1977 Navy Midshipmen football team

1977 Navy Midshipmen football
Conference	Independent
Record	5–6
Head coach	George Welsh (5th season)
Captains	Joe Gattuso Mike Galpin
Home stadium	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
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 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy (USNA) as an independent during the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. The team was led by fifth-year head coach George Welsh. ^[2]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 10	The Citadel	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	W 21–2	16,226	[3]
September 17	Connecticut	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	W 38–7	13,659	[4] [5]
September 25	at No. 1 Michigan	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	L 7–14	101,800	[6]
October 1	at Duke	Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC	L 16–28	24,800	[7]
October 8	Air Force	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)	W 10–7	30,030	[8]
October 15	at No. 17 Pittsburgh	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA	L 17–34	45,397	[9]
October 22	William & Mary	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	W 42–17	22,026	[10]
October 29	at No. 5 Notre Dame	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	L 10–43	59,075	[11]
November 5	Syracuse	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	L 34–45	16,709	[12]
November 12	Georgia Tech	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	W 20–16	18,590	[13]
November 26	vs. Army	John F. Kennedy Stadium Philadelphia, PA (Army–Navy Game)	L 14–17	81,091	[14]
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Game summaries

Air Force Falcons at Navy Midshipmen

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Air Force	0	7	0	0	7
Navy	0	7	0	3	10

at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, Maryland

• Date: October 8
• Game weather: Rain
• ^[15]

Game information
Air Force Navy Joe Gattuso Jr. 143 Rush Yds

Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP AFA NAVY 2 4 Air Force Paul Williams 6-yard touchdown reception from Dave Ziebart, Terry Harris kick good 7 0 2 88 Navy Paul Klawinski 5-yard touchdown run, Bob Tata kick good 7 7 4 0:41 Navy 25-yard field goal by Bob Tata 7 10 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 7 10

Roster

1977 Navy Midshipmen football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class OT 65 Jerome Barker So G 77 Rick Bott So RB Steve Callahan TE Rich Cellon QB Randy Farley G 62 Tom Fieldman So C Ray Fritsch RB Joe Gattuso (C) Sr TE 83 Carl Hendershot So WR Sandy Jones FB 33 Larry Klawinski So G Steve Kremer WR John Kurkowski QB 15 Bob Lesczynski Jr OT 69 Jim Lippard WR 80 Phil McConkey Jr RB Leon Miller OT 71 Mark Poston Sr QB 18 Bob Powers So OT 75 Kevin Ryan Sr RB 23 Mike Sherlock Fr OT 61 John Taylor So RB Dave Walker	Defense Pos. # Name Class DT 73 Steve Chambers Fr LB Bob DeStefany S Mike Galpin (C) Sr LB 63 Mike Kronzer Fr DB 32 Pat McCormick Sr DT 76 John Merrill So DB 66 Charlie Meyers So DL A.B. Miller DB 49 Gregg Milo So DE 88 Hugh Nixon So LB 55 Tom Paulk So DL Pfunandre Redvict DL Ed Reid DB John Sturges DE 84 Charlie Thornton So DL Tom Thompson DB Bob Wilson DB 36 Chuck Zingler So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 10 Bob Tata Jr	Head coach George Welsh Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

References

1. https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/years/1977-standings.html
2. "Football History" (PDF). United States Naval Academy. p. 194. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
3. "Navy stymies Citadel to take 21–2 victory". Winston-Salem Journal. September 11, 1977. Retrieved January 26, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Navy romps". The State. September 18, 1977. Retrieved April 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Final 1977 Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association . Retrieved December 26, 2022.
6. Curt Sylvester (September 25, 1977). "Rough Seas: 'M' 14, Navy 7". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1E, 4E.
7. "Duke destroys Navy, 28–16". Florence Morning News. October 2, 1977. Retrieved January 26, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Middies nudge Air Force". The Daily Times. October 9, 1977. Retrieved April 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Pitt sinks Navy, 34–17". The Anniston Star. October 16, 1977. Retrieved April 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Gattuso leads Navy over W&M". The Lynchburg News. October 23, 1977. Retrieved April 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Montana single-handedly rooks Navy in Irish win". Journal and Courier. October 30, 1977. Retrieved April 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Syracuse sinks Navy". The Abilene Reporter-News. November 6, 1977. Retrieved April 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
13. "Carter watches Navy scuttle Tech 20–16". Alexandria Daily Town Talk. November 13, 1977. Retrieved July 25, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
14. "Army, Penn St. win thrillers". The Philadelphia Inquirer. November 27, 1977. Retrieved April 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
15. New York Times. 1977 Oct 09. Retrieved 2019-Jan-22.