1976 Navy Midshipmen football team

The 1976 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy (USNA) as an independent during the 1976 NCAA Division I football season. The team was led by fourth-year head coach George Welsh.^[2][3]

1976 Navy Midshipmen football
Conference	Independent
Record	4–7
Head coach	George Welsh (4th season)
Captain	Jeff Sapp, Kevin Sullivan
Home stadium	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
Seasons ← 1975 1977 →

1976 NCAA Division I independents football records
v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Pittsburgh			–					12	–	0	–	0
No. 17 Rutgers			–					11	–	0	–	0
San Diego State			–					10	–	1	–	0
No. 12 Notre Dame			–					9	–	3	–	0
Colgate			–					8	–	2	–	0
Boston College			–					8	–	3	–	0
Cincinnati			–					8	–	3	–	0
Memphis State			–					7	–	4	–	0
North Texas State *			–					7	–	4	–	0
Southern Illinois			–					7	–	4	–	0
Penn State			–					7	–	5	–	0
Villanova			–					6	–	4	–	1
South Carolina			–					6	–	5	–	0
Virginia Tech			–					6	–	5	–	0
Army			–					5	–	6	–	0
Florida State			–					5	–	6	–	0
Illinois State			–					5	–	6	–	0
Richmond			–					5	–	6	–	0
West Virginia			–					5	–	6	–	0
Georgia Tech			–					4	–	6	–	1
Temple			–					4	–	6	–	0
Air Force			–					4	–	7	–	0
Dayton			–					4	–	7	–	0
Louisville			–					4	–	7	–	0
Marshall			–					4	–	7	–	0
Navy			–					4	–	7	–	0
Indiana State			–					3	–	7	–	0
Hawaii			–					3	–	8	–	0
Holy Cross			–					3	–	8	–	0
Miami (FL)			–					3	–	8	–	0
Syracuse			–					3	–	8	–	0
Utah State			–					3	–	8	–	0
Northeast Louisiana			–					2	–	9	–	0
Southern Miss			–					2	–	9	–	0
Tulane			–					2	–	9	–	0
North Texas State (originally 6–5) was awarded a forfeit win after Mississippi State was found to be using an ineligible player.^[1] Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 11		Rutgers	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	L 3–13	17,501	^[4]
September 18		at Connecticut	Memorial Stadium Storrs, CT	W 21–3	15,906	^[5]
September 25		at No. 1 Michigan	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	L 14–70	101,040
October 2		No. 15 Boston College	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	L 13–17	16,156
October 9		at Air Force	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)	L 3–13
October 16		William & Mary	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	L 13–21
October 23		No. 2 Pittsburgh	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	L 0–45	26,346
October 30	1:30 p.m.	vs. No. 11 Notre Dame	Municipal Stadium Cleveland, OH (rivalry)	L 21–27
November 6		at Syracuse	Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY	W 27–10	22,333
November 13		Georgia Tech	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	W 34–28	20,010
November 27		vs. Army	JFK Stadium Philadelphia, PA (Army–Navy Game)	W 38–10
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Personnel

1976 Navy Midshipmen football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class FB Steve Chafin OL Jim Chamberlain OL Gene Cioni OL Ray Fritsch RB Joe Gattuso OL Cary Hithon WB Dave King Fr RB Larry Klawinski QB John Kurowski QB 15 Bob Leszczynski So WR Phil McConkey RB Leon Miller OL Kevin Ryan WR Steve Scott TE Kevin Sullivan RB Reggie Thompson	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB Otto Bulich DB Greg Byrd DL Pete Caulk LB Bob DeStafney DB Mike Galpin DL Kelvin Graham DL Jeff Hoobler   Gregg Milo MG Jeff Sapp DB Larry Simpson DL John Snyder DB John Sturges	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P Art Ohanian K Bob Tata So	Head coach George Welsh Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible   Injured   Redshirt

Season summary

vs. Notre Dame

Navy Midshipmen (1–6) vs. #11 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5–1)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Notre Dame	3	21	0	3	27
Navy	0	14	0	7	21

at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

• Date: October 30
• Game attendance: 61,172
• Recap/Box Score

Game information

First quarter ND – Dave Reeve 47-yard field goal. Notre Dame 3–0. Drive: Second quarter NAVY – Dave King 17-yard pass from Bob Leszcyznski (Bob Tata kick). Navy 7–3. Drive: NAVY – Larry Klawinski 1-yard run (Bob Tata kick). Navy 14–3. Drive: ND – Dan Kelleher 58-yard pass from Rick Slager (Dave Reeve kick). Navy 14–10. Drive: ND – Al Hunter 5-yard run (Dave Reeve kick). Notre Dame 17–14. Drive: 60 yards. ND – Al Hunter 28-yard pass from Rick Slager (Dave Reeve kick). Notre Dame 24–14. Drive: Third quarter No scoring Fourth quarter NAVY – Reggie Thompson 1-yard run (Bob Tata kick). Notre Dame 24–21. Drive: ND – Dave Reeve 24-yard field goal. Notre Dame 27–21. Drive: Top passers ND NAVY – Bob Leszcyznski – 21/45, 294 yards, TD, INT Top rushers ND NAVY Top receivers ND – Dan Kelleher – 7 receptions, 162 yards, TD NAVY

at Syracuse

Georgia Tech

vs. Army

Army Cadets (5–5) vs. Navy Midshipmen (3–7)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Army	0	10	0	0	10
Navy	7	7	17	7	38

at JFK Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• Date: November 27
• Game weather: Cloudy
• Game attendance: 77,612
• ^[6]

Game information

First quarter NAVY – Joe Gattuso 2-yard run (Bob Tata kick), 0:15. Navy 7–0. Drive: 51 yards. Second quarter ARMY – Greg King 11-yard run (Mike Castelli kick). Tie 7–7. Drive: NAVY – Phil McConkey 11-yard pass from Bob Leszczynski (Bob Tata kick). Navy 14–7. Drive: 57 yards. ARMY – Mike Castelli 37-yard field goal. Navy 14–10. Drive: Third quarter NAVY – Joe Gattuso 20-yard run (Bob Tata kick). Navy 21–10. Drive: 75 yards. NAVY – Joe Gattuso 1-yard run (Bob Tata kick). Navy 28–10. Drive: 65 yards. NAVY – Bob Tata 33-yard field goal. Navy 31–10. Drive: Fourth quarter NAVY – Dave King 16-yard pass from Bob Leszczynski (Bob Tata kick). Navy 38–10. Drive: 30 yards. Top passers ARMY – Leamon Hall – 13/31, 3 INT NAVY – Bob Leszczynski – 2 TD Top rushers ARMY NAVY – Joe Gattuso – 29 rushes, 128 yards, 3 TD Top receivers ARMY NAVY

References

1. https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/years/1976-standings.html
2. (PDF). United States Naval Academy. p. 194. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
3. . College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on July 15, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
4. Jackson, James H. (September 12, 1976). "Middies Drop Opener, 13-3, to Rutgers". The Sunday Sun. Baltimore, Md. p. B1 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Final 1976 Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
6. https://www.nytimes.com/1976/11/28/archives/navy-trounces-army-4th-year-in-row-3810-navy-trounces-army-4th-year.html "Navy Trounces Army 4th Year in Row, 38-10." New York Times. 1976 Nov 28. Retrieved 2021-Jan-12.