1977 UMass Minutemen football team
American college football season
The 1977 UMass Minutemen football team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst as a member of the Yankee Conference during the 1977 NCAA Division II football season . Led by Dick MacPherson in his seventh and final season as head coach, the Minutemen compiled an overall record of 8–3 with a mark of 5–0 in conference play, winning the Yankee Conference title. UMass advanced to the NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs, losing in the quarterfinals to the eventual national champion, Lehigh . The team played home games at Alumni Stadium in Hadley, Massachusetts .
The 1977 season was the last in which UMass competed at the NCAA Division II level, as the Yankee Conference moved to the NCAA's newly-formed Division I-AA—now known at the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS)—in 1978.
Schedule
Date Opponent Rank Site Result Attendance Source September 10 Army * L 10–3422,101
September 17 Maine W 28–08,400
September 24 at Harvard * W 17–09,000–10,116 [ 1]
October 1 Youngstown State * No. 10 W 54–137,200
October 8 Boston University No. 8 W 41–164,700 [ 2]
October 15 Rhode Island No. 7 W 37–610,500
October 28 at Connecticut No. 6 W 10–07,122
November 5 Holy Cross * No. T–3 W 28–68,100 [ 3]
November 12 at No. 5 New Hampshire No. 3 W 19–620,000
November 19 at Boston College * No. 2 L 7–3430,846 [ 4]
November 26 No. 8 Lehigh * No. 2 L 23–304,964–5,700 [ 5]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
[ 6]
References
^ Concannon, Joe (September 25, 1977). "Fallon Resurfaces as UMass Stuns Harvard, 17-0" . Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. p. 70 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Harry Eisenberg (October 9, 1977). "UMass erupts late, crushes BU, 41-16" . The Boston Globe . p. 77 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Eisenberg, Harry (November 6, 1977). "UMass Toils, HC Tumbles; Defense Key, 28-6" . Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. p. 70 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Boston College Routs Massachusetts, 34–7" . Fort Lauderdale News and Sun Sentinel . November 20, 1977. p. 5C – via Newspapers.com .
^ Concannon, Joe (November 27, 1977). "Lehigh Flies High – UMass Shot Down, 30-23" . Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. p. 64 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Final 1977 Cumulative Football Statistics Report" . National Collegiate Athletic Association . Retrieved December 24, 2022 .
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