1976 Akron Zips football team

1976 Akron Zips football
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
APNo. 3
Record10–3
Head coach
Defensive coordinatorWally Neal
Home stadiumRubber Bowl
1976 NCAA Division II independents football records
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 Northern Michigan ^   –   11 – 2 – 0
No. 3 Akron ^   –   10 – 3 – 0
No. 7 UNLV ^   –   9 – 3 – 0
No. 4 Delaware ^   –   8 – 3 – 1
Nevada   –   8 – 3 – 0
Portland State   –   8 – 3 – 0
Tennessee State   –   7 – 2 – 1
American International   –   6 – 3 – 0
Northern Colorado   –   6 – 3 – 0
Madison   –   7 – 4 – 0
Santa Clara   –   7 – 4 – 0
Western Carolina   –   6 – 4 – 0
Chattanooga   –   6 – 4 – 1
Southern Connecticut State   –   5 – 4 – 0
Central State (OH)   –   6 – 5 – 0
Lehigh   –   6 – 5 – 0
Arkansas–Pine Bluff   –   5 – 5 – 0
Central Connecticut   –   5 – 5 – 0
Lafayette   –   5 – 5 – 0
Eastern Illinois   –   5 – 6 – 0
Bucknell   –   4 – 5 – 0
Youngstown State   –   4 – 6 – 0
Kentucky State   –   3 – 7 – 1
Nebraska–Omaha   –   3 – 8 – 0
Northeastern   –   2 – 7 – 0
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
Rankings from Associated Press poll

The 1976 Akron Zips football team was an American football team that represented the University of Akron during the 1976 NCAA Division II football season. In their fourth season under head coach Jim Dennison, the Zips compiled a 10–3 record and outscored all opponents by a combined total of 282 to 144. In post-season play, they defeated UNLV, 27–6, in a Division II quarterfinal, and defeated Northern Michigan, 29–26, in the Knute Rockne Bowl. In the championship game in Wichita Falls, Texas, Akron lost to Montana State in the Pioneer Bowl.[1][2] The 1976 season was the first and only ten-win season in Akron's program history.

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 11Temple
L 13–2333,158[3]
September 18Morehead State
  • Rubber Bowl
  • Akron, OH
W 26–610,102
September 25at Youngstown State
W 24–34,846
October 2at Indiana State
W 34–78,318[4]
October 9Dayton
  • Rubber Bowl
  • Akron, OH
W 27–67,439[5]
October 16at Ball StateNo. T–5
W 3–018,323[6]
October 23Eastern MichiganNo. T–5
  • Rubber Bowl
  • Akron, OH
W 36–09,042[7]
October 30at MarshallNo. 3
L 0–137,191[8]
November 6at No. 7 Western IllinoisNo. T–8
W 21–1413,743
November 13at Western KentuckyNo. 5
W 29–1611,200
November 27No. 7 UNLVNo. 3
W 27–66,562
December 4No. 2 Northern MichiganNo. 3
W 29–26
December 11vs. No. 1 Montana StateNo. 3
L 13–2413,200[9]

[10][11]

References

  1. ^ "Montana State wins title". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. December 12, 1976. p. 4B.
  2. ^ "Dennehy leads Montana State's bowl win". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. December 12, 1976. p. D1.
  3. ^ "Sornisky's foot paces Temple". Gloucester County Times. September 12, 1976. Retrieved September 12, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Akron whips ISU". The Terre Haute Tribune-Star. October 3, 1976. Retrieved October 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Zips win 4th straight, defeat Dayton, 27 to 6". The Plain Dealer. October 10, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Akron U maintains visiting team advantage". The Akron Beacon Journal. October 17, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Zip streak hits six as another member of MAC is blanked". The Akron Beacon Journal. October 24, 1976. Retrieved September 14, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Campbell, Filliez boost Marshall over Akron". Beckley Post-Herald & The Raleigh Register. October 31, 1976. Retrieved September 12, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Montana State wins title". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Associated Press. December 12, 1976. p. 4B. Retrieved September 14, 2025 – via Google News Archive.
  10. ^ "Final 1976 Cumulative Football Statistics Report (Akron)". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  11. ^ "Akron Season Schedule - databaseFootball.com/NCAA". Archived from the original on November 30, 2015. Retrieved December 30, 2015. Akron Team Schedule 1976
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.