CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1977 Minnesota

7–⁠5 (4–⁠4 Big Ten), coached by Cal Stoll.

Schedule and results

Minnesota in 1977, game by game: won vs. Western Michigan 10–0; lost at No. 6 Ohio State 7–38; won vs. No. 18 UCLA 27–13; won vs. Washington 19–17; lost at Iowa 6–18; won vs. Northwestern 13–7; won vs. No. 1 Michigan 16–0; lost at Indiana 22–34; lost vs. Michigan State 10–29; won at Illinois 21–0; won vs. Wisconsin 13–7; lost vs. Maryland 7–17+21−31Won 10–0 vs. Western Michigan+10Western MichiganLost 7–38 at No. 6 Ohio State-31No. 6 Ohio StateWon 27–13 vs. No. 18 UCLA+14No. 18 UCLAWon 19–17 vs. Washington+2WashingtonLost 6–18 at Iowa-12IowaWon 13–7 vs. Northwestern+6NorthwesternWon 16–0 vs. No. 1 Michigan+16No. 1 MichiganLost 22–34 at Indiana-12IndianaLost 10–29 vs. Michigan State-19Michigan StateWon 21–0 at Illinois+21IllinoisWon 13–7 vs. Wisconsin+6WisconsinLost 7–17 vs. Maryland-10Maryland
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 10vsWestern MichiganW 10–⁠059%
Sep 17at6Ohio StateL 7–⁠3822%
Sep 24vs18UCLAW 27–⁠1338%
Oct 1vsWashingtonW 19–⁠1763%
Oct 8atIowaL 6–⁠1857%
Oct 15vsNorthwesternW 13–⁠783%
Oct 22vs1MichiganW 16–⁠024%
Oct 29atIndianaL 22–⁠3462%
Nov 5vsMichigan StateL 10–⁠2958%
Nov 12atIllinoisW 21–⁠050%
Nov 19vsWisconsinW 13–⁠768%
Dec 22Bowls & playoffvsMarylandHall of Fame ClassicL 7–⁠1737%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Maryland 17–⁠7 in the Hall of Fame Classic; unranked in the final AP poll; 5th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 86th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 8: 19
Record
7–⁠5
Conference
4–⁠4 5th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked peak No. 19
Points
171–⁠180
Coach
Cal Stoll
Elo
1512 +28 this season
SP+ rating
5.4 No. 61 of 140; offense No. 111, defense No. 13
SRS
5.9 No. 49 of 145 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
Steve Midboe
Most valuable player
Steve Midboe

Drafted in 1978

The 1978 draft
Rd 2Mark Merrill LBNew York Jets
Rd 2Mike Hunt LBGreen Bay Packers
Rd 2Steve Stewart LBAtlanta Falcons

All-Big Ten

2 first team, 3 second team

First team

  • Steve MidboeFront five
  • Paul RogindKAP-1

Second team

  • Mark SlaterCUPI-2
  • Mark MerrillFront fiveAP-2
  • Bobby WeberDBAP-2

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

1977 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan7–⁠110–⁠29
Ohio State7–⁠19–⁠311
Michigan State6–⁠1–⁠17–⁠3–⁠1
Indiana4–⁠3–⁠15–⁠5–⁠1
Minnesota4–⁠47–⁠5
Purdue3–⁠55–⁠6
Iowa3–⁠54–⁠7
Wisconsin3–⁠65–⁠6
Illinois2–⁠63–⁠8
Northwestern1–⁠81–⁠10

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