1977 Ole Miss Rebels football team

The 1977 Ole Miss Rebels football team represented the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) in the 1977 NCAA Division I football season as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The team was led by head coach Ken Cooper, in his fourth year, and played their home games at Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, the Mississippi Memorial Stadium in Jackson, Mississippi and Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. They finished the season with a record of five wins and six losses (5–6 overall, 2–5 in the SEC). In 1978 their record was updated to six wins and five losses (6–5 overall, 3–4 in the SEC) after Mississippi State was forced by the NCAA to forfeit their win over the Rebels for playing an ineligible player.^[1]

1977 Ole Miss Rebels football
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Record	5–6 (2–5 SEC)
Head coach	Ken Cooper (4th season)
Home stadium	Hemingway Stadium (35,000) Mississippi Memorial Stadium (46,000)
Seasons ← 1976 1978 →

1977 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 2 Alabama $	7	–	0	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
No. 6 Kentucky	6	–	0	–	0			10	–	1	–	0
Auburn	5	–	1	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
LSU	4	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Florida	3	–	3	–	0			6	–	4	–	1
Georgia	2	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Mississippi State	2	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Ole Miss	2	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Tennessee	1	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Vanderbilt	0	–	6	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion Kentucky ineligible for SEC championship due to NCAA probation. Mississippi State later forfeited all 1977 wins due to NCAA violations. Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 3	Memphis State*	Mississippi Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS (rivalry)		W 7–3	45,500
September 10	at No. 6 Alabama	Legion Field Birmingham, AL (rivalry)		L 13–34	74,324
September 17	No. 3 Notre Dame*	Mississippi Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS		W 20–13	48,200
September 24	Southern Miss*	Hemingway Stadium Oxford, MS		L 19–27	20,000	^[2]
October 1	at Auburn	Jordan–Hare Stadium Auburn, AL (rivalry)	ABC	L 15–21	48,000
October 8	at Georgia	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA		L 13–14	56,200
October 15	South Carolina*	Hemingway Stadium Oxford, MS		W 17–10	20,000
October 22	Vanderbilt	Hemingway Stadium Oxford, MS (rivalry)		W 26–14	32,300
October 29	LSU	Mississippi Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS (rivalry)	ABC	L 21–28	46,000
November 12	vs. Tennessee	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN		W 43–14	50,259	^[3]
November 19	vs. Mississippi State	Mississippi Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS (Egg Bowl)		L 14–18	46,500
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Mississippi State later forfeited its win over Ole Miss due to NCAA infractions.

Personnel

1977 Ole Miss Rebels football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB David Coates WR Roy Coleman OL Chuck Commiskey TE Bill Denny QB Tim Ellis Sr WR Willie Foster QB Bobby Garner RB Roger Gordon OL Jimmy Hawkins WR Les Kimbrough QB Jim Lear RB Leon Perry RB Jarratt Price RB Tyrone Richards RB L.Q. Smith FB James Storey OL Mickey Thames OL Terrance Walker TE Curtis Weathers OL Randy White RB Freddie Lee Williams	Defense Pos. # Name Class DL Charlie Cage LB Eddie Cole LB Kem Coleman DB William Day DB Al Dotson DB John Fabris DL Bob Grefseng DL Lawrence Johnson DB Gary Jones   Brian Moreland DL Bryan Niebhur DL George Plasketes	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K Carl Langley K Robin Lavinghouze P Jim Miller	Head coach Ken Cooper Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible   Injured   Redshirt

Game summaries

Notre Dame

See also: 1977 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (1–0) at Ole Miss Rebels

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Notre Dame	0	7	0	6	13
Ole Miss	3	7	0	10	20

at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium, Jackson, Mississippi

• Date: September 17, 1977
• Game weather: Sunny, 90 °F (32 °C)
• Game attendance: 48,200
• Recap

Game information

First quarter MISS – Carl Langley 29-yard field goal. Ole Miss 3–0. Drive: 64 yards. Second quarter ND – Jerome Heavens 2-yard run (Dave Reeve kick). Notre Dame 7–3. Drive: 8 plays. MISS – James Storey 10-yard pass from Bobby Garner (Carl Langley kick). Ole Miss 10–7. Drive: 6 plays, 75 yards. Fourth quarter ND – Dave Reeve 44-yard field goal. Tie 10–10. Drive: 5 plays ND – Dave Reeve 28-yard field goal, 4:53. Notre Dame 13–10. Drive: MISS – James Storey 10-yard pass from Tim Ellis (Carl Langley kick), 3:13. Ole Miss 17–13. Drive: 5 plays, 80 yards. MISS – Carl Langley 27-yard field goal, 1:44. Ole Miss 20–13. Drive: Top passers ND – Rusty Lisch – 11/25, 127 yards, 2 INT Top rushers ND – Jerome Heavens – 16 rushes, 70 yards, TD Top receivers ND – Ken MacAfee – 6 receptions, 69 yards

Ole Miss gave eventual national champion Notre Dame its only loss of the season.

References

1. "Bulldogs forced to forfeit 19 football games". The Tuscaloosa News. Associated Press. May 24, 1978. p. 19. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
2. "Golden Eagles blow down Ole Miss". The Clarion-Ledger. September 25, 1977. Retrieved March 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Reb blitzkreig humbles Vols". The Montgomery Advertiser. November 13, 1977. Retrieved May 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.