1977 Texas
11–1 (8–0 Southwest Conference), coached by Fred Akers, finished No. 4 in the AP poll. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest upsetBeat No. 2 Oklahoma 13–6Oct 8
Oklahoma was ranked No. 2, above it.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 10 | vs Boston College | W 44–0 | 61% |
| Sep 17 | vs Virginia | W 68–0 | 86% |
| Oct 1 | vs Rice | W 72–15 | 83% |
| Oct 8 | vs 2Oklahoma | W 13–6 | 37% |
| Oct 15 | at 8Arkansas | W 13–9 | 45% |
| Oct 22 | at SMU | W 30–14 | 66% |
| Oct 29 | vs 14Texas Tech | W 26–0 | 60% |
| Nov 5 | at Houston | W 35–21 | 59% |
| Nov 12 | vs TCU | W 44–14 | 93% |
| Nov 19 | vs Baylor | W 29–7 | 82% |
| Nov 26 | at 12Texas A&M | W 57–28 | 47% |
| Jan 2Bowls & playoff | vs 5Notre DameCotton Bowl | L 10–38 | 52% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Notre Dame 38–10 in the Cotton Bowl; No. 4 in the final AP poll; Southwest Conference champions.
In program history: The 22nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 126 on file).
AP poll, week by week
- Wk 2: 18
- Wk 3: 9
- Wk 4: 8
- Wk 5: 5
- Wk 6: 2
- Wk 7: 2
- Wk 8: 1
- Wk 9: 1
- Wk 10: 1
- Wk 11: 1
- Wk 12: 1
- Wk 13: 1
- Final: 4
Players on this team
Earl CampbellRunning back
Steve McMichaelDefensive tackle- Brad ShearerDefensive tackle
- Vance BedfordDefensive back
- Bill AckerDefensive tackle
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.
Southwest Conference champions8–0 in the conference
Led the nationEarl Campbell: rushing yards (1,744 yds), rushing touchdowns (18 TD), points (114 pts), points per game (10.4)
Heisman TrophyEarl Campbell, RB
Outland TrophyBrad Shearer, DT
2 consensus All-AmericansEarl Campbell, RB; Brad Shearer, DT
- Record
- 11–1
- Conference
- 8–0 first in Southwest Conference
- AP final
- No. 4 peak No. 1
- Points
- 441–152
- Coach
- Fred Akers
- Elo
- 1733 +178 this season
- SP+ rating
- 27.0 No. 5 of 140; offense No. 6, defense No. 26
- SRS
- 26.1 No. 4 of 145 major-college teams
- Recruiting class
- —
- Offensive coordinator
- Leon Manley
- Defensive coordinator
- Leon Fuller
- Captains
- Earl Campbell, Morgan Cope, George James and Brad Shearer
- Offense
- Veer, I formation
- Defense
- 4–3
Drafted in 1978
The 1978 draft| Rd 1 | Earl Campbell RB | Houston Oilers |
| Rd 3 | Brad Shearer DT | Chicago Bears |
| Rd 7 | Alfred Jackson WR | Atlanta Falcons |
All-Southwest Conference
6 first team, 7 second teamFirst team
- Earl CampbellRBUPI-1
Rick IngrahamOGUPI-1- Russell ErxlebenPUPI-1
- Tim CampbellDEUPI-1
- Brad ShearerDTUPI-1
- Johnnie JohnsonDBUPI-1
Second team
- Randy McEachernQBUPI-2
- Alfred JacksonWRUPI-2
- Jim YarbroughOGUPI-2
- Wes HubertCUPI-2
- Steve McMichaelDTUPI-2
- Lance TaylorLBUPI-2
- Ricky ChurchmanDBUPI-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 Southwest Conference standings
| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 8–0 | 11–1 | 4 |
| Arkansas | 7–1 | 11–1 | 3 |
| Texas A&M | 6–2 | 8–4 | |
| Texas Tech | 4–4 | 7–5 | |
| Houston | 4–4 | 6–5 | |
| Baylor | 3–5 | 5–6 | |
| SMU | 3–5 | 4–7 | |
| TCU | 1–7 | 2–9 | |
| Rice | 0–8 | 1–10 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.