1977 Utah Utes football team

The 1977 Utah Utes football team was an American football team that represented the University of Utah as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. In their first season under head coach Wayne Howard, the Utes compiled an overall record of 3–8 with a mark of 2–5 against conference opponents, placing fourth in the WAC. Home games were played on campus at Robert Rice Stadium in Salt Lake City.

1977 Utah Utes football
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Record	3–8 (2–5 WAC)
Head coach	Wayne Howard (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Ron McBride^[1] (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Tom Gadd^[1] (1st season)
Home stadium	Robert Rice Stadium
Seasons ← 1976 1978 →

1977 Western Athletic Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 20 BYU +	6	–	1	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
No. 18 Arizona State +	6	–	1	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Colorado State	5	–	2	–	0			9	–	2	–	1
Wyoming	4	–	3	–	0			4	–	6	–	1
Arizona	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	7	–	0
New Mexico	2	–	5	–	0			5	–	7	–	0
Utah	2	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
UTEP	0	–	7	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 17	1:30 pm	at No. 5 Oklahoma*	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK	L 24–62	71,184
September 24	7:30 pm	No. 19 Houston*	Robert Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, UT	L 16–34	26,232
October 1	1:30 pm	at Colorado State	Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, CO	L 3–44	23,401
October 8	7:30 pm	Wyoming	Robert Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, UT	W 23–13	26,428	^[2]
October 15	1:30 pm	Utah State*	Robert Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, UT (rivalry)	W 20–0	25,438
October 22	8:30 pm	at Arizona	Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ	L 17–45	43,500
October 29	1:30 pm	at Arizona State	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ	L 19–47	16,528
November 5	1:30 pm	at No. 14 BYU	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT (rivalry)	L 8–38	33,828
November 12	1:30 pm	UTEP	Robert Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, UT	W 29–12	18,122
November 19	12:00 pm	at Florida*	Florida Field Gainesville, FL	L 29–38	56,055	^[3]
November 26	7:30 pm	at New Mexico	University Stadium Albuquerque, NM	L 24–41	8,296
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

^[4][5]

Roster

1977 Utah Utes football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 43 Jack Steptoe Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P 19 Rick Partridge Jr	Head coach Wayne Howard Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible   Injured   Redshirt

Game summaries

Utah State

1 2 3 4 Total Utah State 0 0 0 0 0 • Utah 0 3 9 8 20 Date: October 15 Location: Robert Rice Stadium, Salt Lake City Game attendance: 25,438

Scoring summary 2 UTAH McNamara 29-yard field goal UTAH 3-0 3 UTAH Kurz 8-yard pass from Gomez (kick failed) UTAH 9-0 3 UTAH McNamara 50-yard field goal UTAH 12-0 4 UTAH Peake 4-yard run (Gomez run) UTAH 20-0

Utah recorded its first shutout in seven years.^[6]

References

1. "1977 Utah Football Media Guide: Coaching Staff". University of Utah Athletic Department. Archived from the original on December 12, 2012. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
2. John Mooney (October 9, 1977). "Utes Stun Wyoming". The Salt Lake Tribune. p. D1 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Gutsy Utes scare Gators in 38–29 defeat". The Salt Lake Tribune. November 20, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "1978 Media Guide". University of Utah Athletic Department. Archived from the original on December 12, 2012. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
5. (PDF). University of Utah. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 13, 2011. Retrieved October 21, 2009.
6. Eugene Register-Guard. October 15, 1977.