1976 Northwestern Wildcats football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record1–10 (1–7 Big Ten)
Head coach
Captains
Home stadiumDyche Stadium
Seasons
← 1975
1977 →
1976 Big Ten Conference football standings
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 Northwestern Wildcats team represented Northwestern University during the 1976 Big Ten Conference football season. In their fourth year under head coach John Pont, the Wildcats compiled a 1–10 record (1–7 against Big Ten Conference opponents) and finished in last place in the Big Ten Conference.[2]

The team's offensive leaders were quarterback Randy Dean with 1,384 passing yards, Pat Geegan with 537 rushing yards, and Scott Yelvington with 649 receiving yards.[3] Yelvington received first-team All-Big Ten honors from both the Associated Press and the United Press International.[4][5]

Schedule

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 11at Purdue
L 19–3146,311
September 18at North Carolina*
L 0–1241,000[6]
September 25Notre Dame*
L 0–4844,396
October 2Arizona*
  • Dyche Stadium
  • Evanston, IL
L 15–27
October 9at Indiana
L 0–734,889
October 16No. 1 Michigan
  • Dyche Stadium
  • Evanston, IL (rivalry)
L 7–3831,045[7]
October 23Wisconsin
  • Dyche Stadium
  • Evanston, IL
L 25–2824,580
October 30at Iowa
L 10–1351,800
November 6Minnesota
  • Dyche Stadium
  • Evanston, IL
L 10–3815,183
November 13Michigan State
  • Dyche Stadium
  • Evanston, IL
W 42–2115,204
November 20at Illinois
L 6–4834,500
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1976 Northwestern Wildcats football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
OT 68 Tony Ardizzone Jr
WR 83 Mark Bailey Jr
QB 15 Steve Breitbell So
RB 32 Greg Boykin (C) Sr
QB 3 Randy Dean (C) Sr
DB 2 Robert Dean Sr
FB 39 Harold Gilmore So
OL 63 Dan Henderson So
OT 72 Don Herzog Sr
C 61 Carl Peterson Sr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DE 35 Kevin Berg Fr
CB 18 Steve Bobowski Jr
FS 14 Jim Hutchings Sr
CB 6 Guy Knafelc So
LB 52 Paul Maly Sr
SS 22 Pete Shaw (C) Sr
DT 74 Norm Wells Fr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

References

  1. ^ "Year-by-Year Results" (PDF). 2007. p. 148. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 16, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  2. ^ "1976 Northwestern Wildcats Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  3. ^ "1976 Northwestern Wildcats Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  4. ^ "Michigan, Ohio State Pace All-Big Ten Team". Toledo Blade (AP story). December 3, 1976. p. 27.
  5. ^ "Illini place two on All-Big 10". The Pantagraph. November 24, 1976. p. A11.
  6. ^ "North Carolina stops Northwestern, 12–0". The Indianapolis Star. September 19, 1976. Retrieved January 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Things are too easy so far for Michigan". Register-Guard, Eugene, Oregon. October 17, 1976.


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