1976 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

1976 Minnesota Golden Gophers football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	6–5 (4–4 Big Ten)
Head coach	Cal Stoll (5th season)
MVP	Tony Dungy
Captain	Tony Dungy
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons ←  1975 1977  →

1976 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	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

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 11	Indiana	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	W 32–13	39,004	[4]
September 18	Washington State *	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	W 28–14	31,627	[5]
September 25	Western Michigan *	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	W 21–10	33,229	[6]
October 2	at Washington *	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	L 7–38	37,994	[7]
October 9	Illinois	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	W 29–14	52,606	[8]
October 16	at Michigan State	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	W 14–10	56,166	[9]
October 23	Iowa	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)	L 12–22	53,222	[10]
October 30	at No. 1 Michigan	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (Little Brown Jug)	L 0–45	104,426	[11]
November 6	at Northwestern	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	W 38–10	15,183	[12]
November 13	No. 8 Ohio State	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	L 3–9	53,190	[13]
November 20	at Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI (rivalry)	L 17–26	60,304	[14]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1976 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 9 Tony Dungy 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 Cal Stoll Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: 2018-03-11

References

1. "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 ]}
4. "Hoosiers sprawl, 32–13; Snyder lost". Evansville Courier and Press. September 12, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Cougars bow to Minnesota". The Bellingham Herald. September 19, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Gophers wake up late to win 21–10". Minneapolis Tribune. September 26, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Huskies, Cougars have a fun Saturday". Tri-City Herald. October 3, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Minnesota rips Illini". The Cedar Rapids Gazette. October 10, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Gophers edge Spartans". The Blade. October 17, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Hawkeyes knock Minnesota from top spot in Big Ten". The Journal News. October 24, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
11. "No. 1 Wolverines rip Gophers, 45–0". The Mobile Register. October 31, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Gophers roll over Northwestern, 38–10". Brainerd Daily Dispatch. November 7, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
13. "Ohio State edges Gophers". The Winona Daily News. November 14, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
14. "UW rises to occasion". Wisconsin State Journal. November 21, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025– via Newspapers.com.