1977 Virginia Tech Gobblers football team

The 1977 Virginia Tech Gobblers football team was an American football team that represented Virginia Tech as an independent during the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. In their fourth year under head coach Jimmy Sharpe, the Gobblers compiled an overall record of 3–7–1.^[2]

1977 Virginia Tech Gobblers football
Conference	Independent
Record	3–7–1
Head coach	Jimmy Sharpe (4th season)
Home stadium	Lane 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 17	No. 7 Texas A&M	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	L 6–37	33,500	^[3]
September 24	at Memphis State	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN	L 20–21	20,463	^[4]
October 1	Clemson	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	L 13–31	34,000	^[5]
October 8	vs. William & Mary	City Stadium Richmond, VA (Tobacco Bowl)	W 17–8	18,698	^[6]
October 15	Virginia	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)	T 14–14	40,000	^[7]
October 22	at Richmond	City Stadium Richmond, VA	L 14–17	19,500	^[8]
October 29	at No. 7 Kentucky	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY	L 0–32	57,914	^[9]
November 5	No. 15 Florida State	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	L 21–23	36,500	^[10]
November 12	at West Virginia	Mountineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)	L 14–20	29,041	^[11]
November 19	Wake Forest	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	W 28–10	20,000	^[12]
November 26	VMI	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)	W 27–7	10,000	^[13]
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

The following players were members of the 1977 football team.

1977 Virginia Tech Hokies football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 41 Dale Babione Sr OT 69 Greg Birtsch Jr RB 2 Roscoe Coles Sr FB 47 Glen Comer Sr WR John Drinkard RB Larry Fallen Jr TE 88 Mickey Fitzgerald So	Defense Pos. # Name Class DL Chris Albrittain Fr LB Jeff Bailey Fr DB Gippy Belcher Jr DB 15 Henry Bradley Sr DB 45 Gene Bunn Jr LB Chris Cosh Fr DE David DeHart Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K Paul Engle Jr	Head coach Jimmy Sharpe Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible   Injured   Redshirt

References

1. https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/years/1977-standings.html
2. "1977 Virginia Tech Hokies". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
3. "Aggies march over Virginia Tech". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. September 18, 1977. Retrieved December 14, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Tigers rally to edge Gobblers". The Tennessean. September 25, 1977. Retrieved December 14, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Clemson clobbers VPI for 3rd straight victory". The Charlotte Observer. October 2, 1977. Retrieved December 14, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Virginia Tech wins 17–8". Daily Press. October 9, 1977. Retrieved December 14, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Gobblers rally to tie UVA 14–14". Daily Press. October 16, 1977. Retrieved December 14, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Richmond downs VPI". The Danville Register. October 23, 1977. Retrieved December 14, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Mistakes don't matter as UK smothers VPI". The Courier-Journal. October 30, 1977. Retrieved December 14, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Florida State escapes Virginia Tech 23–21". The Decatur Daily Review. November 6, 1977. Retrieved December 14, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Alexander's great again, 20–14". Sunday Gazette-Mail. November 13, 1977. Retrieved December 14, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "WF falls to Tech, ends season at 1–10". The News and Observer. November 20, 1977. Retrieved December 14, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Virginia Tech clobbers VMI behind Fitzgerald". Hattiesburg American. November 27, 1977. Retrieved December 14, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.