1977 San Diego State Aztecs football team

The 1977 San Diego State Aztecs football team represented San Diego State University during the 1977 NCAA Division I football season as an independent.

1977 San Diego State Aztecs football
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 19
APNo. 16
Record10–1
Head coach
Home stadiumSan Diego Stadium
Seasons
← 1976
1978 →
1977 NCAA Division I independents football records
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 1 Notre Dame   1110
No. 5 Penn State   1110
Colgate   1010
North Texas State *   1010
No. 16 San Diego State   1010
Tennessee State   811
No. 14 Florida State   1020
No. 8 Pittsburgh   921
East Carolina   830
Rutgers   830
Army   740
Louisville   741
Boston College   650
Cincinnati   542
Georgia Tech   650
Memphis State   650
Northwestern State   650
Syracuse   650
William & Mary   650
Southern Miss   650
Temple   551
Hawaii   560
Navy   560
West Virginia   560
South Carolina   570
Utah State   470
Villanova   470
Illinois State   371
Virginia Tech   371
Miami (FL)   380
Richmond   380
Tulane   380
Air Force   281
Holy Cross   280
Northeast Louisiana   290
  • North Texas State (originally 9–2) awarded a forfeit win after Mississippi State was found to be using an ineligible player.[1]
Rankings from AP Poll

The team was led by head coach Claude Gilbert, in his fifth year, and played home games at San Diego Stadium[note 1] in San Diego, California. They finished the season ranked #16 in the AP Poll and #18 in the UPI Poll, with a record of ten wins and one loss (10–1).

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 10Cal State FullertonW 34–1741,066[2]
September 17at ArizonaW 21–1442,135[3]
October 1Utah State
  • San Diego Stadium
  • San Diego
W 19–043,161[4]
October 8at Fresno StateL 14–3414,114[5][6]
October 15UTEP
  • San Diego Stadium
  • San Diego, CA
W 49–734,760[7]
October 22UNLV
  • San Diego Stadium
  • San Diego, CA
W 31–739,109[8]
October 29Tulsa
  • San Diego Stadium
  • San Diego, CA
W 41–728,306[9][10]
November 5at Pacific (CA)W 29–79,857[11]
November 12Long Beach State
  • San Diego Stadium
  • San Diego, CA
W 33–2237,213[12][13]
November 19No. 13 Florida State
  • San Diego Stadium
  • San Diego, CA
W 41–1650,453[14]
December 3at San Jose StateNo. 16W 37–3410,000[15]
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[16][17]

Team players in the NFL

The following were selected in the 1978 NFL Draft.[18]

PlayerPositionRoundOverallNFL team
Deacon TurnerRunning back245Cincinnati Bengals
Ron SmithWide receiver253Los Angeles Rams
Whip WaltonLinebacker375Minnesota Vikings
Mike DouglassLinebacker5116Green Bay Packers
Terry JacksonDefensive back5120New York Giants
Dennis PearsonWide receiver5125Atlanta Falcons

Team awards

AwardPlayer
Most Valuable Player
(John Simcox Memorial Trophy)
Deacon Turner
Outstanding Offensive & Defensive Linemen
(Byron H. Chase Memorial Trophy)
Scott Bradley, Off
Ed Imo, Def
Team captains
Dr. R. Hardy / C.E. Peterson Memorial Trophy
Joe Davis, Off
Whip Walton, Def
Most Inspirational PlayerTim Delaney,
Ed Imo

[17]

Notes

References