CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1976 Colorado

8–⁠4 (5–⁠2 Big Eight), coached by Bill Mallory, finished No. 16 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Colorado in 1976, game by game: lost at Texas Tech 7–24; won at Washington 21–7; won vs. Miami 33–3; won vs. Drake 45–24; lost vs. No. 6 Nebraska 12–24; won at Oklahoma State 20–10; won vs. No. 16 Iowa State 33–14; won vs. No. 13 Oklahoma 42–31; lost at No. 16 Missouri 7–16; won vs. Kansas 40–17; won at Kansas State 35–28; lost vs. No. 11 Ohio State 10–27+30−17Lost 7–24 at Texas Tech-17Texas TechWon 21–7 at Washington+14WashingtonWon 33–3 vs. Miami+30MiamiWon 45–24 vs. Drake+21DrakeLost 12–24 vs. No. 6 Nebraska-12No. 6 NebraskaWon 20–10 at Oklahoma State+10Oklahoma StateWon 33–14 vs. No. 16 Iowa State+19No. 16 Iowa StateWon 42–31 vs. No. 13 Oklahoma+11No. 13 OklahomaLost 7–16 at No. 16 Missouri-9No. 16 MissouriWon 40–17 vs. Kansas+23KansasWon 35–28 at Kansas State+7Kansas StateLost 10–27 vs. No. 11 Ohio State-17No. 11 Ohio State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 11atTexas TechL 7–⁠2447%
Sep 18atWashingtonW 21–⁠748%
Sep 25vsMiamiW 33–⁠371%
Oct 2vsDrakeW 45–⁠2490%
Oct 9vs6NebraskaL 12–⁠2446%
Oct 16atOklahoma StateW 20–⁠1038%
Oct 23vs16Iowa StateW 33–⁠1463%
Oct 30vs13OklahomaW 42–⁠3142%
Nov 6at16MissouriL 7–⁠1648%
Nov 13vsKansasW 40–⁠1772%
Nov 20atKansas StateW 35–⁠2883%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs11Ohio StateOrange BowlL 10–⁠2741%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Ohio State 27–⁠10 in the Orange Bowl; No. 16 in the final AP poll; Big Eight champions.

In program history: The 23rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 8: 19
  2. Wk 9: 14
  3. Wk 10: 19
  4. Wk 11: 15
  5. Wk 12: 14
  6. Wk 13: 12
  7. Final: 16

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 1976.

Big Eight champions5–⁠2 in the conference, shared with Oklahoma and Oklahoma State

Record
8–⁠4
Conference
5–⁠2 shared first in Big Eight
AP final
No. 16 peak No. 12
Points
305–⁠225
Coach
Bill Mallory
Elo
1636 +61 this season
SP+ rating
22.7 No. 10 of 132; offense No. 8, defense No. 24
SRS
17.7 No. 13 of 137 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
George Belu
Defensive coordinator
Bob Reublin
Captain
Emery Moorehead
Most valuable player
Tony Reed
Offense
I formation
Defense
5–⁠2

Drafted in 1977

The 1977 draft
Rd 2Mike Davis DBOakland Raiders
Rd 2Tony Reed RBKansas City Chiefs
Rd 2Mike Spivey DBChicago Bears
Rd 2Billy Waddy WRLos Angeles Rams
Rd 2Don Hasselbeck TENew England Patriots
Rd 6Emery Moorehead TENew York Giants
Rd 7Charles Johnson DTPhiladelphia Eagles

All-Big Eight

4 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1976 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1976 Big Eight standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Oklahoma5–⁠29–⁠2–⁠15
Oklahoma State5–⁠29–⁠314
Colorado5–⁠28–⁠416
Nebraska4–⁠39–⁠3–⁠19
Iowa State4–⁠38–⁠319
Missouri3–⁠46–⁠5
Kansas2–⁠56–⁠5
Kansas State0–⁠71–⁠10

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