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The 1977 Abilene Christian Wildcats football team was an American football team that represented Abilene Christian University (ACU) as a member of the Lone Star Conference (LSC) during the 1977 NAIA Division I football season. In their first season under head coach DeWitt Jones, the Wildcats compiled an 11–1–1 record (5–1–1 against conference opponents) and tied for the LSC championship. They advanced to the NAIA playoff, defeating Wisconsin–Stevens Point (35–7) in the seminfinals and Southwestern Oklahoma State (24–7) in the Champion Bowl to win the 1977 NAIA Division I football national championship.[1][2]
| 1977 Abilene Christian Wildcats football | |
|---|---|
NAIA Division I national champion LSC co-champion | |
Champion Bowl, W 24–7 vs. Southwestern Oklahoma State | |
| Conference | Lone Star Conference |
| Record | 11–1–1 (5–1–1 LSC) |
| Head coach |
|
| MVP | Ray Nunez, Kelly Kent |
| Captains |
|
| Home stadium | Shotwell Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 2 Abilene Christian +^ | 5 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 11 | – | 1 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 3 Texas A&I + | 5 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 8 | – | 1 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 11 Angelo State | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 15 Southwest Texas State | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 13 East Texas State | 4 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stephen F. Austin | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sam Houston State | 1 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 1 | – | 10 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Howard Payne | 0 | – | 7 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Wide receiver Cleotha Montgomery and tight end Kirby Jones received first-team honors on the 1977 All-Lone Star Conference football team. Quarterback John Mayes and four defensive players were chosen for the second team.[3] Other key players included Kelly Kent who rushed for over 1,000 yards.
The team played its home games at Shotwell Stadium in Abilene, Texas.
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 3 | Northwestern Oklahoma State* | W 34–14 | 7,000 | [4] | |||
| September 10 | at Northern Colorado* | Greeley, CO | W 24–3 | [5] | |||
| September 17 | Western New Mexico* |
| W 46–13 | 7,000 | [6] | ||
| September 24 | Cameron* |
| W 21–14 | [7] | |||
| October 8 | at Texas A&I | T 25–25 | |||||
| October 15 | Angelo State |
| L 14–21 | ||||
| October 22 | at East Texas State | Commerce, TX | W 28–13 | ||||
| October 29 | Stephen F. Austin |
| W 35–21 | 7,500 | |||
| November 5 | at Sam Houston State |
| W 41–18 | [8] | |||
| November 12 | Southwest Texas State |
| W 36–30 | 7,000 | [9] | ||
| November 19 | at Howard Payne | Brownwood, TX | W 42–24 | [10] | |||
| December 3 | Wisconsin–Stevens Point* |
| W 35–7 | 8,500 | [1] | ||
| December 10 | vs. Southwestern Oklahoma State* | W 24–7 | 12,940 | [2] | |||
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