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1977 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

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1977 Pittsburgh Panthers football
Gator Bowl champion
Gator Bowl, W 34–3 vs. Clemson
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 7
APNo. 8
Record9–2–1
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorBob Leahy (1st season)
Offensive schemePro I, split backs
Defensive coordinatorJimmy Johnson (1st season)
Base defense5–2
Home stadiumPitt Stadium
Seasons
← 1976
1978 →
1977 NCAA Division I independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Notre Dame       11 1 0
No. 5 Penn State       11 1 0
Colgate       10 1 0
North Texas State *       10 1 0
No. 16 San Diego State       10 1 0
Tennessee State       8 1 1
No. 14 Florida State       10 2 0
No. 8 Pittsburgh       9 2 1
East Carolina       8 3 0
Rutgers       8 3 0
Army       7 4 0
Louisville       7 4 1
Boston College       6 5 0
Cincinnati       5 4 2
Georgia Tech       6 5 0
Memphis State       6 5 0
Northwestern State       6 5 0
Syracuse       6 5 0
William & Mary       6 5 0
Southern Miss       6 5 0
Temple       5 5 1
Hawaii       5 6 0
Navy       5 6 0
West Virginia       5 6 0
South Carolina       5 7 0
Utah State       4 7 0
Villanova       4 7 0
Illinois State       3 7 1
Virginia Tech       3 7 1
Miami (FL)       3 8 0
Richmond       3 8 0
Tulane       3 8 0
Air Force       2 8 1
Holy Cross       2 8 0
Northeast Louisiana       2 9 0
  • North Texas State (originally 9–2) awarded a forfeit win after Mississippi State was found to be using an ineligible player.[1]
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1977 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. The Panthers competed in the Gator Bowl.

Schedule

[edit]
DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 104:20 p.m.No. 3 Notre DameNo. 7ABCL 9–1956,500
September 171:30 p.m.William & MaryNo. 16
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, PA
W 28–6
September 241:00 p.m.at TempleW 76–0
October 11:30 p.m.at Boston CollegeNo. 16W 45–724,881[2]
October 87:00 p.m.at No. 20 FloridaNo. 15T 17–1762,724[3]
October 151:30 p.m.NavydaggerNo. 17
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, PA
W 34–17
October 221:30 p.m.SyracuseNo. 14
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)
W 28–2143,551
October 291:30 p.m.TulaneNo. 13
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, PA
W 48–046,273[4]
November 51:30 p.m.at West VirginiaNo. 12W 44–337,031[5]
November 121:30 p.m.vs. ArmyNo. 10W 52–2635,387
November 261:30 p.m.No. 9 Penn StateNo. 10
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)
ABCL 13–1556,500
December 309:00 p.m.vs. No. 11 ClemsonNo. 10ABCW 34–372,289[6]

Personnel

[edit]
1977 Pittsburgh Panthers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
QB Wayne Adams Sr
C 67 Tom Brzoza Sr
QB 12 Matt Cavanaugh Sr
RB Jo Jo Heath
WR Gordon Jones
RB Ray Jones
WR Willie Taylor
QB Rick Trocano
RB Elliott Walker
QB Yewcic Fr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DB Mike Balzer
DL 99 Hugh Green
DL Randy Halloway
S Bob Jury
DT 76 Bill Neill Fr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
P Joe Gasparovic
K Mark Schubert
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Season summary

[edit]

Notre Dame

[edit]
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (0–0) at Pittsburgh Panthers (0–0)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Notre Dame 0 6 01319
Pittsburgh 7 2 009

at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Date: September 10, 1977
  • Game attendance: 56,500
  • TV: ABC
  • Recap
Game information

Team players drafted into the NFL

[edit]
Player Position Round Pick NFL club
Randy Holloway Defensive end 1 21 Minnesota Vikings
Matt Cavanaugh Quarterback 2 50 New England Patriots
Bob Jury Defensive back 3 63 Seattle Seahawks
Elliott Walker Running back 6 148 San Francisco 49ers
Randy Reutershan Wide receiver 6 160 Pittsburgh Steelers
J.C. Wilson Defensive back 8 210 Houston Oilers
Willie Taylor Wide receiver 9 223 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tom Brzoza Center 11 300 Pittsburgh Steelers

[7]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/years/1977-standings.html
  2. ^ "Panthers Overpower B.C., 45–7". The Pittsburgh Press. October 2, 1977. pp. D1, D2 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Florida ties fumbling Pitt, 17–17". The Pittsburgh Press. October 9, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Pitt too much for Tulane, 48–0". The Pittsburgh Press. October 30, 1977. Retrieved October 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Pitt rolls by 44–3". The Tampa Tribune. November 6, 1977. Retrieved January 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Hammond's record falls as Pitt mauls Clemson". Tallahassee Democrat. December 31, 1977. Retrieved January 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "1978 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on December 22, 2007.