1977 Tennessee State Tigers football team

The 1977 Tennessee State Tigers football team represented Tennessee State University as an independent during the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. In their 15th year under head coach John Merritt, the team compiled an overall record of 8–1–1.

1977 Tennessee State Tigers football
Conference	Independent
Record	8–1–1
Head coach	John Merritt (15th season)
Home stadium	Hale 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	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 3	vs. Middle Tennessee	Dudley Field Nashville, TN	W 27–0	17,500	^[2]
September 10	at Jackson State	Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS	W 17–7		^[3]
September 17	at Alabama A&M	Milton Frank Stadium Huntsville, AL	W 23–10		^[4]
September 24	Texas Southern	Hale Stadium Nashville, TN	W 23–7		^[5]
October 1	Central State (OH)	Hale Stadium Nashville, TN	W 1–0		^[6]
October 8	Grambling State	Hale Stadium Nashville, TN	W 26–8		^[7]
October 22	Florida A&M	Dudley Field Nashville, TN	L 28–31	32,900–33,402	^[8]^[9]
October 29	at Southern	BREC Memorial Stadium Baton Rouge, LA	W 15–7		^[10]^[11]
November 5	Tennessee–Martin	Hale Stadium Nashville, TN	W 55–7	14,500	^[12]
November 12	at Chattanooga	Chamberlain Field Chattanooga, TN	T 14–14		^[13]
Homecoming

References

1. https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/years/1977-standings.html
2. "Tennessee State rolls by MTSU". The Tennessean. September 4, 1977. Retrieved February 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "TSU romps to 17–7 win". The Tennessean. September 11, 1977. Retrieved February 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "TSU runs record to 3–0, smacks Alabama A&M". The Tennessean. September 18, 1977. Retrieved February 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "TSU rolls to 4th straight win". The Tennessean. September 24, 1977. Retrieved February 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "CSU, down by 17, walks off, forfeits". Dayton Daily News. October 2, 1977. Retrieved February 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "G-Men fall to TSU". The Shreveport Times. October 9, 1977. Retrieved February 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Rattlers dump Tennessee State". The St. Petersburg Times. October 23, 1977. Retrieved February 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Final 1977 Cumulative Football Statistics Report (Florida A&M)". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved June 18, 2023.
10. "SU's Bates seeks repeat of 1976 grid record". The Louisiana Weekly. June 18, 1977. Retrieved February 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Tennessee State ruins Ken Tillage's debut". The Alexandria Daily Town Talk. October 30, 1977. Retrieved February 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Rain is ally for big TSU in easy win". The Commercial Appeal. November 6, 1977. Retrieved February 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Late surge by TSU nets tie with UT–Chattanooga". The Tennessean. November 13, 1977. Retrieved February 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.