1977 Texas Longhorns football team
The 1977 Texas Longhorns football team represented the University of Texas at Austin in the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. The Longhorns finished the regular season with an 11–0 record. Earl Campbell won the Heisman Trophy in 1977 and led the nation in rushing with 1,744 yards. In 1977, he became the first recipient of the Davey O'Brien Memorial Trophy, which was awarded to the most outstanding player in the now-defunct Southwest Conference. He was selected as the Southwest Conference running back of the year in each of his college seasons and finished with 4,444 career rushing yards. Rothman (FACT), a mathematical rating system in use since 1968 and NCAA-designated major selector, selected Texas as co-national champions with Notre Dame and Arkansas.
1977 Texas Longhorns football | |
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Co-national champion (Rothman (FACT)) Southwest Conference champion | |
Cotton Bowl Classic, L 10–38 vs. Notre Dame | |
Conference | Southwest Conference |
Ranking | |
Coaches | No. 5 |
AP | No. 4 |
1977 record | 11–1 (8–0 SWC) |
Head coach |
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Offensive coordinator | Leon Manley (1st season) |
Offensive scheme | Wishbone |
Defensive coordinator | Leon Fuller (1st season) |
Base defense | 4-3 |
Captain | Earl Campbell LB Morgan Copeland OT George James DT Brad Shearer |
Home stadium | Texas Memorial Stadium |
1977 Southwest Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 4 Texas $ | 8 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 11 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 3 Arkansas | 7 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 11 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Texas A&M | 6 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Houston | 4 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Texas Tech | 4 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Baylor | 3 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
SMU | 3 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
TCU | 1 | – | 7 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 9 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rice | 0 | – | 8 | – | 0 | 1 | – | 10 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Schedule
Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
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September 10 | 4:00 p.m. | Boston College* | No. 18 | W 44–0 | 50,000 | ||
September 17 | 4:00 p.m. | Virginia* | No. 9 |
| W 68–0 | 41,000 | |
October 1 | 4:00 p.m. | Rice | No. 8 |
| W 72–15 | 47,500 | |
October 8 | 2:00 p.m. | vs. No. 2 Oklahoma* | No. 5 | W 13–6 | 72,032 | ||
October 15 | 12:00 p.m. | at No. 8 Arkansas | No. 2 | ABC | W 13–9 | 44,296 | |
October 22 | 1:30 p.m. | at SMU | No. 2 |
| W 30–14 | 36,151 | |
October 29 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 14 Texas Tech | No. 1 |
| W 26–0 | 78,809 | |
November 5 | 2:00 p.m. | at Houston | No. 1 |
| W 35–21 | 72,124 | |
November 12 | 2:00 p.m. | TCU | No. 1 |
| W 44–14 | 50,150 | |
November 19 | 3:00 p.m. | Baylor | No. 1 |
| ABC | W 29–7 | 60,000 |
November 26 | 1:30 p.m. | at No. 12 Texas A&M | No. 1 | W 57–28 | 57,443 | ||
January 2, 1978 | 1:00 p.m. | vs. No. 5 Notre Dame* | No. 1 |
| CBS | L 10-38 | 76,701 |
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Roster
1977 Texas Longhorns football team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
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Defense
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Special teams
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Game summaries
Oklahoma
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at Arkansas
at Texas A&M
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- Earl Campbell 27 Rush, 222 Yds (career-high)
Notre Dame (Cotton Bowl)
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Rankings
Awards and honors
- Earl Campbell – Heisman Trophy,[4] Davey O'Brien Memorial Trophy, Consensus All-American[5]
- Brad Shearer – Outland Trophy, Consensus All-American[6]
- Fred Akers – SWC Coach of the Year
1977 team players in the NFL
The following players were drafted into professional football following the season.
Player | Position | Round | Pick | Franchise |
Earl Campbell | Running back | 1 | 1 | Houston Oilers |
Brad Shearer | Defensive tackle | 3 | 74 | Chicago Bears |
Alfred Jackson | Wide receiver | 7 | 167 | Atlanta Falcons |
References
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on November 1, 2010. Retrieved September 17, 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- "Texas Knocks Off Oklahoma." Palm Beach Post. 1977 Oct 8. Retrieved 2014-Nov-27.
- "Campbell, Texas Overpowering." Palm Beach Post. 1977 Nov 27. Retrieved 2014-Dec-04.
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2007-04-11. Retrieved 2007-04-16.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/DI/2010/Awards.pdf
- http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/DI/2010/Awards.pdf
- https://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1978.htm