CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1977 Arkansas

11–⁠1 (7–⁠1 Southwest Conference), coached by Lou Holtz, finished No. 3 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Arkansas in 1977, game by game: won vs. New Mexico State 53–10; won vs. No. 15 Oklahoma State 28–6; won vs. Tulsa 37–3; won at TCU 42–6; lost vs. No. 2 Texas 9–13; won vs. Houston 34–0; won at Rice 30–7; won vs. Baylor 35–9; won at No. 11 Texas A&M 26–20; won vs. SMU 47–7; won at Texas Tech 17–14; won vs. No. 2 Oklahoma 31–6+43−4Won 53–10 vs. New Mexico State+43New Mexico StateWon 28–6 vs. No. 15 Oklahoma State+22No. 15 Oklahoma StateWon 37–3 vs. Tulsa+34TulsaWon 42–6 at TCU+36TCULost 9–13 vs. No. 2 Texas-4No. 2 TexasWon 34–0 vs. Houston+34HoustonWon 30–7 at Rice+23RiceWon 35–9 vs. Baylor+26BaylorWon 26–20 at No. 11 Texas A&M+6No. 11 Texas A&MWon 47–7 vs. SMU+40SMUWon 17–14 at Texas Tech+3Texas TechWon 31–6 vs. No. 2 Oklahoma+25No. 2 Oklahoma
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 10vsNew Mexico StateW 53–⁠1072%
Sep 17vs15Oklahoma StateW 28–⁠644%
Sep 24vsTulsaW 37–⁠373%
Oct 1atTCUW 42–⁠682%
Oct 15vs2TexasL 9–⁠1355%
Oct 22vsHoustonW 34–⁠060%
Oct 29atRiceW 30–⁠782%
Nov 5vsBaylorW 35–⁠972%
Nov 12at11Texas A&MW 26–⁠2033%
Nov 19vsSMUW 47–⁠784%
Nov 24atTexas TechW 17–⁠1453%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs2OklahomaOrange BowlW 31–⁠639%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Oklahoma 31–⁠6 in the Orange Bowl; No. 3 in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Southwest Conference.

In program history: The 2nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 124 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 3: 16
  2. Wk 4: 12
  3. Wk 5: 7
  4. Wk 6: 8
  5. Wk 7: 9
  6. Wk 8: 8
  7. Wk 9: 8
  8. Wk 10: 8
  9. Wk 11: 8
  10. Wk 12: 6
  11. Wk 13: 6
  12. Final: 3

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.

2 consensus All-AmericansLeotis Harris, OG; Steve Little, K

Eddie Robinson Coach of the YearLou Holtz, coach; also the Walter Camp Coach

Record
11–⁠1
Conference
7–⁠1 2nd in Southwest Conference
AP final
No. 3 peak No. 3
Points
389–⁠101
Coach
Lou Holtz
Elo
1744 +214 this season
SP+ rating
24.0 No. 8 of 140; offense No. 15, defense No. 9
SRS
25.7 No. 5 of 145 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Monte Kiffin
Captains
Leotis Harris, Steve Little and Howard Sampson
Offense
Veer
Defense
5–⁠2

Drafted in 1978

The 1978 draft
Rd 1Steve Little PSt. Louis Cardinals
Rd 6Leotis Harris OGGreen Bay Packers

All-Southwest Conference

8 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1977 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1977 Southwest Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Texas8–⁠011–⁠14
Arkansas7–⁠111–⁠13
Texas A&M6–⁠28–⁠4
Texas Tech4–⁠47–⁠5
Houston4–⁠46–⁠5
Baylor3–⁠55–⁠6
SMU3–⁠54–⁠7
TCU1–⁠72–⁠9
Rice0–⁠81–⁠10

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