The 1977 NCAA Division I football season was one in which the top five teams finished with 11âÂÂ1 records. Notre Dame, which beat top-ranked and undefeated Texas in the Cotton Bowl, became the national champion.
The 1977 season was the last before NCAA's Division I was divided into I-A and I-AA. On the eve of a national playoff for the smaller programs that would be I-AA, the Sugar Bowl in 1977 became the fourth bowl game to sign a contract guaranteeing an appearance by a major conference champion. The result was that meetings between the media poll choices for the top two teams were less likely, unless those teams were in the Big Ten and Pac-8 (which met in the Rose Bowl), or one of the teams was not obligated to play in a particular bowl game.
Besides the Big Ten-Pac-8 matchup in the Rose Bowl, the Southwest champion played in the Cotton, the Big Eight titlist in the Orange, and the SEC champ in the Sugar. Top teams that had their choice of which bowl to play were either independent or in a conference outside the five major powers (such as the ACC or WAC).
During the 20th century, the NCAA had no playoff for major college football teams, which became in 1978. The NCAA Football Guide, however, did note an "unofficial national champion" based on the top ranked teams in the final "wire service" (AP and UPI) polls. The "writers' poll" by Associated Press (AP) was the most popular, followed by the "coaches' poll" by United Press International) (UPI). The AP poll consisted of the votes of as many as 64 writers, though not all voted in each poll, and the UPI poll was taken of a 42-member board of coaches.
The Southwestern Athletic Conference and its seven member institutions reclassified from Division II to Division I in 1977.
In the preseason poll released on September 5, the AP ranked Oklahoma first, followed by Michigan, Notre Dame, USC, and Ohio State. Sixth was Alabama, and defending champion Pittsburgh (minus Heisman Trophy winner Tony Dorsett, who had moved on to the NFL, and coach Johnny Majors, who had been hired away by Tennessee) was ranked seventh.
September 10: No. 1 Oklahoma opened its season at home against Vanderbilt, 2âÂÂ9 the year before. Though the Sooners avoided an upset, their narrow 25âÂÂ23 win didn't impress the pollsters. No. 2 Michigan won 37âÂÂ9 at Illinois, and No. 3 Notre Dame won 19âÂÂ9 at No. 7 Pittsburgh. No. 4 USC won 27âÂÂ10 at Missouri, and No. 5 Ohio State beat visiting Miami (FL) 10âÂÂ0. No. 6 Alabama beat Mississippi 34âÂÂ13 at Birmingham. Although the top six teams all won their openers, the next poll shuffled the rankings: No. 1 Michigan, No. 2 USC, No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 4 Alabama, and No. 5 Oklahoma, with Ohio State dropping to sixth.
September 17: No. 1 Michigan beat Duke 21âÂÂ9 and No. 2 USC won at Oregon State, 17âÂÂ10. A week after losing to Alabama, Mississippi stunned the nation with a 20âÂÂ13 defeat of No. 3 Notre Dame on a humid day in Jackson. The Irish dropped to eleventh in the next poll. In another upset by an unranked team, No. 4 Alabama lost 31âÂÂ24 at Nebraska. No. 5 Oklahoma crushed visiting Utah, 62âÂÂ24. No. 6 Ohio State, which beat Minnesota 38âÂÂ7, and No. 10 Penn State, which defeated No. 9 Houston 31âÂÂ14, moved up in the next poll: No. 1 Michigan, No. 2 USC, No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 4 Ohio State, and No. 5 Penn State.
September 24: No. 1 Michigan beat Navy, 14âÂÂ7, and No. 2 USC beat visiting TCU 51âÂÂ0. Meanwhile, No. 3 Oklahoma and No. 4 Ohio State met in Columbus. In a close game, the visiting Sooners won 29âÂÂ28 after a touchdown, an onside kick recovery, and a last-second field goal by Uwe von Schamann; since Michigan had struggled against an unranked opponent, Oklahoma reclaimed first place in the next poll. No. 5 Penn State beat Maryland, 27âÂÂ9. No. 6 Texas A&M, which won 33âÂÂ17 at No. 7 Texas Tech, reached the top five: No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 USC, No. 3 Michigan, No. 4 Penn State, and No. 5 Texas A&M.
October 1: No. 1 Oklahoma beat Kansas 24âÂÂ9 and No. 2 USC was idle. No. 3 Michigan beat No. 5 Texas A&M 41âÂÂ3. No. 4 Penn State lost 24âÂÂ20 to visiting Kentucky, and No. 6 Ohio State won 35âÂÂ7 at SMU. No. 8 Texas defeated visiting Rice 72âÂÂ15. USC, which was already ranked first in the Coaches Poll, also took the lead in the next AP Poll: No. 1 USC, No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 Michigan, No. 4 Ohio State, and No. 5 Texas.
October 8: This week featured two top-ten matchups, both of which resulted in upsets. In Los Angeles, No. 1 USC was beaten 21âÂÂ20 by No. 7 Alabama; the Tide intercepted a two-point conversion try by USC in the final minute to seal the upset. Earlier in Dallas, No. 2 Oklahoma and No. 5 Texas met in their annual game, and Texas won 13âÂÂ6. In Big Ten play, No. 3 Michigan won 24âÂÂ14 at Michigan State and No. 4 Ohio State beat Purdue 46âÂÂ0. No. 6 Colorado beat visiting Oklahoma State 29âÂÂ13 to move into the top five, and the Wolverines returned to the top: No. 1 Michigan, No. 2 Texas, No. 3 Colorado, No. 4 Alabama, and No. 5 Ohio State.
October 15: No. 1 Michigan beat No. 14 Wisconsin 56âÂÂ0. No. 2 Texas faced off against No. 8 Arkansas; the Southwestern Conference rivals were having strong seasons despite being under new management. Hall of Fame coaches Darrell Royal of Texas and Frank Broyles of Arkansas had both retired after the 1976 season, with Fred Akers and Lou Holtz inheriting their mantles. This week, Akers' Longhorns prevailed 13âÂÂ9 over Holtz's Razorbacks. Meanwhile, No. 3 Colorado played Kansas to a 17âÂÂ17 tie. No. 4 Alabama beat Tennessee in Birmingham, 24âÂÂ10, and No. 5 Ohio State beat Iowa 27âÂÂ6. No. 6 USC beat Oregon 33âÂÂ15 to return to the top five in the next poll: No. 1 Michigan, No. 2 Texas, No. 3 Alabama, No. 4 Ohio State, and No. 5 USC.
October 22: No. 1 Michigan was shut out 16âÂÂ0 at unranked Minnesota, and No. 2 Texas won 30âÂÂ14 at SMU. No. 3 Alabama beat Louisville 55âÂÂ6, and No. 4 Ohio State won 35âÂÂ15 at Northwestern. No. 11 Notre Dame, which had improved dramatically since coach Dan Devine elevated Joe Montana to the starting quarterback spot, wore their green jerseys for the first time in decades and overwhelmed No. 5 USC 49âÂÂ19. No. 7 Oklahoma beat No. 16 Iowa State 35âÂÂ16 and returned to the top five. The Longhorns (now the only undefeated team in the nation) became the fourth team to lead the poll: No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Oklahoma, and No. 5 Notre Dame.
October 29: No. 1 Texas beat visiting No. 14 Texas Tech 26âÂÂ0, and No. 2 Alabama beat Mississippi State 37âÂÂ7 in Jackson. No. 3 Ohio State beat Wisconsin 42âÂÂ0, No. 4 Oklahoma won 42âÂÂ7 at Kansas State, and No. 5 Notre Dame beat Navy 43âÂÂ10. Other than the Sooners' switch with the Buckeyes, the next poll was stable: No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 4 Ohio State, and No. 5 Notre Dame.
November 5: No. 1 Texas won 35âÂÂ21 at Houston, and No. 2 Alabama defeated No. 18 LSU 24âÂÂ3 in Baton Rouge. No. 3 Oklahoma won 61âÂÂ28 at Oklahoma State, No. 4 Ohio State won 35âÂÂ0 at Illinois, and No. 5 Notre Dame beat Georgia Tech 69âÂÂ14. For the first time since the season began, the top five remained unchanged.
November 12: No. 1 Texas beat TCU 44âÂÂ14 and No. 2 Alabama beat the visiting Miami Hurricanes, 36âÂÂ0. No. 3 Oklahoma routed Colorado 52âÂÂ14, No. 4 Ohio State beat Indiana 35âÂÂ7, and No. 5 Notre Dame won at No. 15 Clemson, 21âÂÂ17. No. 6 Michigan won 40âÂÂ7 at Purdue and returned to the top five in the next poll: No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 4 Ohio State, and No. 5 Michigan.
November 19: No. 1 Texas beat Baylor 29âÂÂ7, while No. 2 Alabama and No. 3 Oklahoma were idle. As was usually the case during "The Ten Year War," the Big Ten title came down to a meeting between No. 4 Ohio State and No. 5 Michigan. For the second year in a row, the Buckeyes entered the weekend a game ahead of the Wolverines in the conference standings but ended up falling short. Michigan won 14âÂÂ6 at home and gained the trip to the Rose Bowl. No. 6 Notre Dame beat Air Force 49âÂÂ0. The next poll featured No. 1 Texas, No. 2 Alabama, No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 4 Michigan, and No. 5 Notre Dame.
November 25âÂÂ26: The day after Thanksgiving, No. 3 Oklahoma beat No. 11 Nebraska to clinch the Big 8 title and an Orange Bowl berth. No. 17 UCLA could have earned a Rose Bowl berth with a win over USC, but the Trojans prevailed 29âÂÂ27 on a last-second field goal, giving No. 14 Washington the conference title and a trip to Pasadena. On Saturday, No. 1 Texas won 57âÂÂ28 at No. 12 Texas A&M for an 11âÂÂ0 record, the SWC title, and a berth in the Cotton Bowl. No. 2 Alabama closed its season in Birmingham, beating Auburn 48âÂÂ21. Alabama and No. 7 Kentucky both finished undefeated in SEC play, but the Wildcats were ineligible for bowls because of NCAA probation, ensuring that the Crimson Tide would represent the conference in the Sugar Bowl. No. 4 Michigan (10âÂÂ1) had completed its regular season, and No. 5 Notre Dame was idle until December 3, a 48âÂÂ10 win at Miami.
In a season of parity, undefeated No. 1 Texas was followed in the final AP Poll by seven teams with identical 10âÂÂ1 records: No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 Alabama, No. 4 Michigan, No. 5 Notre Dame, No. 6 Arkansas, No. 7 Kentucky, and No. 8 Penn State. To make matters worse, the top four teams were all locked into different bowls because of conference tie-ins, meaning that none of them could play each other in a de facto national title game. The eventual matchups were Texas against Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl, Oklahoma against Arkansas in the Orange, Alabama against No. 9 Ohio State in the Sugar, and Michigan against No. 13 Washington in the Rose Bowl's traditional Big Ten vs. Pac-8 setup. Kentucky was left out due to its probation, and Penn State settled for a Fiesta Bowl matchup against No. 15 Arizona State.
Monday, January 2, 1978
Two former NFL head coaching failures became college football successes, upsetting the No. 1 and No. 2 teams. Dan Devine had been unspectacular at Green Bay before succeeding Ara Parseghian at Notre Dame in 1975, while Lou Holtz had coached the New York Jets to a 3âÂÂ11 finish in 1976 before taking over at Arkansas.
The Sugar Bowl was a matchup of coaching legends Bear Bryant and Woody Hayes; Bryant's No. 3 Alabama squad easily handled No. 8 Ohio State, 35âÂÂ6.
The largest crowd in Cotton Bowl history (76,701) turned out in Dallas to watch the unbeaten No. 1 Texas Longhorns attempt to finalize a national championship. Notre Dame's defense forced five turnovers, which set up five scores. Running back Vagas Ferguson scored three touchdowns, including one on a pass from Joe Montana in a 38âÂÂ10 win. For Texas, both Earl Campbell and Johnny Lam Jones were injured. Devine changed his mind about resigning his Irish coaching job.
Following Texas' loss in the Cotton Bowl, No. 4 Michigan hoped an impressive win over the Washington might vault them to a possible national championship. However, the Huskies, led by Rose Bowl MVP Warren Moon, raced to a 24âÂÂ0 lead in the third quarter and held on for a 27âÂÂ20 upset.
With No. 1 Texas and No. 4 Michigan out of the way, No. 2 Oklahoma was in a position to claim the championship with a win over No. 6 Arkansas in the nightcap in Miami. The Razorbacks had finished behind Texas in SWC play and had settled for the Orange Bowl. The week of the game, Holtz suspended the Hogs' top rusher, Ben Cowins, and the top receiver, Donny Bobo for violating team rules. The Sooners were 18-point favorites but Cowins' backup Roland Sales rushed for two touchdowns and over 200 yards as the Razorbacks shut down the Sooners' ground game en route to a lead after three quarters and a massive upset.
The national championship was disputed as there were six teams with one loss: Alabama, Arkansas, Notre Dame, Texas, Penn State, and Kentucky (prohibited from playing in a bowl due to NCAA probation). Notre Dame had lost to Mississippi, who lost to Alabama, who lost to Nebraska, who lost to Oklahoma, who lost to Arkansas, who lost to Texas who lost to Notre Dame. Penn State lost to Kentucky and Kentucky lost to Baylor who had lost to Texas, Arkansas, and Nebraska. Amidst this confusion, there were several good choices for a champion; giant killers Notre Dame and Arkansas, and third-ranked Alabama, and Texas. Notre Dame, on the strength of its lopsided win over No. 1 Texas, vaulted over Texas, Oklahoma (who lost in the Orange Bowl), Alabama (who won in the Sugar Bowl), and Michigan (who lost in the Rose Bowl). Alabama fans cried foul as they assumed, as the No. 3 team before the bowls, that if No. 1 Texas and No. 2 Oklahoma lost (which they did), they would rise to No. 1 with a win over Ohio State.
In the final polls, the electors for AP and UPI were expectedly divided, but a majority in each picked Notre Dame. With one AP writer naming all three schools as number one, the writers poll was for Notre Dame, for Alabama and for Arkansas. UPI had 23 for Notre Dame, 13 for Alabama and 2 for Arkansas. Devine, who had followed in the footsteps of both Vince Lombardi and Parseghian, reversed his earlier plans and continued as head coach in 1978.
The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player
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