1977 Washington Huskies football team

1977 Washington Huskies football
Pacific-8 champion Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 27–20 vs. Michigan
Conference	Pacific-8 Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 9
AP	No. 10
Record	8–4 (6–1 Pac-8)
Head coach	Don James (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Dick Scesniak (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Jim E. Mora (3rd season)
MVP	Warren Moon
Captains	Blair Bush Dave Browning Warren Moon Mike Rohrbach
Home stadium	Husky Stadium
Seasons ←  1976 1978  →

1977 Pacific-8 Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 10 Washington $	6	–	1	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
No. 15 Stanford	5	–	2	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
No. 13 USC	5	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
California	3	–	4	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Washington State	3	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Oregon	1	–	6	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Oregon State	0	–	7	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
UCLA †	0	–	2	–	0			0	–	4	–	0
$ – Conference champion † – UCLA forfeited 7 wins (5 conference wins) due to ineligible players. Rankings from AP Poll

The 1977 Washington Huskies football team represented the University of Washington in the 1977 NCAA Division I football season as a member of the Pacific-8 Conference (Pac-8). The Huskies were led by third-year head coach Don James and played their home games at Husky Stadium in Seattle. They finished the regular season at 7–4 overall, were champions of the Pac-8 at 6–1, and earned a trip to the Rose Bowl on January 2. ^{[1] [2]}

The Huskies were 14-point underdogs to No. 4 Michigan, but upset the Wolverines 27–20. ^{[3] [4] [5]}

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 10	No. 16 Mississippi State *		Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	L 18–27† (later fofeited) [6]	45,050	[7]
September 17	San Jose State *		Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	W 24–3	36,489	[8]
September 24	at Syracuse *		Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY	L 20–22	12,839	[9]
October 1	at Minnesota *		Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	L 17–19	31,895	[10]
October 8	at Oregon		Autzen Stadium Eugene, OR (rivalry)	W 54–0	29,500	[11]
October 15	Stanford		Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	W 45–21	46,529	[12]
October 22	Oregon State		Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	W 14–6	46,677	[13]
October 29	at UCLA		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	L 12–20† (later vacated) [14]	38,692	[15]
November 5	at California		California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	W 50–31	38,812	[16]
November 12	No. 14 USC		Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	W 28–10	59,501	[17]
November 19	Washington State	No. 19	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA (Apple Cup)	W 35–15	60,964	[18]
January 2, 1978	vs. No. 4 Michigan *	No. 13	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl)	W 27–20	105,312	[19]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

†Games were subsequently vacated or forfeited to Washington ^[14]

Roster

1977 Washington Huskies football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class FL 81 Gary Briggs So C 58 Blair Bush  (C) Sr G 72 Marshall Cromer Jr G 75 Mike Curtis So QB 12 Tom Flick  So FB 42 Ron Gipson So TE 86 Scott Greenwood Jr OT 78 Curt Marsh Fr QB 1 Warren Moon  (C) Sr RB 24 Joe Steele So OT 63 Jeff Toews Jr C 56 Tom Turnure So RB 45 Toussaint Tyler Fr OT 79 Randy Van Divier Fr OT 70 Robert Westlund Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class MG 67 Cliff Bethea Sr DT 65 Dave Browning  (C) Sr SS 39 John Edwards Jr CB 23 Nesby Glasgow Jr LB 55 Bruce Harrell So FS 96 Kyle Heinrich Jr LB 5 Michael Jackson Jr LB 34 John Kerley Jr CB 19 Mark Lee So DT 61 Chris Linnin So DE 73 Doug Martin So CB 25 Wayne Moses Sr LB 48 Antowaine Richardson So LB 54 Mike Rohrbach (C) Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 7 Steve Robbins Sr P 27 Aaron Wilson Jr	Head coach Don James (3rd year) Coordinators/assistant coaches Dick Scesniak (OC) Jim Mora (DC) Jim Lambright (LB) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

^[20]

Game summaries

At California

Washington Huskies at California Golden Bears

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Washington	3	14	21	12	50
California	7	14	0	10	31

at Memorial Stadium • Berkeley, California

• Date: November 5
• Game attendance: 38,812
• ^[21]

Game information
Washington Warren Moon 11/19, 207 yds, int Joe Steele 22 rush, 90 yds, 2 TD Scott Greenwood 5 rec, 112 yds California Gary Graumann 16/31, 172 yds, 2 TD Paul Jones 14 rush, 58 yds George Freitas 9 rec, 139 yds

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP WASH CAL 1 California Hillmon 7-yard touchdown reception from Young, Breech kick good 0 7 1 Washington 31-yard field goal by Robbins 3 7 2 Washington Steele 5-yard touchdown run, Robbins kick good 10 7 2 California Thompson 14-yard touchdown reception from Graumann, Breech kick good 10 14 2 Washington Tyler 4-yard touchdown run, Robbins kick good 17 14 2 California Thompson 10-yard touchdown reception from Young, Breech kick good 17 21 3 Washington Moon 12-yard touchdown run, Robbins kick good 24 21 3 Washington Moon 1-yard touchdown run, Robbins kick good 31 21 3 Washington Steele 1-yard touchdown run, Robbins kick good 38 21 4 California 48-yard field goal by Breech 4 Washington Safety, center snap out of end zone 4 Washington Smith 3-yard touchdown run, Robbins kick good 4 California Freitas 7-yard touchdown reception from Graumann, 2-point run/pass good/failed/incomplete "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 50 31

USC

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
USC	0	3	0	7	10
•Washington	0	7	14	7	28

• Date: November 12
• Location: Husky Stadium, Seattle, WA
• Game attendance: 59,501
• Game weather: Overcast

Scoring summary

2		WASH	Moon 2-yard run (Robbins kick)	WASH 7-0
2		USC	Jordan 26-yard field goal	WASH 7-3
3		WASH	Gaines 19-yard pass from Moon (Robbins kick)	WASH 14-3
3		WASH	Steele 1-yard run (Robbins kick)	WASH 21-3
4		USC	White 1-yard run (Jordan kick)	WASH 21-10
4		WASH	Moon 71-yard run (Robbins kick)	WASH 28-10

^[22]

Washington State

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
Washington State	0	0	0	15	15
•Washington	21	7	7	0	35

• Date: November 19
• Location: Husky Stadium, Seattle, WA
• Game attendance: 60,964

Scoring summary

1		WASH	Steele 33-yard pass from Moon (Robbins kick)	WASH 7-0
1		WASH	Greenwood 33-yard pass from Moon (Robbins kick)	WASH 14-0
1		WASH	Steele 3-yard run (Robbins kick)	WASH 21-0
2		WASH	Steele 6-yard pass from Moon (Robbins kick)	WASH 28-0
3		WASH	Rowland 5-yard run (Robbins kick)	WASH 35-0
4		WSU	Doornik 4-yard run (Watson kick)	WASH 35-7
4		WSU	Kelly 14-yard pass from Thompson (Thompson to Ransom pass)	WASH 35-15

^{[1] [2]}

NFL draft selections

Two University of Washington Huskies were selected in the 1978 NFL draft, which lasted 12 rounds with 334 selections.

= Husky Hall of Fame [23]

Player	Position	Round	Overall	'Franchise
Blair Bush	Center	1st	16	Cincinnati Bengals
Dave Browning	Defensive end	2nd	54	Oakland Raiders

^[24]

• Quarterback Warren Moon played for the Edmonton Eskimos (CFL) from 1978 to 1983 and made his NFL debut with the Houston Oilers in 1984. ^[25]

References

1. "Huskies freeze Cougars and get a bowl bid, too". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. wire services. November 20, 1977. p. 3B.
2. Missildine, Harry (November 20, 1977). "UW earns somebody's bowl". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. D1.
3. Missidine, Harry (January 3, 1978). "Jackson rescues Washington". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 19.
4. "Huskies prove worthy". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. Associated Press. January 3, 1978. p. 13.
5. "Huskies go from rags to roses". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. January 3, 1978. p. 1C.
6. "Bulldogs forced to forfeit 19 football games". The Tuscaloosa News. Associated Press. May 24, 1978. p. 19. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
7. "Hapless Huskies bitten by Bulldogs". The News Tribune. September 11, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Disrespectful Huskies batter Spartans". The Olympian. September 18, 1977. Retrieved April 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Late Syracuse kick beats UW". Tri-City Herald. September 25, 1977. Retrieved April 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Gophers win in last :05". The Post-Crescent. October 2, 1977. Retrieved April 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Huskies take it out on Ducks". The Columbian. October 9, 1977. Retrieved April 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Game-breaking plays lift Washington 45–21". The Idaho Statesman. October 16, 1977. Retrieved April 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
13. "Huskies hang on to league lead". The Arizona Republic. October 23, 1977. Retrieved April 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
14. "All-Time Records for Washington". Archived from the original on August 22, 2016. Retrieved August 16, 2016.
15. "UCLA rallies to sink Washington, 20–12". The Sunday Oregonian. October 30, 1977. Retrieved April 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
16. "Huskies' comeback fatal to Cal Bears". Contra Costa Times. November 6, 1977. Retrieved April 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
17. "Dog day afternoon for the Huskies". The News Tribune. November 13, 1977. Retrieved April 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
18. "UW earns somebody's bowl". The Spokesman-Review. November 20, 1977. Retrieved April 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
19. "Early deficit fatal as Wolverines again get thorn, not Rose". The Grand Rapids Press. January 3, 1978. Retrieved April 26, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
20. "The Lineups". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. October 8, 1977. p. 3B.
21. Eugene Register-Guard. 1977 Nov 06. Retrieved 2019-Jan-06.
22. "Huskies stop – USC – and smell the roses". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. wire services. November 13, 1977. p. 1C.
23. "The Husky Hall of Fame". gohuskies.com. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
24. "1985 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com . Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.
25. "Warren Moon Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com .

External links

• YouTube – UW video – "The James Gang Arrives" (1977 season)