (1950–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Jacksonville State: Battle for the Ol' School Bell Middle Tennessee: Battle for the Palladium South Alabama
Culture & lore	Trojan "Trojans One & All" Sound of the South Marching Band
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
National championship seasons in bold

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