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1976 Minnesota

6–⁠5 (4–⁠4 Big Ten), coached by Cal Stoll.

Schedule and results

Minnesota in 1976, game by game: won vs. Indiana 32–13; won vs. Washington State 28–14; won vs. Western Michigan 21–10; lost at Washington 7–38; won vs. Illinois 29–14; won at Michigan State 14–10; lost vs. Iowa 12–22; lost at No. 1 Michigan 0–45; won at Northwestern 38–10; lost vs. No. 8 Ohio State 3–9; lost at Wisconsin 17–26+28−45Won 32–13 vs. Indiana+19IndianaWon 28–14 vs. Washington State+14Washington StateWon 21–10 vs. Western Michigan+11Western MichiganLost 7–38 at Washington-31WashingtonWon 29–14 vs. Illinois+15IllinoisWon 14–10 at Michigan State+4Michigan StateLost 12–22 vs. Iowa-10IowaLost 0–45 at No. 1 Michigan-45No. 1 MichiganWon 38–10 at Northwestern+28NorthwesternLost 3–9 vs. No. 8 Ohio State-6No. 8 Ohio StateLost 17–26 at Wisconsin-9Wisconsin
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 11vsIndianaW 32–⁠1373%
Sep 18vsWashington StateW 28–⁠1473%
Sep 25vsWestern MichiganW 21–⁠1077%
Oct 2atWashingtonL 7–⁠3855%
Oct 9vsIllinoisW 29–⁠1456%
Oct 16atMichigan StateW 14–⁠1043%
Oct 23vsIowaL 12–⁠2276%
Oct 30at1MichiganL 0–⁠4516%
Nov 6atNorthwesternW 38–⁠1069%
Nov 13vs8Ohio StateL 3–⁠925%
Nov 20atWisconsinL 17–⁠2649%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Wisconsin 26–⁠17; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 101st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

Record
6–⁠5
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 3rd in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
201–⁠211
Coach
Cal Stoll
Elo
1477 −20 this season
SP+ rating
1.4 No. 73 of 132; offense No. 83, defense No. 57
SRS
5.3 No. 44 of 137 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
Tony Dungy
Most valuable player
Tony Dungy

All-Big Ten

1 first team, 3 second team

First team

  • George AdzickDBAP-2; UPI-1

Second team

  • Tony DungyQBAP-2; UPI-2
  • Ron KullasWRAP-2
  • George WashingtonFront fiveAP-2

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 Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan7–⁠110–⁠23
Ohio State7–⁠19–⁠2–⁠16
Minnesota4–⁠46–⁠5
Illinois4–⁠45–⁠6
Purdue4–⁠45–⁠6
Indiana4–⁠45–⁠6
Iowa3–⁠55–⁠6
Wisconsin3–⁠55–⁠6
Michigan State3–⁠54–⁠6–⁠1
Northwestern1–⁠71–⁠10

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