1977 Kentucky Wildcats football team

1977 Kentucky Wildcats football
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 6
Record	10–1 (6–0 SEC)
Head coach	Fran Curci (5th season)
Offensive coordinator	Perry Moss (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Charlie Bailey (3rd season)
Home stadium	Commonwealth Stadium
Seasons ←  1976 1978  →

1977 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 2 Alabama $	7	–	0	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
No. 6 Kentucky	6	–	0	–	0			10	–	1	–	0
Auburn	5	–	1	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
LSU	4	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Florida	3	–	3	–	0			6	–	4	–	1
Georgia	2	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Mississippi State	2	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Ole Miss	3	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Tennessee	1	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Vanderbilt	0	–	6	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion Kentucky ineligible for SEC championship due to NCAA probation. Mississippi State later forfeited all 1977 wins due to NCAA violations. Rankings from AP Poll

The 1977 Kentucky Wildcats football team represented the University of Kentucky in the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. The Wildcats scored 252 points while allowing 111 points. The Wildcats finished conference play undefeated but due to NCAA probation were not eligible for a share of the SEC championship or for postseason play. ^[1] The Wildcats finished the season ranked #6 in the final AP Poll. ^[2]

Kentucky's 33–13 victor over LSU was its third in four years over the Bayou Bengals, and the Wildcats' first at Tiger Stadium since 1949, when Bear Bryant was Kentucky's coach.

In the Border Battle, Kentucky beat Tennessee by a score of 21–17. Entering that game, Kentucky had seven injured starters unable to play, including quarterback Derrick Ramsey, whose arm was injured so badly he could not throw the football. Tennessee jumped out to a 17–14 lead when backup quarterback Mike Deaton completed a 36-yard pass to Felix Wilson; the injured Ramsey then entered the game and led Kentucky to a touchdown. Tennessee's offense then took the ball to Kentucky's 22-yard line but Tennessee quarterback Jimmy Streater fumbled due to a hit by Kentucky All-American defensive end Art Still, and linebacker Kelly Kirchbaum recovered the ball to preserve the win. ^[3]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 10	North Carolina *		Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY	W 10–7	57,796	[4]
September 17	at Baylor *		Baylor Stadium Waco, TX	L 6–21	30,000	[5]
September 24	West Virginia *		Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY	W 28–13	57,796	[6]
October 1	at No. 4 Penn State *		Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	W 24–20	62,196	[7]
October 8	Mississippi State	No. 16	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY	W 23–7	57,914	[8]
October 15	at No. 16 LSU	No. 12	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA	W 33–13	71,495	[9]
October 22	at Georgia	No. 8	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA	W 33–0	59,100	[10]
October 29	Virginia Tech *	No. 7	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY	W 32–0	57,914	[11]
November 5	at Vanderbilt	No. 7	Dudley Field Nashville, TN (rivalry)	W 28–6	34,694	[12]
November 12	at Florida	No. 7	Florida Field Gainesville, FL (rivalry)	W 14–7	58,125	[13]
November 19	Tennessee	No. 7	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY (rivalry)	W 21–17	57,914	[14]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^{[15] [16]}

Personnel

1977 Kentucky Wildcats football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB Randy Brooks QB Mike Deaton RB Joe Dipre OL Tom Dornbrook OL Dan Fowler OL Will Grant RB Robert Hawkins RB Chris Hill OL Dave Hopewell OL Tom Kearns TE Greg Nord RB Henry Parks TE Scott Petersen OL Larry Petkovsek QB Derrick Ramsey RB Chuck Servino RB Rod Stewart WR Bill Tolston WR David Trosper RB Fred Williams WR Felix Wilson	Defense Pos. # Name Class DL Jerry Blanton DB Ritchie Boyd DL Bud Diehl DB Rich Hayden DL Richard Jaffe LB Kelly Kirchbaum LB Mike Martin DB Dallas Owens DL James Ramey DB Mike Siganos DL David Stephens DE Art Still DT 83 Bob Winkel Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K Joe Bryant	Head coach Fran Curci Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Game summaries

Penn State

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
•Kentucky	7	7	10	0	24
Penn St	10	10	0	0	20

• Date: October 1
• Location: Beaver Stadium, University Park, PA

Scoring summary

1		PSU	Bahr 20 yard field goal	PSU 3-0
1		PSU	Cefalo 75 yard punt return (Bahr kick)	PSU 10-0
1		KEN	Owens 23 yard interception return (Bryant kick)	PSU 10-7
2		KEN	Servino 1 yard run (Bryant kick)	KEN 14-10
2		PSU	Guman 29 yard pass from Fusina (Bahr kick)	PSU 17-14
2		PSU	Bahr 25 yard field goal	PSU 20-14
3		KEN	Bryant 30 yard field goal	PSU 20-17
3		KEN	Ramsey 1 yard run (Bryant kick)	KEN 24-20

Georgia

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Kentucky	0	10	10	13	33
Georgia	0	0	0	0	0

• Date: October 22
• Location: Sanford Stadium
• Game attendance: 59,100

Scoring summary

Q2		KY	Bryant 51 yard field goal	KY 3–0
Q2		KY	Williams 1 yard pass from Ramsey (Bryant kick)	KY 10–0
Q3		KY	Tropser 17 yard pass from Ramsey (Bryant kick)	KY 17–0
Q3		KY	Bryant 51 yard field goal	KY 20–0
Q4		KY	Wilson 12 yard pass from Ramsey (Bryant kick)	KY 27–0
Q4		KY	Nord 10 yard pass from Deaton (kick failed)	KY 33–0

• The Prince of Wales (now Charles III) in attendance

^[17]

Team players in the NFL

Main article: 1978 NFL draft

Player	Position	Rounds	Pick Overall	NFL club
Art Still	Defensive End	1	2	Kansas City Chiefs
Derrick Ramsey	Quarterback	5	136	Oakland Raiders
Mike Martin	Tackle	9	244	Chicago Bears
Will Grant	Center	10	255	Buffalo Bills
Dallas Owens	Defensive Back	10	275	Baltimore Colts
Jerry Blanton	Linebacker	11	282	Buffalo Bills

^[18]

Awards and honors

• Art Still, All-America honors

References

1. "Kentucky Wildcats Official Athletic Site - Football". Archived from the original on August 31, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
2. "Final 1977 AP Poll at AP Poll Archive.com". Archived from the original on February 29, 2012. Retrieved May 31, 2009.
3. Story, Mark, UK football's greatest wins at Commonwealth, Lexington Herald-Leader, September 4, 2011
4. "Kentucky Wildcats claw Carolina 10–7". Rocky Mount Telegram. September 11, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Baylor bounces Kentucky, 21–6". The Odessa American. September 18, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Kentucky plows over W. Virginia". The Tampa Tribune-Times. September 25, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Kentucky shocks Penn State". The Tennessean. October 2, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Wildcats blitz State, 23–7". The Montgomery Advertiser. October 9, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Kentucky romps over LSU, 33–13". The Miami Herald. October 16, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Georgia blanked 33–0 by 'Cats". The Times Recorder. October 23, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Mistakes don't matter as UK smothers VPI". The Courier-Journal. October 30, 1977. Retrieved December 14, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
12. "'Cats nail Vandy for victory No. 8". The Paducah Sun-Democrat. November 6, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
13. "UK Wildcats 'purrr...fect' against UF". The Pensacola News-Journal. November 13, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
14. "UK nips tough Tennessee, ends 10–1". The Courier-Journal. November 20, 1977. Retrieved May 8, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
15. 1997 Kentucky Football Media Guide, p.168
16. "Kentucky in the 1977 AP polls, AP Poll Archive". Archived from the original on March 28, 2012. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
17. Ocala Star-Banner. 1977 Oct 23. Retrieved 2018-Nov-03.
18. "1978 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com . Archived from the original on December 22, 2007.