1977 San Diego State Aztecs football team

American college football season

1977 San Diego State Aztecs football
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 19
AP	No. 16
Record	10–1
Head coach	Claude Gilbert (5th season)
Home stadium	San Diego 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. Rankings from AP Poll

The 1977 San Diego State Aztecs football team represented San Diego State University during the 1977 NCAA Division I football season as an independent.

The team was led by head coach Claude Gilbert, in his fifth year, and played home games at San Diego Stadium in San Diego, California. They finished the season ranked #16 in the AP Poll and #18 in the UPI Poll, with a record of ten wins and one loss (10–1).

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
September 10	Cal State Fullerton		San Diego Stadium San Diego, CA	W 34–17	41,066
September 17	at Arizona		Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ	W 21–14	42,135
October 1	Utah State		San Diego Stadium San Diego	W 19–0	43,161
October 8	at Fresno State		Ratcliffe Stadium Fresno, CA (rivalry)	L 14–34	14,114–15,179
October 15	UTEP		San Diego Stadium San Diego, CA	W 49–7	34,760
October 22	UNLV		San Diego Stadium San Diego, CA	W 31–7	39,109
October 29	Tulsa		San Diego Stadium San Diego, CA	W 41–7	28,306
November 5	at Pacific (CA)		Pacific Memorial Stadium Stockton, CA	W 29–7	9,857
November 12	Long Beach State		San Diego Stadium San Diego, CA	W 33–22	37,213
November 19	No. 13 Florida State		San Diego Stadium San Diego, CA	W 41–16	50,453
December 3	at San Jose State	No. 16	Spartan Stadium San Jose, CA	W 37–34	10,000
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Team players in the NFL

The following were selected in the 1978 NFL draft.

Player	Position	Round	Overall	NFL team
Deacon Turner	Running back	2	45	Cincinnati Bengals
Ron Smith	Wide receiver	2	53	Los Angeles Rams
Whip Walton	Linebacker	3	75	Minnesota Vikings
Mike Douglass	Linebacker	5	116	Green Bay Packers
Terry Jackson	Defensive back	5	120	New York Giants
Dennis Pearson	Wide receiver	5	125	Atlanta Falcons

Team awards

Award	Player
Most Valuable Player (John Simcox Memorial Trophy)	Deacon Turner
Outstanding Offensive & Defensive Linemen (Byron H. Chase Memorial Trophy)	Scott Bradley, Off Ed Imo, Def
Team captains Dr. R. Hardy / C.E. Peterson Memorial Trophy	Joe Davis, Off Whip Walton, Def
Most Inspirational Player	Tim Delaney, Ed Imo

Notes

San Diego County Credit Union Stadium (SDCCU Stadium) was known as San Diego Stadium from its opening in 1967 through 1980.

References

https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/years/1977-standings.html
Dave Distel (September 11, 1977). "San Diego State Tops Titans, 34-17". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. p. III-10. Retrieved January 17, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
"San Diego State shows it belongs". The Daily Breeze. September 18, 1977. Retrieved October 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Utah State 2015 Football Media Guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2018. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
"San Diego St. Bows, 34-14". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. October 9, 1977. p. III-16. Retrieved March 31, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
"2024 Fresno State Football Media Guide" (PDF). Fresno State Athletics. p. 121. Retrieved December 19, 2024.
"Aztec offemse bombs Miners 49–7". The El Paso Times. October 16, 1977. Retrieved October 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Nevada Las Vegas 2015 Football Media Guide" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 7, 2015. Retrieved December 9, 2016.
"Tulsa 2015 Football Media Guide" (PDF). Retrieved December 9, 2016.
"Cal Lutheran Makes It Six in a Row". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. October 30, 1977. p. III-13. Retrieved February 24, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
Bill Finley (November 6, 1977). "Aztecs Explode Past U. of Pacific, 29-7". The San Diego Union. San Diego, California. p. H-1. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
49er Football 1978 Media Guide (pamphlet). Long Beach, California: CSULB Athletic Department. 1978.
"Cal Lutheran Brawls and Wins". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. November 13, 1977. p. III-14. Retrieved March 16, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
"San Diego State destroys FSU, 41-16". The Orlando Sentinel. Orlando, Florida. November 20, 1977. p. D-1. Retrieved January 17, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
"San Diego finishes 10-1". Independent Press-Telegram. Long Beach, California. December 4, 1977. p. S-5. Retrieved January 17, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
"San Diego State 1977 Schedule". Retrieved December 6, 2016.
^ "San Diego State 2016 Football Media Guide". Archived from the original on October 18, 2016. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
"1978 NFL Draft". Archived from the original on December 22, 2007. Retrieved December 7, 2016.

v t e San Diego State Aztecs football
Venues	College Field / Aztec Field (1921, 1923–1925, 1927–1928, 1934–1935) Navy "Sports" Field (1922, 1926, 1929–1931, 1933–1934) Balboa Stadium (1921–1925, 1927–1929, 1932, 1934–1935, 1940–1941, 1945–1947, alternate in several other seasons) Aztec Bowl (1936–1942, 1947–1966) San Diego Stadium (1967–2019) Dignity Health Sports Park (2020–2021) Snapdragon Stadium (2022–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Fresno State NFL draftees
Seasons	1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

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