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1977 Arizona State

9–⁠3 (6–⁠1 Western Athletic Conference), coached by Frank Kush, finished No. 18 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Arizona State in 1977, game by game: won vs. Northwestern 35–3; won vs. Oregon State 33–31; lost vs. Missouri 0–15; won at New Mexico 45–24; won at Air Force 37–14; won vs. UTEP 66–3; won at Utah 47–19; won vs. Wyoming 45–0; won vs. No. 13 BYU 24–13; lost at Colorado State 14–25; won vs. Arizona 23–7; lost vs. No. 8 Penn State 30–42+63−15Won 35–3 vs. Northwestern+32NorthwesternWon 33–31 vs. Oregon State+2Oregon StateLost 0–15 vs. Missouri-15MissouriWon 45–24 at New Mexico+21New MexicoWon 37–14 at Air Force+23Air ForceWon 66–3 vs. UTEP+63UTEPWon 47–19 at Utah+28UtahWon 45–0 vs. Wyoming+45WyomingWon 24–13 vs. No. 13 BYU+11No. 13 BYULost 14–25 at Colorado State-11Colorado StateWon 23–7 vs. Arizona+16ArizonaLost 30–42 vs. No. 8 Penn State-12No. 8 Penn State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 17vsNorthwesternW 35–⁠379%
Sep 24vsOregon StateW 33–⁠3177%
Oct 1vsMissouriL 0–⁠1565%
Oct 8atNew MexicoW 45–⁠2452%
Oct 15atAir ForceW 37–⁠1466%
Oct 22vsUTEPW 66–⁠388%
Oct 29atUtahW 47–⁠1969%
Nov 5vsWyomingW 45–⁠076%
Nov 12vs13BYUW 24–⁠1349%
Nov 19atColorado StateL 14–⁠2558%
Nov 26vsArizonaW 23–⁠773%
Dec 25Bowls & playoffvs8Penn StateFiesta BowlL 30–⁠4234%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Penn State 42–⁠30 in the Fiesta Bowl; No. 18 in the final AP poll; Western Athletic Conference champions.

In program history: The 32nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 93 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 17
  2. Wk 4: 20
  3. Wk 9: 19
  4. Wk 10: 17
  5. Wk 11: 12
  6. Wk 12: 19
  7. Wk 13: 15
  8. Final: 18

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1977.

Western Athletic Conference champions6–⁠1 in the conference, shared with BYU

Consensus All-AmericanJohn Jefferson, WR

Record
9–⁠3
Conference
6–⁠1 shared first in Western Athletic Conference
AP final
No. 18 peak No. 12
Points
399–⁠196
Coach
Frank Kush
Elo
1598 +69 this season
SP+ rating
9.6 No. 43 of 140; offense No. 19, defense No. 85
SRS
14.3 No. 18 of 145 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Larry Kentera

Drafted in 1978

The 1978 draft
Rd 1John Jefferson WRSan Diego Chargers
Rd 7John Harris DBSeattle Seahawks

1977 Western Athletic Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
BYU6–⁠19–⁠220
Arizona State6–⁠19–⁠318
Colorado State5–⁠29–⁠2–⁠1
Wyoming4–⁠34–⁠6–⁠1
Arizona3–⁠45–⁠7
New Mexico2–⁠55–⁠7
Utah2–⁠53–⁠8
UTEP0–⁠71–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.