1976 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

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1976 Minnesota Golden Gophers football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record6–5 (4–4 Big Ten)
Head coach
MVPTony Dungy
CaptainTony Dungy
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
Seasons
← 1975
1977 →
1976 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 3 Michigan + 7 1 0 10 2 0
No. 6 Ohio State + 7 1 0 9 2 1
Minnesota 4 4 0 6 5 0
Illinois 4 4 0 5 6 0
Indiana 4 4 0 5 6 0
Purdue 4 4 0 5 6 0
Iowa 3 5 0 5 6 0
Wisconsin 3 5 0 5 6 0
Michigan State 3 5 0 4 6 1
Northwestern 1 7 0 1 10 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1976 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team was an American football team that represented the University of Minnesota in the 1976 Big Ten Conference football season. In their fifth year under head coach Cal Stoll, the Golden Gophers compiled a 6–5 record (4–4 against conference opponents), finished in a four-way tie for third place in the Big Ten Standings, and were outscored by their opponents by a combined total of 211 to 201.[1]

Quarterback Tony Dungy received the team's most valuable player award for the second consecutive year. Strong safety George Adzick was named All-Big Ten first team. Dungy, wide receiver Ron Kullas and defensive lineman George Washington were named All-Big Ten second team. Dungy, offensive lineman Brien Harvey, fullback Kent Kitzmann and cornerback Bob Weber were named Academic All-Big Ten. Terry Matula was named Offensive Lineman of the Year.[2] Jim Perkins was the Big Ten's third leading scorer with 78 points on 13 rushing touchdowns.[1]

Home attendance for the season was 257,878, which averaged to 42,979. The season high for attendance was against rival Iowa.[3] 1976 was the last season of Tartan Turf at Memorial Stadium.

Schedule[edit]

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendance
September 11IndianaW 32–1334,004
September 18Washington State*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Minneapolis
W 28–1431,627
September 25Western Michigan*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Minneapolis
W 21–1033,229
October 2at Washington*L 7–3837,994
October 9Illinoisdagger
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Minneapolis
W 29–1452,606
October 16at Michigan StateW 14–1056,166
October 23Iowa
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Minneapolis (rivalry)
L 12–2253,222
October 30at No. 1 MichiganL 0–45104,426
November 6at NorthwesternW 38–1015,183
November 13No. 8 Ohio State
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Minneapolis
L 3–953,190
November 20at WisconsinL 17–2660,304
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster[edit]

1976 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
QB 9 Tony Dungy Sr
C 53 Mark Slater Sr
QB 18 Marc Trestman So
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
LB 84 Michael Hunt Jr
DE 88 Mark Merrill Jr
LB 97 Steve Stewart Jr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

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

Roster
Last update: 2018-03-11

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "1976 Big Ten Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  2. ^ Keiser, Jeff (2007), 2007 Media Guide (PDF), pp. 179–182[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ Keiser, Jeff (2007), 2007 Media Guide (PDF), p. 160[permanent dead link]