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1977 Kentucky Wildcats football team

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1977 University of Kentucky football season

1977 Kentucky Wildcats football
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Ranking
APNo. 6
Record10–1 (6–0 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorPerry Moss (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorCharlie Bailey (3rd season)
Home stadiumCommonwealth Stadium
Seasons← 19761978 →
1977 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 Alabama $ 7 – 0 – 0 11 – 1 – 0
No. 6 Kentucky 6 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0
Auburn 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
LSU 4 – 2 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
Florida 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 1
Georgia 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Mississippi State 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Ole Miss 3 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Tennessee 1 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Vanderbilt 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • Kentucky ineligible for SEC championship due to NCAA probation. Mississippi State later forfeited all 1977 wins due to NCAA violations.
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1977 Kentucky Wildcats football team represented the University of Kentucky in the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. The Wildcats scored 252 points while allowing 111 points. The Wildcats finished conference play undefeated but due to NCAA probation were not eligible for a share of the SEC championship or for postseason play. The Wildcats finished the season ranked #6 in the final AP Poll.

Kentucky's 33–13 victor over LSU was its third in four years over the Bayou Bengals, and the Wildcats' first at Tiger Stadium since 1949, when Bear Bryant was Kentucky's coach.

In the Border Battle, Kentucky beat Tennessee by a score of 21–17. Entering that game, Kentucky had seven injured starters unable to play, including quarterback Derrick Ramsey, whose arm was injured so badly he could not throw the football. Tennessee jumped out to a 17–14 lead when backup quarterback Mike Deaton completed a 36-yard pass to Felix Wilson; the injured Ramsey then entered the game and led Kentucky to a touchdown. Tennessee's offense then took the ball to Kentucky's 22-yard line but Tennessee quarterback Jimmy Streater fumbled due to a hit by Kentucky All-American defensive end Art Still, and linebacker Kelly Kirchbaum recovered the ball to preserve the win.

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 10North Carolina*W 10–757,796
September 17at Baylor*L 6–2130,000
September 24West Virginia*
  • Commonwealth Stadium
  • Lexington, KY
W 28–1357,796
October 1at No. 4 Penn State*W 24–2062,196
October 8Mississippi StateNo. 16
  • Commonwealth Stadium
  • Lexington, KY
W 23–757,914
October 15at No. 16 LSUNo. 12W 33–1371,495
October 22at GeorgiaNo. 8W 33–059,100
October 29Virginia Tech*No. 7
  • Commonwealth Stadium
  • Lexington, KY
W 32–057,914
November 5at VanderbiltNo. 7W 28–634,694
November 12at FloridaNo. 7W 14–758,125
November 19TennesseeNo. 7
  • Commonwealth Stadium
  • Lexington, KY (rivalry)
W 21–1757,914
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel

1977 Kentucky Wildcats football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
RB Randy Brooks
QB Mike Deaton
RB Joe Dipre
OL Tom Dornbrook
OL Dan Fowler
OL Will Grant
RB Robert Hawkins
RB Chris Hill
OL Dave Hopewell
OL Tom Kearns
TE Greg Nord
RB Henry Parks
TE Scott Petersen
OL Larry Petkovsek
QB Derrick Ramsey
RB Chuck Servino
RB Rod Stewart
WR Bill Tolston
WR David Trosper
RB Fred Williams
WR Felix Wilson
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DL Jerry Blanton
DB Ritchie Boyd
DL Bud Diehl
DB Rich Hayden
DL Richard Jaffe
LB Kelly Kirchbaum
LB Mike Martin
DB Dallas Owens
DL James Ramey
DB Mike Siganos
DL David Stephens
DE Art Still
DT 83 Bob Winkel Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K Joe Bryant
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Game summaries

Penn State

1 234Total
• Kentucky 7 7100 24
Penn St 10 1000 20
Scoring summary
1PSUBahr 20 yard field goalPSU 3-0
1PSUCefalo 75 yard punt return (Bahr kick)PSU 10-0
1KENOwens 23 yard interception return (Bryant kick)PSU 10-7
2KENServino 1 yard run (Bryant kick)KEN 14-10
2PSUGuman 29 yard pass from Fusina (Bahr kick)PSU 17-14
2PSUBahr 25 yard field goalPSU 20-14
3KENBryant 30 yard field goalPSU 20-17
3KENRamsey 1 yard run (Bryant kick)KEN 24-20

Georgia

1 234Total
• Kentucky 0 101013 33
Georgia 0 000 0
Scoring summary
Q2KYBryant 51 yard field goalKY 3–0
Q2KYWilliams 1 yard pass from Ramsey (Bryant kick)KY 10–0
Q3KYTropser 17 yard pass from Ramsey (Bryant kick)KY 17–0
Q3KYBryant 51 yard field goalKY 20–0
Q4KYWilson 12 yard pass from Ramsey (Bryant kick)KY 27–0
Q4KYNord 10 yard pass from Deaton (kick failed)KY 33–0

Team players in the NFL

Player Position Rounds Pick Overall NFL club
Art Still Defensive End 1 2 Kansas City Chiefs
Derrick Ramsey Quarterback 5 136 Oakland Raiders
Mike Martin Tackle 9 244 Chicago Bears
Will Grant Center 10 255 Buffalo Bills
Dallas Owens Defensive Back 10 275 Baltimore Colts
Jerry Blanton Linebacker 11 282 Buffalo Bills

Awards and honors

References

  1. "Kentucky Wildcats Official Athletic Site - Football". Archived from the original on August 31, 2012. Retrieved January 9, 2014.
  2. "Final 1977 AP Poll at AP Poll Archive.com". Archived from the original on February 29, 2012. Retrieved May 31, 2009.
  3. Story, Mark, UK football's greatest wins at Commonwealth, Lexington Herald-Leader, September 4, 2011
  4. "Kentucky Wildcats claw Carolina 10–7". Rocky Mount Telegram. September 11, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Baylor bounces Kentucky, 21–6". The Odessa American. September 18, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Kentucky plows over W. Virginia". The Tampa Tribune-Times. September 25, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Kentucky shocks Penn State". The Tennessean. October 2, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Wildcats blitz State, 23–7". The Montgomery Advertiser. October 9, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Kentucky romps over LSU, 33–13". The Miami Herald. October 16, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Georgia blanked 33–0 by 'Cats". The Times Recorder. October 23, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Mistakes don't matter as UK smothers VPI". The Courier-Journal. October 30, 1977. Retrieved December 14, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "'Cats nail Vandy for victory No. 8". The Paducah Sun-Democrat. November 6, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "UK Wildcats 'purrr...fect' against UF". The Pensacola News-Journal. November 13, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. "UK nips tough Tennessee, ends 10–1". The Courier-Journal. November 20, 1977. Retrieved May 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. 1997 Kentucky Football Media Guide, p.168
  16. "Kentucky in the 1977 AP polls, AP Poll Archive". Archived from the original on March 28, 2012. Retrieved October 3, 2009.
  17. Ocala Star-Banner. 1977 Oct 23. Retrieved 2018-Nov-03.
  18. "1978 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 22, 2007.
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