| Season: | 1997 |
| Number Of Bowls: | 20 |
| Bowl Start: | December 20, 1997 |
| Bowl End: | January 2, 1998 |
| Championship Bowl: | Orange Bowl |
| Championship Location: | Pro Player Stadium Miami Gardens, FL |
| Champions: | Michigan (AP) Nebraska (Coaches) |
| Conference1: | Big Ten |
| Conference1 Teams: | 7 |
| Conference1 Wins: | 2 |
| Conference1 Losses: | 5 |
| Conference1 Ap Poll: | 4 |
| Conference2: | SEC |
| Conference2 Teams: | 6 |
| Conference2 Wins: | 5 |
| Conference2 Losses: | 1 |
| Conference2 Ap Poll: | 6 |
| Conference3: | Pac-10 |
| Conference3 Teams: | 6 |
| Conference3 Wins: | 5 |
| Conference3 Losses: | 1 |
| Conference3 Ap Poll: | 4 |
| Conference4: | Big 12 |
| Conference4 Teams: | 5 |
| Conference4 Wins: | 2 |
| Conference4 Losses: | 3 |
| Conference4 Ap Poll: | 5 |
| Conference5: | ACC |
| Conference5 Teams: | 4 |
| Conference5 Wins: | 3 |
| Conference5 Losses: | 1 |
| Conference5 Ap Poll: | 3 |
| Conference6: | Big East |
| Conference6 Teams: | 4 |
| Conference6 Wins: | 0 |
| Conference6 Losses: | 4 |
| Conference6 Ap Poll: | 1 |
| Conference7: | WAC |
| Conference7 Teams: | 3 |
| Conference7 Wins: | 1 |
| Conference7 Losses: | 2 |
| Conference7 Ap Poll: | 1 |
| Conference8: | CUSA |
| Conference8 Teams: | 2 |
| Conference8 Wins: | 2 |
| Conference8 Losses: | 0 |
| Conference8 Ap Poll: | 1 |
| Conference9: | Big West |
| Conference9 Teams: | 1 |
| Conference9 Wins: | 0 |
| Conference9 Losses: | 1 |
| Conference9 Ap Poll: | 0 |
| Conference10: | MAC |
| Conference10 Teams: | 1 |
| Conference10 Wins: | 0 |
| Conference10 Losses: | 1 |
| Conference10 Ap Poll: | 0 |
The 1997–98 NCAA football bowl games concluded the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season. In the third and final year of the Bowl Alliance era, Nebraska defeated Tennessee in the 1998 Orange Bowl, designated as the Bowl Alliance national championship for the 1997 season. AP-No. 1 ranked Michigan defeated Washington State in the 1998 Rose Bowl, which was not a part of the Bowl Alliance. Michigan was awarded the national championship by the AP Poll and Nebraska by the Coaches Poll.
A total of 20 bowl games were played between December 20, 1997 and January 2, 1998 by 40 bowl-eligible teams.[1] Two new bowl games were added this year: the Motor City Bowl (now known as the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl), and the Humanitarian Bowl (now known as the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl).
| - | Date | Time | Game | Site | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 20 | 6:00 PM | Las Vegas Bowl | Sam Boyd Stadium Las Vegas, NV | Oregon 41, No. 23 Air Force 13 | ||
| Dec 25 | 3:30 PM | Aloha Bowl | Aloha Stadium Honolulu, HI | No. 21 Washington 51, No. 25 Michigan State 23 | ||
| Dec 26 | 8:00 PM | Motor City Bowl | Pontiac Silverdome Pontiac, MI | Ole Miss 34, Marshall 31 | ||
| Dec 27 | 2:30 PM | Insight.com Bowl | Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ | Arizona 20, New Mexico 14 | ||
| Dec 28 | 8:00 PM | Independence Bowl | Independence Stadium Shreveport, LA | No. 15 LSU 27, Notre Dame 9 | ||
| Dec 29 | 3:30 PM | Humanitarian Bowl | Bronco Stadium Boise, ID | Cincinnati 35, Utah State 19 | ||
| 7:30 PM | Carquest Bowl | Pro Player Stadium Miami Gardens, FL | Georgia Tech 35, West Virginia 30 | |||
| 8:00 PM | Holiday Bowl | Qualcomm Stadium San Diego, CA | No. 18 Colorado State 35, No. 19 Missouri 24 | |||
| Dec 30 | 8:00 PM | Alamo Bowl | Alamodome San Antonio, TX | No. 17 Purdue 33, No. 24 Oklahoma State 20 | ||
| Dec 31 | 2:00 PM | Sun Bowl | Sun Bowl El Paso, TX | No. 16 Arizona State 17, Iowa 7 | ||
| 3:30 PM | Liberty Bowl | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN | No. 22 Southern Miss 41, Pittsburgh 7 | |||
| Jan 1 | 11:00 AM | Outback Bowl | Raymond James Stadium Tampa, FL | No. 12 Georgia 33, Wisconsin 6 | ||
| 12:30 PM | Gator Bowl | Alltel Stadium Jacksonville, FL | No. 7 North Carolina 42, Virginia Tech 3 | |||
| 1:00 PM | Florida Citrus Bowl | Florida Citrus Bowl Orlando, FL | No. 6 Florida 21, No. 11 Penn State 6 | |||
| 1:30 PM | Cotton Bowl Classic | Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX | No. 5 UCLA 29, No. 20 Texas A&M 23 | |||
| 5:00 PM | Rose Bowl | Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA | No. 1 Michigan 21, No. 8 Washington State 16 | |||
| Jan 2 | 3:00 PM | Peach Bowl | Georgia Dome Atlanta, GA | No. 13 Auburn 21, Clemson 17 | ||
| Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game. All times are in Eastern Time.[2] |
| - | Date | Time | Game | Site | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 31 | 7:00 PM | Fiesta Bowl | Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ | No. 10 Kansas State 35, No. 14 Syracuse 18 | ||
| Jan 1 | 8:00 PM | Sugar Bowl | Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA | No. 4 Florida State 31, No. 9 Ohio State 14 | ||
| Jan 2 | 8:00 PM | Orange Bowl (championship game) | Pro Player Stadium Miami Gardens, FL | No. 2 Nebraska 42, No. 3 Tennessee 17 | ||
| Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game. All times are in Eastern Time. |