1976 Boise State Broncos football team

1976 Boise State Broncos football
Conference	Big Sky Conference
Record	5–5–1 (2–4 Big Sky)
Head coach	Jim Criner (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Rod Dowhower (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Bill Dutton (1st season)
Home stadium	Bronco Stadium
Seasons ←  1975 1977  →

1976 Big Sky Conference
football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Montana State $^	6	–	0	–	0			12	–	1	–	0
Idaho	5	–	1	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Northern Arizona	4	–	2	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
Montana	3	–	3	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Boise State	2	–	4	–	0			5	–	5	–	1
Weber State	1	–	5	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Idaho State	0	–	6	–	0			1	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II AP Poll

The 1976 Boise State Broncos football team represented Boise State University in the 1976 NCAA Division II football season. The Broncos competed in the Big Sky Conference and played their home games on campus at Bronco Stadium in Boise, Idaho. Led by first-year head coach Jim Criner, the Broncos were 5–5–1 overall and 2–4 in conference.

Boise State entered the season as three-time defending Big Sky champions, but under a new head coach. After leading the Broncos for eight seasons, 61-year-old Tony Knap moved south to Nevada-Las Vegas in late January to replace Ron Meyer, who went to SMU in Dallas. ^{[1] [2]} Hired two weeks later in mid-February, Criner was previously the linebackers coach at UCLA under head coach Dick Vermeil; the Bruins were Pac-8 champions in 1975 and won the Rose Bowl, ^{[3] [4] [5]} a 23–10 upset of undefeated and top-ranked Ohio State. ^[6]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 11	7:30 pm	Idaho	Bronco Stadium Boise, ID (rivalry)	L 9–16	20,549	[7] [8] [9] [10]
September 18		Augustana (SD) *	Bronco Stadium Boise, ID	W 42–14	18,057	[11]
September 25		Humboldt State *	Bronco Stadium Boise, ID	W 33–0	17,837	[12]
October 2		at Montana State	Reno H. Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT	L 20–24	7,800	[13] [14]
October 9		at Cal Poly *	Mustang Stadium San Luis Obispo, CA	T 14–14	7,050	[15] [16]
October 16		Montana	Bronco Stadium Boise, ID	L 14–17	18,472	[17] [18]
October 23		Nevada *	Bronco Stadium Boise, ID (rivalry)	W 26–8	16,587	[19]
October 30		at No. 10 Northern Arizona	Lumberjack Stadium Flagstaff, AZ	L 7–42	9,060	[20]
November 6		at UNLV *	Las Vegas Stadium Whitney, NV	L 26–31	14,066	[21]
November 13		at Idaho State	ASISU Minidome Pocatello, ID	W 36–0	9,227	[22]
November 20		Weber State	Bronco Stadium Boise, ID	W 56–31	16,224	[23]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

^[24]

References

1. "Knap leaves Boise State for Las Vegas". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. January 30, 1976. p. 1B.
2. "Boise's Knap off to Vegas". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. January 30, 1976. p. 17.
3. "Boise St. hires UCLA grid assistant". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. February 14, 1976. p. 4B.
4. "Boise selects Criner; ISU elevates aide". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. February 14, 1976. p. 16.
5. "BSU's Criner names aides". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. February 17, 1976. p. 2B.
6. "Dynamite Bruins stagger Ohio St". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. January 2, 1976. p. 16.
7. "Idaho team underdog against Boise squad". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. September 10, 1976. p. 23.
8. "Defense rated key for Idaho". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. September 11, 1976. p. 11.
9. Payne, Bob (September 12, 1976). "Vandals win opener". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. D1.
10. English, Sue (September 13, 1976). "Vandals tame Broncos". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. p. 17.
11. "Broncos win first, bounce Augustana". The Idaho Statesman. September 19, 1976. Retrieved December 18, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Boise smothers 'Jacks". The Times Standard. September 26, 1976. Retrieved December 18, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
13. "Boise St. faces Bobcats in biggie". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. October 2, 1976. p. 13.
14. "Bobcats hold off Broncos". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. October 3, 1976. p. D3.
15. "Boise State, Cal Poly battle to 14–14 tie". The Idaho Statesman. October 10, 1976. Retrieved December 18, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
16. "Long Beach State Wins Again, 32-10". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. October 10, 1976. p. III-11. Retrieved March 31, 2017– via Newspapers.com.
17. Payne, Bob (October 18, 1976). "Vandals already looking at MSU". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 17.
18. "Grizzlies win on Carlson's field goal". The Missoulian. October 17, 1976. Retrieved December 18, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
19. "Kickoff return ignites BSU to 26–8 non-conference win". South Idaho Press. October 24, 1976. Retrieved December 18, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
20. "Lumberjacks bomb Broncos". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. October 31, 1976. p. D11.
21. "Rebels rally to topple Boise State". The Idaho Statesman. November 7, 1976. Retrieved December 18, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
22. "Boise State rips ISU rivals 36–0". The Ogden Standard-Examiner. November 14, 1976. Retrieved December 18, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
23. "Broncos explode in third quarter". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. November 21, 1976. p. D2.
24. "Record book (football)" (PDF). Boise State University Athletics. 2016. p. 71. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 15, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2016.