1977 Air Force Falcons football team

The 1977 Air Force Falcons football team represented the United States Air Force Academy as an independent during the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. Led by Ben Martin in his 20th and final year as head coach, the Falcons compiled a record of 2–8–1 and were outscored by their opponents 296–114. Air Force played their home games at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

1977 Air Force Falcons football
Conference	Independent
Record	2–8–1
Head coach	Ben Martin (20th season)
Captain	Jack Kucera, Jim Weidmann
Home stadium	Falcon Stadium
Seasons ← 1976 1978 →

1977 NCAA Division I independents football records

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Notre Dame		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
No. 5 Penn State		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
Colgate		–		–				10	–	1	–	0
North Texas State *		–		–				10	–	1	–	0
No. 16 San Diego State		–		–				10	–	1	–	0
Tennessee State		–		–				8	–	1	–	1
No. 14 Florida State		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
No. 8 Pittsburgh		–		–				9	–	2	–	1
East Carolina		–		–				8	–	3	–	0
Rutgers		–		–				8	–	3	–	0
Army		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Louisville		–		–				7	–	4	–	1
Boston College		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Cincinnati		–		–				5	–	4	–	2
Georgia Tech		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Memphis State		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Northwestern State		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Syracuse		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
William & Mary		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Southern Miss		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Temple		–		–				5	–	5	–	1
Hawaii		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Navy		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
West Virginia		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
South Carolina		–		–				5	–	7	–	0
Utah State		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Villanova		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Illinois State		–		–				3	–	7	–	1
Virginia Tech		–		–				3	–	7	–	1
Miami (FL)		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Richmond		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Tulane		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Air Force		–		–				2	–	8	–	1
Holy Cross		–		–				2	–	8	–	0
Northeast Louisiana		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
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

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 10		at Wyoming	War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY	T 0–0	27,107	^[2]
September 17		at California	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	L 14–24
September 24		Pacific (CA)	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	W 15–13
October 1		at Georgia Tech	Grant Field Atlanta, GA	L 3–30	30,067
October 8		at Navy	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)	L 7–10
October 15		Arizona State	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	L 14–37	25,477
October 22		at Baylor	Baylor Stadium Waco, TX	L 7–38	30,350
October 29		Boston College	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	L 14–36	21,663	^[3]
November 5		Army	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)	L 6–31	34,338
November 12		Vanderbilt	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	W 34–28
November 19	11:30 a.m.	at No. 6 Notre Dame	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	L 0–49	59,075
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

^[4]

Personnel

1977 Air Force Falcons football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class   Paul Williams QB Dave Ziebart	Defense Pos. # Name Class	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K Terry Harris	Head coach Ben Martin (20th year) Coordinators/assistant coaches Jerry Davitch (WR) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible   Injured   Redshirt

After the season in January, wide receivers coach Jerry Davitch was hired as head coach at the University of Idaho.^[5][6]

References

1. https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/years/1977-standings.html
2. Chuck Harkins (September 11, 1977). "Pokes, Falcons in scoreless battle". Casper Star-Tribune. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "AFA Dives Once More". Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph. October 30, 1977. p. 2D – via Newspapers.com.
4. "1977 Air Force Falcons Schedule and Results". Sports-Reference. Retrieved November 22, 2017.
5. Emerson, Paul (January 11, 1978). "Davitch named UI coach". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. B1.
6. "Vandal cagers investigated". Spokesman Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 12, 1978. p. 25.