1976 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

1976 Pittsburgh Panthers football

National Champions Eastern Champions Sugar Bowl Champions
Sugar Bowl, Win, 27–3, Georgia Bulldogs
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	#1
AP	#1
1976 record	12–0
Head coach	Johnny Majors (4th year)
Offensive coordinator	Joe Avezzano (1st year)
Offensive scheme	Veer
Defensive coordinator	Bobby Roper (1st year)
Base defense	Basic 50
Home stadium	Pitt Stadium (Capacity: 56,500)

The 1976 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 1976 college football season and is recognized as that season's consensus National Champions.^[1] Pitt was also awarded the Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy as the best Division I team in the East.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
Sat. Sep. 11	4:20 p.m.	at #11 Notre Dame	#9	Notre Dame Stadium • South Bend, IN (Rivalry)	ABC	W 31–10	59,075
Sat. Sep. 18	7:30 p.m.	at Georgia Tech	#3	Grant Field • Atlanta, GA		W 42–14	43,424
Sat. Sep. 25	1:30 p.m.	Temple	#3	Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA		W 21–7	38,500
Sat. Oct. 2	1:30 p.m.	at Duke	#2	Wallace Wade Stadium • Durham, NC		W 44–31	37,200
Sat. Oct. 9	1:30 p.m.	Louisville	#2	Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA		W 27–6	34,000
Sat. Oct. 16	1:30 p.m.	Miami (FL)	#2	Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA		W 36–19	42,434
Sat. Oct. 23	2:00 p.m.	at Navy	#2	Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD		W 45–0	26,346
Sat. Oct. 30	1:30 p.m.	Syracuse	#2	Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA (Rivalry)		W 23–13	50,399
Sat. Nov. 6	1:30 p.m.	Army	#2	Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA		W 37–7	45,753
Sat. Nov. 13	1:30 p.m.	West Virginia	#1	Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA (Backyard Brawl)	ABC	W 24–16	56,500
Fri. Nov. 26	9:00 p.m.	Penn State	#1	Three Rivers Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA (Rivalry)	ABC	W 24–7	50,250
Sat. Jan. 1	12:30 p.m.	vs. #5 Georgia	#1	Louisiana Superdome • New Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl)	ABC	W 27–3	76,117
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

^[2]

Regular season

The previous season, 1975, saw Pitt win the Sun Bowl over Kansas to cap an 8-4 record highlighted by wins at Georgia and Notre Dame. The stage was thus set in 1976, with Pitt ranked 9th in the AP preseason poll, for the Panthers to make a run for the National Championship.

In the first game of the 1976 season, the Panthers faced off against Notre Dame in South Bend, IN. A year earlier, Tony Dorsett had finished with 303 yards rushing in Pitt's 34-20 victory over the Irish. "They even grew the grass high" said Carmen DeArdo, a diehard Pitt alumnus, "and everyone knew Tony would get the ball." "They didn't let that grass grow long enough," Dorsett said later. He darted 61 yards on his first run of the season and tacked on 120 more by the end of the 31-10 Pitt win.^[3]^[4]

The season continued with a 42-14 win at Georgia Tech and a 36-19 win over Miami. On October 23, the Panthers travelled to Annapolis to face Navy during which Dorsett broke the NCAA career rushing record on a 32-yard touchdown run in Pitt's 45-0 victory. Dorsett's achievement prompted a mid-game celebration in which even Navy saluted the feat with a cannon blast.^[5] Pitt won a tough, hard-fought battle against rival Syracuse.

On November 6, the number two ranked Panthers hosted Army at Pitt Stadium and won handily, but the significant action was taking place several hundred miles west, in West Lafayette, Indiana, where the Purdue Boilermakers held off the number one ranked Michigan Wolverines, 16-14, in the closing seconds. The Pitt Stadium crowd erupted in celebration when the stadium public address announcer dramatically gave the final score from Purdue. For the first time in the modern era, Panther fans could legitimately claim, "We're number one!" Pitt defended its ranking in a close Backyard Brawl against West Virginia to go 10-0 heading into the regular season finale against instate rival Penn State.

At a packed Three Rivers Stadium on the day after Thanksgiving, the Nittany Lions held Dorsett to 51 yards in the first half and had the game tied 7-7. Majors adjusted for the second half by shifting Dorsett from tailback to fullback, enabling him to explode for an additional 173 yards as Pitt rolled to a 24-7 victory that capped an undefeated regular season.^[6]

In December, Dorsett became the first Pitt Panther to win the Heisman Trophy as the nation's best college football player. Dorsett also won the Maxwell Award, the Walter Camp Player of the Year Award, and was named UPI Player of the Year. He led the nation in rushing with 1,948 yards and was selected as an All-American. Dorsett finished his college career with 6,082 total rushing yards, then an NCAA record for career rushing.

The 11-0 Panthers accepted an invitation to the 1977 Sugar Bowl to face second ranked Georgia. Pitt defeated the Bulldogs 27-3 and was voted number one by both the Associated Press and Coaches polls, claiming their ninth national championship.^[7] This was Pitt's first undefeated national championship since 1937. The American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) named Majors the 1976 Coach of the Year. Following this historic season, Majors returned to his alma mater, the University of Tennessee, to take the head coaching job.^[8]

Kiosk in the Great Hall at Heinz Field celebrating Pitt's 1976 National Championship

Coaching staff

1976 Pittsburgh Panthers football staff

	Coaching Staff Johnny Majors – Head Coach Joe Madden – Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Secondary Joe Avezzano – Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line Bobby Roper – Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Line Bill Cox – Quarterbacks/Receivers Jim Dyar – Defensive Secondary Larry Holton – Defensive Ends Harry Jones – Offensive Backs Bob Matey – Middle Guards/Junior Varsity			Support Staff Henry Lee Parker – Administrative Assistant to the Head Coach Keith Schroeder – Coordinator of Computer Scouting Ray Olsen – Graduate Assistant Dave Wannstedt – Graduate Assistant			Strength and Conditioning Staff

Team players drafted into the NFL

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL Club
Tony Dorsett	Running Back	1	2	Dallas Cowboys
Larry Swider	Punter	7	185	Denver Broncos
Jim Corbett	Tight End	7	194	Cincinnati Bengals
Al Romano	Defensive Lineman	11	289	Houston Oilers
Carson Long	Kicker	11	302	Los Angeles Rams
Don Parrish	Defensive End	12	314	Atlanta Falcons

^[9]

Awards and honors

A football signed by the 1976 Pittsburgh Panthers football team, including Tony Dorsett and head coach Johnny Majors.

Tony Dorsett, Heisman Trophy ^[10]
Tony Dorsett, Walter Camp Award^[11]
Tony Dorsett, Maxwell Award
Tony Dorsett, led the nation in rushing with 1,948 yards
Tony Dorsett, All-America selection

References

↑ Official 2009 NCAA Division I Football Records Book (PDF). Indianapolis, IN: The National Collegiate Athletic Association. August 2009. p. 85. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
↑ http://cfreference.net/cfr/school.s?id=215&season=1976
↑ "CNNSI.com - College Football - Heisman Heroes - Suzuki presents Heisman Heroes: Tony Dorsett - Friday August 25, 2000 01:29 PM". CNN.
↑ Gorman, Kevin (2008-10-30). "Pitt-Notre Dame series produces phenomenal performances". Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Retrieved 2010-04-29.
↑ Associated Press (1976-10-24). "Tony Dorsett No. 1". Reading Eagle. p. 77. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
↑ Mackin, Mike (2008-06-12). "Let's Learn From the Past: The 1976 Pitt Panthers". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pittsburgh, PA). Retrieved 2010-04-29.
↑ "Yearly National Championship Selections: 1976 National Championships". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved 2009-04-15.
↑ Fitzgerald, Francis J., ed. (1996). The Year the Panthers Roared. Louisville, KY: AdCraft Sports. ISBN 1-887761-06-3.
↑ http://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1977.htm
↑ "1976 - 42nd Award Tony Dorsett Pittsburgh Back". HeismanTrophy.com. Retrieved 2011-06-06.
↑ http://collegefootball.about.com/od/collegefootballawards/a/award-camp.htm

Further information

The Year the Panthers Roared. Francis J. Fitzgerald, ed., Louisville, KY, AdCraft Sports, 1996, ISBN 1-887761-06-3
1976 team where are they now?
Pitt Magazine article

External links

Video

1976 Pitt at Notre Dame complete game video on YouTube: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3
1977 Sugar Bowl, Pitt vs Georgia for the National Championship, first half video on YouTube: Part 1

1976 Pittsburgh Panthers football—consensus national champions

Matt Cavanaugh Al Chesley Tony Dorsett Ed Gallagher Bob Gruber Randy Holloway Cecil Johnson Gordon Jones Davd Logan Don Parrish Larry Swider Thomas Yewcic Head coach: Johnny Majors Assistant coaches: Joe Avezzano Dave Wannstedt

Pittsburgh Panthers football

Venues	Recreation Park (1898–1904) Exposition Park (1904–1908) Forbes Field (1909–1924) Pitt Stadium (1925–1999) Three Rivers Stadium (2000) Heinz Field (2001–present) UPMC Sports Performance Complex (practice)

Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games West Virginia (Backyard Brawl) Penn State Notre Dame Syracuse Cincinnati (River City Rivalry)

Culture & lore	Panthers "Hail to Pitt" "Pitt Victory Song" Marching band

People	Head coaches All-Americans NFL draftees

Seasons	1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

National championship seasons in bold

College football national champions (poll era)

1936–1949	1936: Minnesota (AP, DS) / Pittsburgh (BS, HS) 1937: Pittsburgh (AP, BS, DS, HS) / California 1938: TCU (AP) / Tennessee (BS, HS) / Notre Dame (DS) 1939: Texas A&M (AP, BS, HS) / USC (DS) 1940: Minnesota (AP, BS, DS, HS) / Stanford 1941: Minnesota (AP, BS) / Alabama (HS) 1942: Ohio State (AP, BS) / Georgia (HS) 1943: Notre Dame 1944: Army (AP, BS, HS) / Ohio State 1945: Army 1946: Notre Dame (AP) / Army (BS, HS) 1947: Notre Dame (AP) / Michigan (AP [post-bowl], BS, HS) 1948: Michigan 1949: Notre Dame

1950s	1950: Oklahoma 1951: Tennessee (AP, Coaches) / Michigan State / Maryland / Georgia Tech (BS) / Illinois (BS) 1952: Michigan State (AP, Coaches, BS) / Georgia Tech (INS) 1953: Maryland (AP, Coaches, INS) / Notre Dame (BS) 1954: Ohio State (AP, BS, INS) / UCLA (FWAA, Coaches) 1955: Oklahoma 1956: Oklahoma 1957: Auburn (AP) / Ohio State (Coaches, BS, FWAA, INS) 1958: LSU (AP, Coaches, BS, FN) / Iowa (FWAA) 1959: Syracuse / Ole Miss

1960s	1960: Minnesota (AP, Coaches, FN, NFF) / Ole Miss (FWAA) / Iowa BS) 1961: Alabama (AP, Coaches, FN, NFF) / Ohio State (FWAA) 1962: USC 1963: Texas 1964: Alabama (AP, Coaches) / Arkansas (FWAA) / Notre Dame (FN, NFF) 1965: Alabama (AP, FWAA) / Michigan State (Coaches, FN, FWAA, NFF) 1966: Notre Dame (AP, Coaches, FN, FWAA, NFF) / Michigan State (NFF) 1967: USC 1968: Ohio State 1969: Texas

1970s	1970: Nebraska (AP, FN, FWAA) / Texas (NFF, Coaches) / Ohio State (NFF) 1971: Nebraska 1972: USC 1973: Notre Dame (AP, FN, FWAA, NFF) / Alabama (Coaches) 1974: Oklahoma (AP, FN) / USC (FWAA, NFF, Coaches) 1975: Oklahoma 1976: Pittsburgh 1977: Notre Dame 1978: Alabama (AP, FWAA, NFF) / USC (Coaches, FN) 1979: Alabama

1980–1991	1980: Georgia 1981: Clemson 1982: Penn State 1983: Miami 1984: BYU 1985: Oklahoma 1986: Penn State 1987: Miami 1988: Notre Dame 1989: Miami 1990: Colorado (AP, FN, FWAA, NFF, USAT/CNN) / Georgia Tech (Coaches) 1991: Miami (AP) / Washington (Coaches, FN, FWAA, UPI/NFF)

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