1977 North Texas State Mean Green football team

The 1977 North Texas State Mean Green football team represented North Texas State University—now known as the University of North Texas—during the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. In its fifth season under head coach Hayden Fry, the team compiled a 10–1 record. The team played its home games at Fouts Field in Denton, Texas.

1977 North Texas State Mean Green football
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 16
Record	10–1
Head coach	Hayden Fry (5th season)
Home stadium	Fouts Field (c. 20,000)
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	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 3	at No. 16 Mississippi State	Scott Field Starkville, MS	W 15–17 (forfeit)
September 10	at UTEP	Sun Bowl El Paso, TX	W 41–10
September 17	vs. SMU	Texas Stadium Irving, TX (Safeway Bowl)	W 24–13
September 24	West Texas State	Fouts Field Denton, TX	W 31–20	16,500	^[2]
October 1	at Richmond	City Stadium Richmond, VA	W 47–14	11,000	^[3]
October 8	at Southern Miss	M. M. Roberts Stadium Hattiesburg, MS	W 27–14	22,432	^[4]
October 15	vs. Texas–Arlington	Texas Stadium Irving, TX	W 15–6	17,300	^[5]
October 22	at Memphis State	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN	W 20–19
October 29	at No. 20 Florida State	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	L 14–35	40,597
November 5	New Mexico State	Fouts Field Denton, TX	W 45–17
November 19	at Louisiana Tech	Joe Aillet Stadium Ruston, LA	W 41–14	15,300	^[6]
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[7][8]

Roster

1977 North Texas Mean Green football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB   Bernard Jackson So RB   Mike Jones Sr WR   Tim Loftin Sr QB   Ken Washington Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DL 65 Walter Chapman Sr DB 44 J. T. Smith Sr LB   Burks Washington Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 3 Iseed Khoury Sr	Head coach Hayden Fry Coordinators/assistant coaches Bill Brashier Bill Snyder Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible   Injured   Redshirt

Rankings

Main article: 1977 NCAA Division I football rankings

Game summaries

Mississippi State

See also: 1977 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team

SMU

SMU vs. North Texas State

1 2 3 4 Total Mustangs 0 0 7 6 13 • Mean Green 3 7 7 7 24 Date: September 16 Location: Texas Stadium, Irving, Texas

Scoring summary 1 UNT Iseed Khoury 30-yard field goal UNT 3–0 2 6:37 UNT Tim Loftin 20-yard pass from Ken Washington (Khoury kick) UNT 10–0 3 6:33 UNT Ken Washington 4-yard run (Khoury kick) UNT 17–0 3 2:52 SMU 1-yard run (kick) UNT 17–7 4 5:43 UNT Mike Jones 15-yard run (Khoury kick) UNT 24–7 4 3:23 SMU TD (conversion failed) UNT 24–13

See also: 1977 SMU Mustangs football team and Safeway Bowl

In the first meeting between the two teams at Texas Stadium, the Mean Green ended a 44-year drought against the Mustangs. Coach Hayden Fry earned a victory over the program that had controversially dismissed him in 1972.^[9]

Florida State

North Texas State at Florida State

1 2 3 4 Total Mean Green 0 7 7 0 14 • No. 20 Seminoles 7 14 7 7 35 Date: October 29 Location: Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, Florida Game attendance: 40,597

Scoring summary 1 7:38 FSU Wally Woodham 1-yard run (Dave Cappelen kick) FSU 7–0 2 6:52 UNT Mike Jones 1-yard run (Khoury kick) Tied 7–7 2 3:08 FSU Ivory Joe Hunter 19-yard blocked punt return (Cappelen kick) FSU 14–7 2 2:24 FSU Willie Jones fumble recovery in end zone (Cappelen kick) FSU 21–7 3 6:47 FSU Wally Woodham 1-yard run (Dave Cappelen kick) FSU 28–7 3 2:24 UNT Ken Washington 4-yard run (Khoury kick) FSU 28–14 4 1:57 FSU Larry Key 1-yard run (Cappelen kick) FSU 35–14

See also: 1977 Florida State Seminoles football team

References

1. https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/years/1977-standings.html
2. "Mean Green overcomes West Texas State 31–20". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. September 25, 1977. Retrieved May 3, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "NT routs Richmond 47–14". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. September 25, 1977. Retrieved October 28, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Washington leads NT to victory". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. October 9, 1977. Retrieved March 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Eagles stave off Mavericks 15–6". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. October 16, 1977. p. 1B. Retrieved March 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "N. Texas ends Techskein". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. November 20, 1977. Retrieved June 30, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "1977 North Texas Mean Green Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
8. "2018 North Texas Football Fact Book" (PDF). University of North Texas Athletic Department. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
9. "A Look Back At NT Football History: North Texas vs. SMU, 1977". University of North Texas Athletic Department. November 4, 2014. Retrieved August 18, 2019.