1977 Big Ten Conference football season

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1977 Big Ten Conference football season
SportAmerican football
Number of teams10
Top draft pickChris Ward
Co-championsMichigan, Ohio State
  Runners-upMichigan State
Season MVPLarry Bethea
Seasons
← 1976
1978 →
1977 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 9 Michigan + 7 – 1 – 0 10 – 2 – 0
No. 11 Ohio State + 7 – 1 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
Michigan State 6 – 1 – 1 7 – 3 – 1
Indiana 4 – 3 – 1 5 – 5 – 1
Minnesota 4 – 4 – 0 7 – 5 – 0
Purdue 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Iowa 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Wisconsin 3 – 6 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Illinois 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Northwestern 1 – 8 – 0 1 – 10 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from
AP Poll

The 1977 Big Ten Conference football season was the 82nd season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1977 NCAA Division I football season.

The 1977 Michigan Wolverines football team, under head coach Bo Schembechler, compiled a 10–2 record, tied for the Big Ten championship, led the conference in scoring offense (29.4 points per games), lost to Washington in the 1978 Rose Bowl, and was ranked No. 9 in the final AP Poll and No. 8 in the final UPI Poll. Rick Leach totaled 1,109 passing yards and 370 rushing yards and finished eighth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy. Russell Davis led the team with 1,013 rushing yards and finished second in the voting for the Chicago Tribune Silver Football. Three Michigan players received first-team honors on the 1977 College Football All-America Team: (1) offensive guard Mark Donahue (consensus); (2) center Walt Downing; and (3) linebacker John Anderson.

The 1977 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, under head coach Woody Hayes, compiled a 9–3 record, tied with Michigan for the Big Ten championship, led the conference in scoring defense (10.0 points allowed per game), lost to Alabama in the 1978 Sugar Bowl, and was ranked No. 11 in the AP Poll. Ron Springs led the conference with 1,166 rushing yards. Four Ohio State players received first-team All-America honors: offensive tackle Chris Ward (consensus); linebacker Tom Cousineau (consensus); middle guard Aaron Brown; and defensive back Ray Griffin.

Mark Herrmann of Purdue led the conference with 2,453 passing yards. Defensive end Larry Bethea of Michigan State won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the Big Ten's most valuable player.

Season overview

Results and team statistics

Conf. Rank Team Head coach AP final AP high Overall record Conf. record PPG PAG MVP
1 (tie) Michigan Bo Schembechler #9 #1 10–2 7–1 29.4 10.3 Russell Davis
1 (tie) Ohio State Woody Hayes #11 #3 9–3 7–1 28.6 10.0 Dave Adkins
3 Michigan State Darryl Rogers NR NR 7–3–1 6–1–1 23.6 14.7 Larry Bethea
4 Indiana Lee Corso NR NR 5–5–1 4–3–1 18.6 20.7 Joe Norman
5 Minnesota Cal Stoll NR #19 7–5 4–4 14.3 15.0 Steve Midboe
6 (tie) Purdue Jim Young NR NR 5–6 3–5 21.0 22.5 Fred Arrington
6 (tie) Iowa Bob Commings NR NR 4–7 3–5 15.5 20.8 Dean Moore
Rod Sears
8 Wisconsin John Jardine NR #14 5–6 3–6 12.1 18.2 Dave Crossen
9 Illinois Gary Moeller NR NR 3–8 2–6 12.8 26.5 John Sullivan
10 Northwestern John Pont NR NR 1–10 1–8 12.8 26.5 Paul Maly

Key
AP final = Team's rank in the final

AP Poll of the 1977 season[1]

AP high = Team's highest rank in the AP Poll throughout the 1977 season[1]
PPG = Average of points scored per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold[1]
PAG = Average of points allowed per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold[1]
MVP = Most valuable player as voted by players on each team as part of the voting process to determine the winner of the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy; trophy winner in bold[2]

Regular season

September 10

On September 10, 1977, the Big Ten teams opened their seasons with four conference games and two non-conference games. The non-conference games both resulted in wins.

September 17

On September 17, 1977, the Big Ten teams played one conference game and eight non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in six wins and two losses, giving the Big Ten an 8–2 non-conference record to that point in the season.

September 24

On October 24, 1977, the Big Ten teams participated in 10 non-conference games, resulting in four wins and six losses. The days results gave the Big Ten a 12–8 non-conference record to that point in the season.

  • Oklahoma 29, Ohio State 28. Ohio State (ranked No. 4 in the AP Poll) lost to
    transcendental meditation, smiled, and calmly participated in an Ohio State cheer as Woody Hayes called timeout in an attempt to ice the kicker. Von Schamman then kicked a 41-yard, game-winning field goal as the game's final three seconds ticked off the clock.[8]
  • Michigan 14, Navy 7. Michigan defeated Navy, 14-7, before a crowd of 101,800 at Michigan Stadium. Michigan's points were all scored in the second quarter on runs of 13 and 34 yards by running back Harlan Huckleby. Huckleby rushed for 147 yards, and Russell Davis added 93 more, but Navy out-gained Michigan by 301 total yards to 277 total yards. Michigan had defeated Navy by 56 points in 1976, and the seven-point victory in 1977 was considered a disappointment.[9] After the game, Michigan dropped from No. 1 to No. 3 in the AP and Coaches' Polls.
  • Michigan State 34, Wyoming 16. Michigan State defeated Wyoming, 34–16, before a crowd of 56,214 at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan.
  • Miami (OH) 21, Indiana 20. Indiana lost to Miami (OH), 21–20, at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana.
  • Minnesota 27, UCLA 13. Minnesota defeated UCLA, 27-13, before a crowd of 41,076 at Memorial Stadium in Minneapolis.

3

October 1

On October 1, 1977, the Big Ten teams played one conference game and eight non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in four wins and four losses, giving the Big Ten a 16–12 record to that point in the season.

October 8

On October 8, 1977, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.

  • Michigan 24, Michigan State 14. Michigan (ranked No. 3 in the AP Poll) defeated Michigan State, 24-14, before a crowd of 78,183 at Spartan Stadium. Michigan State took a 7-0 lead on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Ed Smith to Kirk Gibson. Michigan responded with a 12-yard touchdown pass from Rick Leach to White and a 50-yard field goal to take a 10-7 lead at halftime. Michigan extended its lead to 24-7 in the third quarter on touchdown runs by Russell Davis and Ed Leach. Harlan Huckleby rushed for 146 yards, and Davis added 96 yards. Ralph Clayton caught three passes for 99 yards. Michigan completed four of 10 passes in the game and threw only one pass in the second half.[13]
  • Ohio State 46, Purdue 0. Ohio State (ranked No. 4 in the AP Poll) defeated Purdue, 46–0, before a crowd of 87,707 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus.
  • Iowa 18, Minnesota 6. Iowa defeated Minnesota, 18-6, before a crowd of 57,460 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City.
  • Indiana 28, Northwestern 3. Indiana defeated Northwestern, 28–3, at Dyche Stadium in Evanston, Illinois.
  • Wisconsin 26, Illinois 0. Wisconsin defeated Illinois, 26–0, before a crowd of 78,661 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.

October 15

On October 15, 1977, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.

October 22

On October 22, 1977, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.

October 29

On October 29, 1977, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.

  • Michigan 23, Iowa 6. Michigan (ranked No. 6 in the AP Poll) defeated Iowa, 23–6, before a crowd of 104,617 at the annual homecoming game at Michigan Stadium. Rick Leach completed nine of 12 passes for 202 yards, including touchdown passes covering 63 yards to Russell Davis, six yards to Gene Johnson, and 32 yards to Rick White. Leach's three touchdown passes gave him 25 for his career, breaking the record of 23 set by Bob Chappuis in the 1940s. Michigan also scored on a safety in the fourth quarter when linebacker Dom Tedesco tackled Iowa's quarterback in the end zone. After the game, Bo Schembechler said, "That was a devastating defeat a week ago. No one will ever know how hard it was to come back from that game."[16]
  • Ohio State 42, Wisconsin 0. Ohio State defeated Wisconsin, 42–0, before a crowd of 87,837 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus.
  • Michigan State 49, Illinois 20. Michigan State defeated Illinois, 49–20, before a crowd of 70,589 at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan.
  • Indiana 34, Minnesota 22. Indiana defeated Minnesota, 34–22, before a crowd of 30,399 at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana.
  • Purdue 28, Northwestern 16. Purdue defeated Northwestern, 28–16, before a crowd of 17,525 at Dyche Stadium in Evanston, Illinois.

November 5

On November 5, 1977, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.

  • Michigan 63, Northwestern 20. Michigan defeated Northwestern, 63–20, before a crowd of 103,211 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. With the game well in hand, 77 Michigan players saw action in the game. Michigan totaled 511 yards of total offense. Quarterback Rick Leach completed 8 of 11 passes for 155 yards to become Michigan's all-time career passing yardage leader. Asked about running up the score, Bo Schembechler said, "What am I supposed to do? Tie his hands behind his back and buck into the line every time? When I've got my fourth lineup in there I can do as I damned please and I don't have to make any explanations."[17]
  • Ohio State 35, Illinois 0. In the annual battle for the Illibuck Trophy, Ohio State defeated Illinois, 35–0, before a homecoming crowd of 66,973 at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois. The Buckeyes totaled 402 rushing yards, including 132 yards by Ron Springs.[18]
  • Michigan State 29, Minnesota 10. Michigan State defeated Minnesota, 29–10, before a crowd of 30,600 at Memorial Stadium in Minneapolis. The game was referred to as the "Probation Bowl" as both teams were under NCAA probation. The Spartans were trailing, 10-3, at halftime before scoring 26 unanswered points in the second half. Ed Smith completed 9 of 18 passes for 235 yards, including three receptions by Kirk Gibson for 148 yards. Leroy McGee also rushed for 102 yards on 12 carries for the Spartans.[19]
  • Indiana 24, Iowa 21. Indiana defeated Iowa, 24–21, before a crowd of 49,620 at Kinnick Stadium in Iowa City. Indiana placekicker David Freud, a veteran of the Israeli army, kicked the game-winning field goal with 16 seconds left. Freshman quarterback Tim Clifford entered the game with the Hoosiers trailing, 14-7. In his first significant playing time, Clifford passed for 145 yards and led an Indiana comeback.[20]
  • Purdue 22, Wisconsin 0. Purdue defeated Wisconsin, 22–0, before a crowd of 73,322 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. Purdue coach Jim Young called it the team's best defensive performance of the season. In the fourth quarter, Purdue's Calvin Clark tackled Wisconsin's quarterback in the end zone for a safety. Then, with less than a minute left in the game, Keena Turner intercepted a Wisconsin pass and returned it 66 yards for a touchdown. Freshman quarterback Mark Herrmann completed 10 of 20 passes for 174 yards.[21]

November 12

On November 12, 1977, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.

  • Michigan 40, Purdue 7. Michigan (ranked No. 6 in the AP Poll) defeated Purdue, 40–7, before a crowd of 68,003 at Ross–Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana. Purdue's freshman quarterback Mark Herrmann completed 10 of 27 passes for 74 yards and was intercepted three times. Russell Davis had 167 rushing yards for Michigan.[22]
  • Ohio State 35, Indiana 7. Ohio State (ranked No. 4 in the AP Poll) defeated Indiana, 35–7, before a crowd of 87,786 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus. Ohio State rushed for 368 yards, including 148 yards by Jeff Logan, to remain the No. 1 rushing team in the country.[23]
  • Michigan State 44, Northwestern 3. Michigan State defeated Northwestern, 44–3, before a crowd of 61,228 at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan. The Spartans totaled 607 yards of total offense. Ed Smith completed 15 of 24 passes for 286 yards, including seven to Mark Brammer for 108 yards and three to Kirk Gibson for 103 yards.[24]
  • Minnesota 21, Illinois 0. Minnesota defeated Illinois, 21-0, before a crowd of 37,689 at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois. Fullback Kent Kitzmann rushed for 266 yards, a Minnesota single-game record, and also set NCAA records for rushing carries (57) and most consecutive rushes (14).[25]
  • Iowa 24, Wisconsin 8. Iowa defeated Wisconsin, 24–8, before a crowd of 71,763 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. The game was the last for John Jardine who had announced his resignation the previous Monday. Wisconsin won its first five games to be ranked No. 14 in the AP Poll before losing the final six games in which they were outscored, 177 to 23.[26]

November 19

On November 19, 1977, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.

  • Michigan 14, Ohio State 6. Michigan (ranked No. 5 in the AP Poll) defeated Ohio State (ranked No. 4), 14-6, before an NCAA record crowd of 106,024 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.[27] In a defensive battle, Ohio State held Michigan to 10 first downs, 141 rushing yards, and 55 passing yards, but scored on short runs by Roosevelt Smith and Rick Leach in the second and third quarters. Michigan's defense held Ohio State to a pair of Vlade Janakievski field goals and had "five dramatic defensive stands."[28] Michigan linebacker Ron Simpkins registered 20 tackles. With four minutes remaining in the game, Ohio State quarterback Rod Gerald was hit by Michigan linebacker John Anderson at the eight-yard line, resulting in a fumble recovered by Michigan.[28]
On the sideline after Gerald's fourth quarter fumble, Ohio State coach Woody Hayes threw his phone to the ground, charged an ABC-TV cameraman who was filming him, and punched the cameraman in the stomach as the national TV audience watched.[28][29] After the game, Hayes called it "the best game we ever played and lost," but stormed out of the press conference when asked about the incident with the cameraman.[30] Detroit Free Press columnist Joe Falls called Hayes "a disgrace to his profession" for punching the cameraman and for also "taking a swipe" at a Michigan student who was holding up the "M" banner before the game.[31]
  • Michigan State 22, Iowa 16. Michigan State defeated Iowa, 22–16, before a crowd of 43,700 at Kinnick Stadium at Iowa City. The game was played in gale-force wind and cold temperature with neither team scoring a touchdown or field goal while playing against the wind.[32]
  • Minnesota 13, Wisconsin 7. In the annual battle for
    Paul Bunyan's Axe, Minnesota defeated Wisconsin, 13-7, before a crowd of 30,742 at Memorial Stadium in Minneapolis. The game was played in cold weather and snow flurries. Minnesota fullback Kent Kitzmann rushed for 154 yards on 40 carries.[33]
  • Indiana 21, Purdue 10. In the annual battle for the Old Oaken Bucket, Indiana defeated Purdue, 21–10, before a crowd of 52,914 at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana. Tailback Darrick Burnett rushed for 195 yards on 40 carries.[34]
  • Northwestern 21, Illinois 7. In the annual battle for the
    Sweet Sioux Tomahawk, Northwestern defeated Illinois, 21-7, at Dyche Stadium in Evanston, Illinois. Dave Mishier rushed for 109 yards for the Wildcats. The victory avoided a winless season and gave John Pont a victory in his last game as Northwestern's head coach.[35]

Bowl games

1978 Rose Bowl

Main article: 1978 Rose Bowl

On January 2, 1978, Michigan (ranked No. 4 in the AP Poll) lost to Washington (ranked No. 13), 27–20, before a crowd of 105,312 in the 1978 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Washington was a two touchdown underdog but shot out to a 17-0 lead at halftime and a 24-0 lead in the third quarter. Resorting to a passing offense to overcome the point deficit, Michigan's Rick Leach threw touchdown passes in the last 20 minutes, including passes covering 76 yards to Curt Stephenson and 32 yards to Stan Edwards. Michigan's comeback was ultimately stopped by two interceptions deep in Washington territory.[36]

1978 Sugar Bowl

Main article: 1978 Sugar Bowl

On January 2, 1978, Ohio State (ranked No. 3 in the AP Poll) lost to Bear Bryant's Alabama Crimson Tide (ranked No. 9), 35–6, before a crowd of 76,811 in the 1978 Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. Ohio State did not score until the fourth quarter when Rod Gerald threw a 38-yard touchdown pass to Jim Harrell.[37]

1977 Hall of Fame Classic

Main article: 1977 Hall of Fame Classic

On December 22, 1977, Minnesota lost to

Marion Barber, Jr. scored Minnesota's touchdown in the first quarter.[38]

Statistical leaders

Awards and honors

All-Big Ten honors

For the complete All-Big Ten selections, see 1977 All-Big Ten Conference football team.

The following players were picked by the Associated Press (AP) and/or the United Press International (UPI) as first-team players on the 1977 All-Big Ten Conference football team.[39][40]

Offense

Position Name Team Selectors
Quarterback Rick Leach Michigan AP
Quarterback Rod Gerald Ohio State UPI
Running back Ron Springs Ohio State AP, UPI
Running back Ric Enis Indiana AP UPI
Running back Jeff Logan Ohio State UPI
Flanker Keith Calvin Indiana AP
Wide receiver Reggie Arnold Purdue AP, UPI
Tight end Jimmy Moore Ohio State AP, UPI
Center Walt Downing Michigan AP
Center Al Pitts Michigan State UPI
Guard Mark Donahue Michigan AP, UPI
Guard Kevin Pancratz Illinois AP, UPI
Tackle Chris Ward Ohio State AP, UPI
Tackle Mike Kenn Michigan AP
Tackle Charles Peal Indiana UPI

Defense

Position Name Team Selectors
Front five Larry Bethea Michigan State AP, UPI [def. tackle]
Front five Aaron Brown Ohio State AP, UPI [middle guard]
Front five Kelton Dansler Ohio State AP, UPI [def. end]
Front five Steve Midboe Minnesota AP, UPI [def. tackle]
Front five Dennis Stejskal Wisconsin AP, UPI [def. end]
Defensive end John Anderson Michigan UPI [def. end]
Linebacker Tom Cousineau Ohio State AP, UPI
Linebacker Tom Rusk Iowa AP, UPI
Linebacker John Sullivan Illinois AP
Linebacker Ron Simpkins Michigan UPI
Defensive back Ray Griffin Ohio State AP, UPI
Defensive back Mike Guess Ohio State AP, UPI
Defensive back Dwight Hicks Michigan AP, UPI
Defensive back Jim Pickens Michigan UPI

All-American honors

For the complete All-America selections, see 1977 College Football All-America Team.

At the end of the 1977 season, Big Ten players secured three of the consensus first-team picks for the 1977 College Football All-America Team.[41] The Big Ten's consensus All-Americans were:

Position Name Team Selectors
Offensive guard Mark Donahue Michigan AFCA, AP, FWAA, UPI, FN, NEA, TSN, WCFF
Offensive tackle Chris Ward Ohio State AFCA, AP, FWAA, UPI, FN, NEA, TSN, WCFF
Linebacker Tom Cousineau Ohio State FWAA, UPI, WCFF

Other Big Ten players who were named first-team All-Americans by at least one selector were:

Position Name Team Selectors
Center Walt Downing Michigan AFCA, FN, TSN
Middle guard Aaron Brown Ohio State AFCA, WCFF
Linebacker John Anderson Michigan FWAA
Defensive back Ray Griffin Ohio State NEA, TSN

Other awards

1978 NFL Draft

The

1978 NFL Draft was held in New York on May 2–3, 1978.[43] The following players were among the first 100 picks:[44]

Name Position Team Round Overall pick
Chris Ward Offensive tackle Ohio State 1 4
Mike Kenn Offensive tackle Michigan 1 13
John Anderson Linebacker Michigan 1 26
Larry Bethea Defensive end Michigan State 1 28
Mark Merrill Linebacker Minnesota 2 31
Mike Hunt Linebacker Minnesota 2 34
Ray Griffin Defensive back Ohio State 2 35
Steve Stewart Linebacker Minnesota 2 43
Walt Downing Offensive guard Michigan 2 47

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "1977 Big Ten Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
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  19. ^ Fred Stabley, Jr. (November 6, 1977). "Fired up Spartans cool off Gophers". The Lansing State Journal. p. D1.
  20. ^ "No Freudian Slip -- Indiana Wins: Field Goal at 0:16 Lifts Hoosiers Past Iowa, 24-21". The Indianapolis Star. November 6, 1977. p. 2-1.
  21. ^ John Bansch (November 6, 1977). "Purdue Has Fun Badgering, 22-0". The Indianapolis Star. p. 2-1.
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  29. ^ "30-second video clip of Hayes punching cameraman". ABC-TV. November 19, 1977.
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  39. ^ "Blue places five on AP's Big Ten squad". The Michigan Daily. November 29, 1977. p. 12.
  40. ^ "OSU, Michigan Dominate Big 10". The Salem News (Salem, Ohio). November 23, 1977. p. 9.
  41. ^ "2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2014. pp. 5–6. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 22, 2014. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
  42. ^ "1977 Heisman Trophy Voting". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  43. ^ "NFL Draft Locations". FootballGeography.com. October 2, 2014. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  44. ^ "1978 NFL Draft: Full Draft". NFL.com. National Football League. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
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