1977 Miami Hurricanes football team

1977 Miami Hurricanes football
Conference	Independent
Record	3–8
Head coach	Lou Saban (1st season)
Offensive scheme	T formation
Defensive coordinator	Rick Lantz (1st season)
Base defense	4–3
MVP	Don Smith
Home stadium	Miami Orange Bowl
Seasons ←  1976 1978  →

1977 NCAA Division I independents football records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Notre Dame		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
No. 5 Penn State		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
Colgate		–		–				10	–	1	–	0
North Texas State *		–		–				10	–	1	–	0
No. 16 San Diego State		–		–				10	–	1	–	0
Tennessee State		–		–				8	–	1	–	1
No. 14 Florida State		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
No. 8 Pittsburgh		–		–				9	–	2	–	1
East Carolina		–		–				8	–	3	–	0
Rutgers		–		–				8	–	3	–	0
Army		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Louisville		–		–				7	–	4	–	1
Boston College		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Cincinnati		–		–				5	–	4	–	2
Georgia Tech		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Memphis State		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Northwestern State		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Syracuse		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
William & Mary		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Southern Miss		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Temple		–		–				5	–	5	–	1
Hawaii		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Navy		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
West Virginia		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
South Carolina		–		–				5	–	7	–	0
Utah State		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Villanova		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Illinois State		–		–				3	–	7	–	1
Virginia Tech		–		–				3	–	7	–	1
Miami (FL)		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Richmond		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Tulane		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Air Force		–		–				2	–	8	–	1
Holy Cross		–		–				2	–	8	–	0
Northeast Louisiana		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
North Texas State (originally 9–2) awarded a forfeit win after Mississippi State was found to be using an ineligible player. [1] Rankings from AP Poll

The 1977 Miami Hurricanes football team represented the University of Miami as an independent during the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. Led by first-year head coach Lou Saban, the Hurricanes played their home games at the Miami Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. Miami finished the season with a record of 3–8.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 10	1:30 pm	at No. 5 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH		L 0–10	86,287	[2]
September 17		at Georgia Tech	Grant Field Atlanta, GA		L 6–10	31,916	[3]
September 24		at Florida State	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL (rivalry)		W 23–17	40,060	[4]
October 1		Pacific (CA)	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL		W 24–3	33,608	[5]
October 8		Kansas	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL		W 14–7	28,010	[6]
October 22		at TCU	Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX		L 17–21	12,224	[7]
October 29		at No. 9 Penn State	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA		L 7–49	61,853	[8]
November 5		Tulane	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL		L 10–13	20,140	[9]
November 12		at No. 2 Alabama	Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL		L 0–36	57,422	[10]
November 26		Florida	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL (rivalry)		L 14–31	30,662	[11]
December 3	8:00 pm	at No. 5 Notre Dame	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL (rivalry)	CBS	L 10–48	35,789	[12]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[13]

Roster

1977 Miami Hurricanes football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class TE Steve Alvers RB 47 Ottis Anderson Jr QB E.J. Baker FB Woody Bennett OT Charles Bloxsom OT Larry Brown TE Charlie Claud RB Chris Hobbs WR Jim Joiner Fr QB Kenny McMillian TE Karl Monroe OT Bob O'Gara C Tom Sedley G Jim Standifer RB Taylor Timmons WR Pat Walker Fr C Mike White	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB Mozell Axsom Fr DB Joe Bettencourt DT Jim Browning DB Gene Coleman LB Craig Cosden DT John Evans DB Bryan Ferguson DT Tony Galente LB Barry Gonzalez LB George Halas LB Glenn Hill LB Herb Jackson MG Don Kreuger MG 79 Don Latimer Sr LB John McGriff LB Earl Monroe LB Kevin Roberts DB Malcolm Simmons DT 75 Don Smith Jr LB Ed Stanley DB John Swain Fr DB 26 John Turner Sr DB Rick Valerio	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K Chris Dennis P Bob Rajsich	Head coach Lou Saban Coordinators/assistant coaches Len Fontes – Defensive backs Ron Marciniak – Offensive line Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Game summaries

Georgia Tech

1 2 3 4 Total Miami (FL) 0 0 0 6 6 • Georgia Tech 0 0 10 0 10 Date: September 17 Location: Grant Field Game attendance: 31,916

Scoring summary Q3 11:06 GT Lanier 14 yard run (Dassel kick) GT 7–0 Q3 7:30 GT Dassel 20 yard field goal GT 10–0 Q4 0:40 MIA Anderson 4 yard pass from Baker (pass failed) GT 10–6

^[14]

References

1. https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/years/1977-standings.html
2. "Buckeyes squeak out 10–0 triumph". News Journal. September 11, 1977. Retrieved April 25, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Georgia Tech stops UM, 10–6". The Miami Herald. September 18, 1977. Retrieved July 25, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Miami wins 1st, surprises Seminoles". The Palm Beach Post. September 25, 1977. Retrieved April 25, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
5. "24,558 see Mason spark UM". The Miami Herald. October 2, 1977. Retrieved April 25, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Miami wins 3rd straight, 14–7". The Palm Beach Post-Times. October 9, 1977. Retrieved April 25, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
7. "TCU scores late, drops Hurricanes". Florida Today. October 23, 1977. Retrieved March 29, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Penn State calms Hurricanes". The Abilene Reporter-News. October 30, 1977. Retrieved April 25, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Murray's field goals send Miami to defeat". The Palm Beach Post. November 6, 1977. Retrieved October 19, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Rutledge, Newsome, Alabama too much". The Dothan Eagle. November 13, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Gators blow past Hurricanes 31–14". Fort Myers News-Press. November 27, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Montana fires Irish". Alexandria Daily Town Talk. December 4, 1977. Retrieved April 25, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
13. "1977 Football Schedule". Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on October 5, 2015. Retrieved October 5, 2016.
14. Ocala Star-Banner. 1977 Sep 18. Retrieved 2018-Oct-06.