1976 Wisconsin Badgers football team
The 1976 Wisconsin Badgers football team was an American football team that represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the 1976 Big Ten Conference football season. In their seventh season under head coach John Jardine, the Badgers compiled a 5–6 record (3–5 against Big Ten opponents) and finished in a three-way tie for seventh place in the Big Ten.[1]
| 1976 Wisconsin Badgers football | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| 1976 record | 5–6 (3–5 Big Ten) |
| Head coach | John Jardine (7th season) |
| MVP | Mike Carroll |
| Home stadium | Camp Randall Stadium |
| 1976 Big Ten Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Quarterback Mike Carroll was selected as the team's most valuable player and led the Big Ten Conference with 1,773 yards of total offense.[2][1] Running back Larry Canada led the team with 993 rushing yards, the fifth-highest total in the Big Ten during the 1976 season. Ira Matthews was the team's leading scorer with 42 points on seven touchdowns.[1]
David Charles was selected by the AP as a second-team wide receiver, and Dave Crossen by the UPI as a second-team linebacker, on the 1976 All-Big Ten Conference football team.[3][4]
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 11 | at No. 2 Michigan | L 27–40 | 101,347 | |
| September 18 | North Dakota* | W 45–9 | 62,213 | |
| September 25 | Washington State* |
| W 35–26 | 64,658 |
| October 2 | at No. 9 Kansas* |
| L 24–34 | 48,350 |
| October 9 | Purdue |
| L 16–18 | 79,111 |
| October 16 | No. 9 Ohio State |
| L 20–30 | 79,579 |
| October 23 | at Northwestern |
| W 28–25 | 24,580 |
| October 30 | at Illinois | L 25–31 | 54,121 | |
| November 6 | Iowa |
| W 38–21 | 79,521 |
| November 13 | at Indiana |
| L 14–15 | 27,518 |
| November 20 | Minnesota |
| W 26–17 | 60,304 |
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Roster
| 1976 Wisconsin Badgers football team roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
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Defense
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Special teams
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Players selected in the 1977 NFL Draft
Only one Wisconsin player was selected in the 1977 NFL Draft.[6]
| Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL Club |
| John Rasmussen | Offensive tackle | 10 | 276 | New England Patriots |
References
- "1976 Big Ten Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
- Roy Damer (December 25, 1975). "Lytle named Big 10 MVP: Purdue's Dierking is runnerup". Chicago Tribune. p. 2-1.
- "Michigan, Ohio State Pace All-Big Ten Team". Toledo Blade (AP story). December 3, 1976. p. 27.
- "Illini place two on All-Big 10". The Pantagraph. November 24, 1976. p. A11.
- "Wisconsin Badgers Index". sports-reference.com. Retrieved 2011-07-28.
- "1977 NFL Draft: Full Draft". NFL.com. National Football League. Retrieved March 1, 2017.