1977 Northwestern Wildcats football team

1977 Northwestern Wildcats football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	1–10 (1–8 Big Ten)
Head coach	John Pont (5th season)
Captain	Paul Maly (2nd year)
Home stadium	Dyche Stadium

1977 Big Ten Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 9 Michigan +	7	–	1	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 11 Ohio State +	7	–	1	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Michigan State	6	–	1	–	1			7	–	3	–	1
Indiana	4	–	3	–	1			5	–	5	–	1
Minnesota	4	–	4	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Purdue	3	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Iowa	3	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Wisconsin	3	–	6	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Illinois	2	–	6	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Northwestern	1	–	8	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1977 Northwestern Wildcats team represented Northwestern University during the 1977 Big Ten Conference football season. In their fifth year under head coach John Pont, the Wildcats compiled a 1–10 record (1–8 against Big Ten Conference opponents) and finished in last place in the Big Ten Conference.

The team's offensive leaders were quarterback Scott Stranski with 541 passing yards, Dave Mishler with 520 rushing yards, and Mark Bailey with 347 receiving yards.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 10	at Iowa	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	L 0–24	53,725
September 17	at Arizona State*	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ	L 3–35	57,149
September 24	North Carolina*	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	L 7–41	19,597
October 1	at Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	L 7–19	68,709
October 8	Indiana	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	L 3–28	16,378
October 15	at Minnesota	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	L 7–13	39,021
October 22	No. 4 Ohio State	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	L 15–35	29,563
October 29	Purdue	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	L 16–28	17,525
November 5	at No. 6 Michigan	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	L 20–63	103,211
November 11	at Michigan State	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	L 3–44	61,238
November 19	Illinois	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL (rivalry)	W 21–7	17,255
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1977 Northwestern Wildcats football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class OT 68 Tony Ardizzone Sr WR Mark Bailey QB Steve Breitbell TE Dan Cleary QB Bill Dierberger OL Mike Fielder FB Harold Gilmore QB Dana Hemphill OL Dan Henderson OT Don Herzog RB Donald Johnson G Frank Malec RB Dave Mishler TE, K Sam Poulos OT 55 Phil Reitz So RB Matt Reitzug RB Sam Rushing WR Todd Sheets C Greg Soderberg QB Scott Stranski G Rudi Tanck WR Mike Taylor WR Mike Wagner QB Bill Weir	Defense Pos. # Name Class DE Kevin Berg CB Steve Bobowski LB Scott Duncan S Pat Geegan DL Curt Grelle S Malcolm Hunter DL Mike Kendzicky DB 6 Guy Knafelc Jr LB Paul Maly (C) MG Jim Miller LB Blane Ogilive DE Dean Payne CB Stephen Scardina LB Greg Stanley DL Marty Szostak DL Lodi Vercelli DT 74 Norm Wells So DT Mike Weitzman	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach John Pont Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster Last update: 2015-12-20

Game summaries

Ohio State

See also: 1977 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

#4 Ohio State Buckeyes at Northwestern Wildcats

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Ohio St	14	7	7	7	35
Northwestern	3	6	0	6	15

at Dyche Stadium, Evanston, Illinois

• Date: October 22
• Game time: 1:30 p.m. EDT
• Game weather: Light rain, 53 °F (12 °C)
• Game attendance: 29,563
• Box Score

Game information

First quarter NW – Sam Poulos 44-yard field goal, 9:33. Northwestern 3–0. Drive: 10 plays, 59 yards, 5:00. OSU – Joel Payton 4-yard run (Vlade Janakievski kick), 4:58. Ohio St 7–3. Drive: 3 plays, 80 yards, 0:54. OSU – Jeff Logan 5-yard run (Vlade Janakievski kick), 1:15. Ohio St 14–3. Drive: 8 plays, 45 yards, 2:17. Second quarter NW – Mike Taylor 33-yard pass from Dana Hemphill (pass failed), 10:10. Ohio St 14–9. Drive: 2 plays, 34 yards, 0:57 OSU – Joel Payton 1-yard run (Vlade Janakievski kick), 1:57. Ohio St 21–9. Drive: 4 plays, 21 yards, 1:34. Third quarter OSU – Rod Gerald 24-yard run (Vlade Janakievski kick), 10:41. Ohio St 28–9. Drive: 8 plays, 71 yards, 2:18. Fourth quarter OSU – Paul Campbell 1-yard run (Vlade Janakievski kick), 7:40. Ohio St 35–9. Drive: 10 plays, 80 yards, 4:01. NW – Harold Gilmore 14-yard run (run failed), 4:40. Ohio St 35–15. Drive: 7 plays, 73 yards, 2:54. Top passers OSU – Rod Gerald – 7/14, 148 yards, 2 INT NW – Dana Hemphill – 6/10, 51 yards, TD Top rushers OSU – Ron Springs – 14 rushes, 130 yards NW – Harold Gilmore – 23 rushes, 121 yards, TD Top receivers OSU – James Harrell – 2 receptions, 62 yards NW – Mike Taylor – 3 receptions, 41 yards, TD