1977 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

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
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   –   –   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

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 104:20 p.m.No. 3 Notre DameNo. 7
ABCL 9–1956,500[2]
September 171:30 p.m.William & MaryNo. 16
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, PA
W 28–639,646[3]
September 241:00 p.m.at Temple
W 76–013,199[4]
October 11:30 p.m.at Boston CollegeNo. 16
W 45–724,881[5]
October 87:00 p.m.at No. 20 FloridaNo. 15
T 17–1762,724[6]
October 151:30 p.m.NavydaggerNo. 17
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, PA
W 34–1745,397[7]
October 221:30 p.m.SyracuseNo. 14
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)
W 28–2143,551[8]
October 291:30 p.m.TulaneNo. 13
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, PA
W 48–046,273[9]
November 51:30 p.m.at West VirginiaNo. 12
W 44–337,031[10]
November 121:30 p.m.vs. ArmyNo. 10
W 52–2635,387[11]
November 261:30 p.m.No. 9 Penn StateNo. 10
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)
ABCL 13–1556,500[12]
December 309:00 p.m.vs. No. 11 ClemsonNo. 10
ABCW 34–372,289[13]

Personnel

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
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

Notre Dame

See also: 1977 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team and Notre Dame–Pittsburgh football rivalry
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

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

[14]

References

  1. ^ https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/years/1977-standings.html
  2. ^ "Notre Dame stops Pitt". The Victoria Advocate. September 11, 1977. Retrieved April 26, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Pitt whips W&M 28–6". The Roanoke Times & World-News. September 18, 1977. Retrieved April 26, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Trocano gives Pitt mismatch victory". Wisconsin State Journal. September 25, 1977. Retrieved April 26, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Panthers Overpower B.C., 45–7". The Pittsburgh Press. October 2, 1977. pp. D1, D2 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Florida ties fumbling Pitt, 17–17". The Pittsburgh Press. October 9, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Pitt sinks Navy, 34–17". The Anniston Star. October 16, 1977. Retrieved April 26, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Pitt foils SU, Hurley on late TD". Press and Sun-Bulletin. October 23, 1977. Retrieved April 26, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Pitt too much for Tulane, 48–0". The Pittsburgh Press. October 30, 1977. Retrieved October 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Pitt rolls by 44–3". The Tampa Tribune. November 6, 1977. Retrieved January 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Pitt rips Army, awaits bowl bid". Mount Vernon Argus. November 13, 1977. Retrieved April 26, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Defense does the job in Penn State victory". The Buffalo News. November 27, 1977. Retrieved April 26, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Hammond's record falls as Pitt mauls Clemson". Tallahassee Democrat. December 31, 1977. Retrieved January 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "1978 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on December 22, 2007.
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