CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1977 Texas Tech

7–⁠5 (4–⁠4 Southwest Conference), coached by Steve Sloan.

Schedule and results

Texas Tech in 1977, game by game: won at Baylor 17–7; won vs. New Mexico 49–14; lost vs. No. 6 Texas A&M 17–33; won at North Carolina 10–7; won at Arizona 32–26; won vs. Rice 42–7; lost at No. 1 Texas 0–26; won vs. TCU 49–17; won at SMU 45–7; lost at Houston 7–45; lost vs. No. 6 Arkansas 14–17; lost vs. No. 19 Florida State 17–40+38−38Won 17–7 at Baylor+10BaylorWon 49–14 vs. New Mexico+35New MexicoLost 17–33 vs. No. 6 Texas A&M-16No. 6 Texas A&MWon 10–7 at North Carolina+3North CarolinaWon 32–26 at Arizona+6ArizonaWon 42–7 vs. Rice+35RiceLost 0–26 at No. 1 Texas-26No. 1 TexasWon 49–17 vs. TCU+32TCUWon 45–7 at SMU+38SMULost 7–45 at Houston-38HoustonLost 14–17 vs. No. 6 Arkansas-3No. 6 ArkansasLost 17–40 vs. No. 19 Florida State-23No. 19 Florida State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 10atBaylorW 17–⁠753%
Sep 17vsNew MexicoW 49–⁠1477%
Sep 24vs6Texas A&ML 17–⁠3352%
Oct 1atNorth CarolinaW 10–⁠754%
Oct 8atArizonaW 32–⁠2661%
Oct 15vsRiceW 42–⁠790%
Oct 29at1TexasL 0–⁠2640%
Nov 5vsTCUW 49–⁠1789%
Nov 12atSMUW 45–⁠766%
Nov 19atHoustonL 7–⁠4558%
Nov 24vs6ArkansasL 14–⁠1747%
Dec 23Bowls & playoffvs19Florida StateTangerine BowlL 17–⁠4044%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Florida State 40–⁠17 in the Tangerine Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Southwest Conference.

In program history: The tied 31st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 101 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 8
  2. Wk 2: 8
  3. Wk 3: 7
  4. Wk 4: 13
  5. Wk 5: 17
  6. Wk 6: 15
  7. Wk 7: 13
  8. Wk 8: 14
  9. Wk 10: 18
  10. Wk 11: 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 1977.

Consensus All-AmericanDan Irons, OT

Record
7–⁠5
Conference
4–⁠4 tied for 4th in Southwest Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 7
Points
299–⁠246
Coach
Steve Sloan
Elo
1577 −38 this season
SP+ rating
10.8 No. 38 of 140; offense No. 29, defense No. 55
SRS
10.3 No. 33 of 145 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Rex Dockery
Defensive coordinator
Bill Parcells
Offense
Option
Defense
3–⁠4

Drafted in 1978

The 1978 draft
Rd 4Billy Taylor RBNew York Giants
Rd 5Eric Felton DBNew Orleans Saints
Rd 5Jim Krahl DTNew York Giants

All-Southwest Conference

3 first team, 1 second team

First team

  • Dan IronsOTUPI-1
  • Richard ArledgeDEUPI-1
  • Mike MockLBUPI-1

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.