1997 NCAA Division I-AA football rankings

The 1997 NCAA Division I-AA football rankings are from the Sports Network poll of Division I-AA head coaches, athletic directors, sports information directors and media members. This is for the 1997 season.

Legend

		Increase in ranking
		Decrease in ranking
		Not ranked previous week
(#–#)		Win–loss record
(Italics)		Number of first place votes
т		Tied with team above or below also with this symbol

The Sports Network poll

	Preseason [1]	Week 1 Sept 2 [2]	Week 2 Sept 9 [3]	Week 3 Sept 16 [4]	Week 4 Sept 23 [5]	Week 5 Sept 30 [6]	Week 6 Oct 7 [7]	Week 7 Oct 14 [8]	Week 8 Oct 21 [9]	Week 9 Oct 28 [10]	Week 10 Nov 4 [11]	Week 11 Nov 11 [12]	Week 12 Nov 18 [13]
1.	Montana	Montana (0–0)	Montana (0–0) (63)	Montana (1–0) (62)	Montana (2–0) (91)	Montana (3–0) (91)	Youngstown State (5–0) (56)	Youngstown State (6–0) (65)	Villanova (6–0) (74)	Villanova (7–0) (89)	Villanova (8–0) (83)	Villanova (9–0) (83)	Villanova (10–0) (83)	1.
2.	Troy State	Troy State (1–0)	Troy State (2–0) (10)	Troy State (2–0) (10)	Youngstown State (3–0)	Youngstown State (4–0)	Montana (3–1) (24)	Montana (4–1) (21)	McNeese State (6–0) (16)	Western Illinois (7–1) (3)	Western Illinois (8–1) (6)	Western Illinois (9–1) (6)	Western Illinois (9–1) (3)	2.
3.	Northern Iowa	William & Mary (1–0)	William & Mary (2–0) (3)	William & Mary (3–0) (7)	Western Kentucky (4–0)	Western Kentucky (5–0)	Villanova (4–0) (8)	Villanova (5–0) (4)	Western Illinois (6–1) (2)	Delaware (7–1) (1)	Delaware (8–1) (1)	Delaware (9–1) (1)	Delaware (10–1)	3.
4.	William & Mary	Northern Iowa (0–0)	Delaware (1–0)	Western Illinois (3–0)	Villanova (3–0)	Villanova (3–0)	McNeese State (5–0) (3)	McNeese State (6–0) (4)	Delaware (6–1) (1)	Youngstown State (6–1)	Youngstown State (7–1)	Youngstown State (8–1)	Youngstown State (9–1) (1)	4.
5.	Appalachian State	Western Illinois (1–0)	Western Illinois (2–0)	Youngstown State (2–0)	Northern Arizona (2–1)	Northern Arizona (3–1)	Western Illinois (4–1) (1)	Western Illinois (5–1)	Youngstown State (6–1) (2)	Western Kentucky (7–1)	Western Kentucky (8–1)	Western Kentucky (9–1)	Western Kentucky (9–1)	5.
6.	Eastern Illinois	Delaware (0–0)	East Tennessee State (2–0)	Western Kentucky (3–0)	Appalachian State (1–1)	Appalachian State (2–1)	Delaware (4–1)	Delaware (5–1)	Montana (4–2)	Southern (7–0) (1)	Southern (8–0) (3)	Eastern Washington (9–1) (4)	Eastern Washington (10–1) (6)	6.
7.	Northern Arizona	East Tennessee State (1–0)	Youngstown State (2–0)	Northern Arizona (1–1)	Troy State (2–1)	Troy State (3–1)	Western Kentucky (5–1)	Western Kentucky (5–1)	Western Kentucky (6–1)	Stephen F. Austin (6–1)	Stephen F. Austin (7–1) (2)	McNeese State (8–1) (1)	McNeese State (9–1)	7.
8.	Delaware	Appalachian State (0–0)	Northern Arizona (0–1)	Jackson State (3–0)	Western Illinois (3–1)	William & Mary (4–1)	East Tennessee State (4–1) (1)	Southern (5–0)	Southern (6–0)	Eastern Illinois (7–1)	Eastern Washington (8–1) (2)	Georgia Southern (8–2)	Georgia Southern (9–2) (1)	8.
9.	Western Illinois	Youngstown State (1–0)	Western Kentucky (2–0)	Appalachian State (0–1)	William & Mary (3–1)	Western Illinois (3–1)	Southern (5–0)	Georgia Southern (5–1) (1)	Eastern Illinois (6–1)	McNeese State (6–1)	Eastern Illinois (8–1)	Hampton (8–1) (2)	Hampton (9–1) (1)	9.
10.	Western Kentucky	Northern Arizona (0–1)	Furman (1–0)	Villanova (2–0)	Delaware (2–1)	McNeese State (4–0)	Eastern Illinois (5–1)	Eastern Illinois (5–1)	Stephen F. Austin (5–1)	Northern Arizona (6–2) (1)	McNeese State (7–1)	Florida A&M (7–2)	Florida A&M (8–2)	10.
11.	Youngstown State	Western Kentucky (1–0)	Appalachian State (0–1)	Delaware (1–1)	McNeese State (3–0)	Delaware (3–1)	Georgia Southern (4–1)	Northern Arizona (4–2)	Northern Arizona (5–2)	Eastern Washington (7–1) (1)	Georgia Southern (7–2)	Montana (6–3)	Montana (7–3)	11.
12.	East Tennessee State	Murray State (1–0)	Jackson State (2–0)	Northern Iowa (1–1)	Florida A&M (3–0)	Florida A&M (4–0)	Northern Arizona (3–2)	Stephen F. Austin (4–1)	Eastern Washington (6–1)	East Tennessee State (5–2)	Hampton (7–1)	Southern (8–1)	Southern (9–1)	12.
13.	Murray State	Furman (0–0)	Northern Iowa (0–1)	Southern (3–0)	Southern (4–0)	Southern (4–0)	Stephen F. Austin (3–1)	Jackson State (5–1)	East Tennessee State (4–2)	Hampton (7–1)	Montana (5–3)	Jackson State (7–2)	Stephen F. Austin (8–2)	13.
14.	Jackson State	Jackson State (1–0)	Stephen F. Austin (2–0)	East Tennessee State (2–1)	East Tennessee State (2–1)	East Tennessee State (3–1)	Appalachian State (2–2)	East Tennessee State (4–2)	William & Mary (6–2)	Georgia Southern (6–2)	Jackson State (7–2)	Stephen F. Austin (7–2)	Jackson State (8–2)	14.
15.	Stephen F. Austin	Stephen F. Austin (1–0)	Southern (2–0)	Florida A&M (2–0)	Nicholls State (2–1)	Eastern Illinois (4–1)	Jackson State (5–1)	Nicholls State (4–2)	Hampton (6–1)	Montana (4–3)	Florida A&M (6–2)	Appalachian State (6–3)	Appalachian State (7–3)	15.
16.	Furman	Florida A&M (1–0)	Florida A&M (1–0)	McNeese State (2–0)	Eastern Illinois (3–1)	Stephen F. Austin (3–1)	Florida A&M (4–1)	Troy State (4–2)	Georgia Southern (5–2) (1)	Jackson State (6–2)	Northern Arizona (6–3)	Eastern Illinois (8–2)	Eastern Illinois (8–2)	16.
17.	Southern	Southern (1–0)	Murray State (1–1)	Stephen F. Austin (2–1)	Stephen F. Austin (2–1)	Georgia Southern (3–1)	Northern Iowa (3–2)	Murray State (5–2)	Northern Iowa (4–3)	Florida A&M (5–2)	Appalachian State (5–3)	South Carolina State (8–1)	Hofstra (8–2)	17.
18.	Florida A&M	Northwestern State (0–0)	Villanova (1–0)	Furman (1–1)	Furman (1–1)	Furman (2–1)	Nicholls State (3–2)	William & Mary (5–2)	South Carolina State (6–0)	Appalachian State (4–3)	Dayton (9–0)	Dayton (9–0)	Cal Poly (9–1)	18.
19.	Howard	Villanova (1–0)	Eastern Illinois (1–1)	Eastern Illinois (2–1)	Jackson State (3–1)	Jackson State (4–1)	Troy State (3–2)	Hampton (5–1)	Furman (4–2)	Cal Poly (7–0) (1)	South Carolina State (7–1)	East Tennessee State (6–3)	Eastern Kentucky (7–3)	19.
20.	Northwestern State	Howard (0–0)	McNeese State (1–0)	Georgia Southern (1–1)	Georgia Southern (2–1)	Eastern Washington (4–0)	Murray State (4–2)	Eastern Washington (5–1)	Jackson State (5–2)	William & Mary (6–3)	East Tennessee State (5–3)	Liberty (8–1)	Northeastern (8–2)	20.
21.	New Hampshire	Eastern Kentucky (0–0)	Georgia Southern (1–1)	Eastern Washington (2–0)	Eastern Washington (3–0)	Northwestern State (2–1)	Richmond (4–1)	Florida A&M (4–2)	Florida A&M (5–2)	Dayton (8–0)	Hofstra (7–2)	Hofstra (7–2)	Northwestern State (7–3)	21.
22.	Eastern Kentucky	New Hampshire (0–0)	Eastern Kentucky (0–1)	Chattanooga (2–0)	Chattanooga (2–0)	James Madison (3–1)	SW Texas State (3–1)	Furman (3–2)	Appalachian State (3–3)	South Carolina State (6–1)	Liberty (7–1)	Cal Poly (8–1)	South Carolina State (8–2)	22.
23.	Nicholls State	Georgia Southern (1–0)	Howard (0–1)	Northwestern State (1–1)	Northern Iowa (1–2)	Northern Iowa (2–2)	William & Mary (4–2)	South Carolina State (5–0)	Dayton (7–0)	Chattanooga (6–1)	Cal Poly (7–1)	Eastern Kentucky (6–3)	Dayton (9–1)	23.
24.	SW Missouri State	Eastern Illinois (0–1)	Northwestern State (0–1)	Weber State (2–0)	Northwestern State (1–1)	Nicholls State (2–2)	Connecticut (4–0)	Northern Iowa (3–3)	North Carolina A&T (5–1)	Hofstra (6–2)	Eastern Kentucky (5–3)	Northeastern (7–2)	Bucknell (10–0)	24.
25.	Buffalo	Buffalo (1–0)	Nicholls State (1–1)	Nicholls State (1–1)	James Madison (2–1)	Murray State (2–2)	Hampton (4–1)	SW Texas State (3–2)	Troy State (4–3)	Nicholls State (5–3)	Northeastern (6–2)	Northwestern State (6–3)	Liberty (8–2)	25.
	Preseason [14]	Week 1 Sept 2 [15]	Week 2 Sept 9 [16]	Week 3 Sept 16 [17]	Week 4 Sept 23 [18]	Week 5 Sept 30 [19]	Week 6 Oct 7 [20]	Week 7 Oct 14 [21]	Week 8 Oct 21 [22]	Week 9 Oct 28 [23]	Week 10 Nov 4 [24]	Week 11 Nov 11 [25]	Week 12 Nov 18 [26]
		Dropped: 23 Nicholls State 24 SW Missouri State	Dropped: 22 New Hampshire 25 Buffalo	Dropped: 17 Murray State 22 Eastern Kentucky 23 Howard	Dropped: 24 Weber State	Dropped: 22 Chattanooga	Dropped: 18 Furman 20 Eastern Washington 21 Northwestern State 22 James Madison	Dropped: 14 Appalachian State 21 Richmond 24 Connecticut	Dropped: 15 Nicholls State 17 Murray State 25 SW Texas State	Dropped: 17 Northern Iowa 19 Furman 24 North Carolina A&T 25 Troy State	Dropped: 20 William & Mary 23 Chattanooga 25 Nicholls State	Dropped: 16 Northern Arizona	Dropped: 19 East Tennessee State

References

1. "Top 25 (TSN poll)". Great Falls Tribune. Great Falls, Montana. August 20, 1997. p. S1. Retrieved May 2, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
2. "The Sports Network Division I-AA poll". The Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. September 3, 1997. p. D5. Retrieved May 2, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Division I-AA poll". South Florida Sun Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale, Florida. September 9, 1997. p. 11C. Retrieved April 30, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
4. "I-AA Poll". Reno Gazette-Journal. Reno, Nevada. September 16, 1997. p. 5C. Retrieved April 30, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
5. "NCAA I-AA poll". The Salina Journal. Salina, Kansas. September 23, 1997. p. B2. Retrieved May 2, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Div. I-AA Poll". Hattiesburg American. Hattiesburg, Mississippi. October 1, 1997. p. 2B. Retrieved April 30, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
7. "College Football NCAA I-AA Top 25". Lansing State Journal. Lansing, Michigan. October 7, 1997. p. 2C. Retrieved April 30, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
8. "NCAA Div. I-AA Poll". The Index-Journal. Greenwood, South Carolina. October 14, 1997. p. 5B. Retrieved April 30, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
9. "NCAA Div. I-AA poll". Iowa City Press-Citizen. Iowa City, Iowa. October 21, 1997. p. 2B. Retrieved April 30, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Div I-AA Poll". Asheville Citizen-Times. Asheville, North Carolina. October 28, 1997. p. D4. Retrieved April 30, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Div. I-AA poll". Iowa City Press-Citizen. Iowa City, Iowa. November 4, 1997. p. 2B. Retrieved April 30, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Division I-AA". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. November 11, 1997. p. C6. Retrieved April 30, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
13. "Div. I-AA Poll". Longview News-Journal. Longview, Texas. November 18, 1997. p. 2D. Retrieved April 30, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
14. "Top 25 (TSN poll)". Great Falls Tribune. Great Falls, Montana. August 20, 1997. p. S1. Retrieved May 2, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
15. "The Sports Network Division I-AA poll". The Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. September 3, 1997. p. D5. Retrieved May 2, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
16. "Division I-AA poll". South Florida Sun Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale, Florida. September 9, 1997. p. 11C. Retrieved April 30, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
17. "I-AA Poll". Reno Gazette-Journal. Reno, Nevada. September 16, 1997. p. 5C. Retrieved April 30, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
18. "NCAA I-AA poll". The Salina Journal. Salina, Kansas. September 23, 1997. p. B2. Retrieved May 2, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
19. "Div. I-AA Poll". Hattiesburg American. Hattiesburg, Mississippi. October 1, 1997. p. 2B. Retrieved April 30, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
20. "College Football NCAA I-AA Top 25". Lansing State Journal. Lansing, Michigan. October 7, 1997. p. 2C. Retrieved April 30, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
21. "NCAA Div. I-AA Poll". The Index-Journal. Greenwood, South Carolina. October 14, 1997. p. 5B. Retrieved April 30, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
22. "NCAA Div. I-AA poll". Iowa City Press-Citizen. Iowa City, Iowa. October 21, 1997. p. 2B. Retrieved April 30, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
23. "Div I-AA Poll". Asheville Citizen-Times. Asheville, North Carolina. October 28, 1997. p. D4. Retrieved April 30, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
24. "Div. I-AA poll". Iowa City Press-Citizen. Iowa City, Iowa. November 4, 1997. p. 2B. Retrieved April 30, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
25. "Division I-AA". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. November 11, 1997. p. C6. Retrieved April 30, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
26. "Div. I-AA Poll". Longview News-Journal. Longview, Texas. November 18, 1997. p. 2D. Retrieved April 30, 2017– via Newspapers.com.