1977 Lehigh Engineers football team

The 1977 Lehigh Engineers football team represented Lehigh University during the 1977 NCAA Division II football season, and completed the 94th season of Engineers football. The Engineers played their home games at Taylor Stadium in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The 1977 team came off a 6–5 record from the previous season.^[1] The team was led by coach John Whitehead. The team finished the regular season with a 9–2 record and made the NCAA Division II playoffs. The Engineers defeated the Jacksonville State Gamecocks 33–0 in the National Championship Game en route to the program's first NCAA Division II Football Championship.^[2]

1977 Lehigh Engineers football
NCAA Division II champion Lambert Cup
NCAA Division II Championship Game—Pioneer Bowl, W 33–0 vs. Jacksonville State
Conference	Independent
Record	12–2
Head coach	John Whitehead (2nd season)
Home stadium	Taylor Stadium
Seasons ← 1976 1978 →

1977 NCAA Division II independents football records

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 8 Lehigh ^			–					12	–	2	–	0
UNLV			–					9	–	2	–	0
Kentucky State			–					8	–	2	–	1
No. T–5 Nevada			–					8	–	3	–	0
Central Connecticut			–					7	–	3	–	0
Northern Michigan ^			–					7	–	3	–	0
Youngstown State			–					7	–	3	–	0
Portland State			–					7	–	4	–	0
Delaware			–					6	–	3	–	1
Akron			–					6	–	4	–	1
American International			–					5	–	4	–	1
West Chester			–					5	–	5	–	0
Central State (OH)			–					5	–	6	–	0
Arkansas–Pine Bluff			–					4	–	5	–	1
Bucknell			–					4	–	5	–	0
Cal State Los Angeles			–					4	–	5	–	0
Southern Connecticut State			–					4	–	6	–	0
Northeastern			–					3	–	6	–	1
Northern Colorado			–					3	–	7	–	0
Santa Clara			–					2	–	7	–	1
Eastern Illinois			–					1	–	10	–	0
^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from Associated Press poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 10	Connecticut		Taylor Stadium Bethlehem, PA	W 49–0	9,500	[3]
September 17	at Baldwin–Wallace		George Finnie Stadium Berea, OH	L 21–14	5,184	[4]
September 24	Penn		Taylor Stadium Bethlehem, PA	W 19–7	6,000–10,000	[5]
October 1	at Davidson		Richardson Stadium Davidson, NC	W 43–7	4,600	[6]
October 8	at Rhode Island		Meade Stadium Kingston, RI	W 42–16	4,115	[7]
October 15	at Rutgers		Rutgers Stadium Piscataway, NJ	L 0–20	21,000	[8]
October 22	VMI		Taylor Stadium Bethlehem, PA	W 30–20	13,000	[9]
October 29	Bucknell		Taylor Stadium Bethlehem, PA	W 47–13	11,000–11,500	[10]
November 5	at Gettysburg		Musselman Stadium Gettysburg, PA	W 47–0	3,460	[11]
November 12	C.W. Post	No. T–10	Taylor Stadium Bethlehem, PA	W 36–10	9,500	[12]
November 19	Lafayette	No. 8	Taylor Stadium Bethlehem, PA (The Rivalry)	W 35–17	18,000	[13]
November 26	at No. 2 UMass	No. 8	Alumni Stadium Hadley, MA (NCAA Division II Quarterfinal)	W 30–23	5,700	[14]
December 3	at No. 3 UC Davis	No. 8	Toomey Field Davis, CA (NCAA Division II Semifinal—Knute Rockne Bowl)	W 39–30	10,500	[15]
December 10	vs. No. 9 Jacksonville State	No. 8	Memorial Stadium Wichita Falls, TX (NCAA Division II Championship Game—Pioneer Bowl)	W 33–0	14,114	[16]
Rankings from Associated Press Poll released prior to the game

^[17][18]

References

1. "Lehigh Mountain Hawks -- College Football (NCAA)". Retrieved October 8, 2016.
2. DeLassus, David (2016). "Lehigh Yearly Results". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on July 23, 2016. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
3. Anderson, Woody (September 11, 1977). "Lehigh Routs UConn, Spoils Nadzak Debut". The Hartford Courant. Hartford, Conn. p. 1C – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Lehigh Dealt Defeat". Sunday Call-Chronicle. Allentown, Pa. September 18, 1977. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Lehigh Defeats Penn on Passes". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pa. September 25, 1977. p. 9E – via Newspapers.com.
6. Wolf, Mark (October 2, 1977). "Lehigh Explodes for 43-7 Victory over Davidson". The Charlotte Observer. Charlotte, N.C. p. 4B – via Newspapers.com. Attendance figure in "Lehigh 43, Davidson 7". St. Petersburg Times. St. Petersburg, Fla. October 2, 1977. p. 4C.
7. Smith, Amby (October 9, 1977). "Lehigh Strikes Early to Crush URI, 42-16". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 80 – via Newspapers.com.
8. O'Brien, Ken (October 16, 1977). "Rutgers Blitzes Past Lehigh, 20-0". The Home News Sunday. New Brunswick, N.J. p. B1 – via Newspapers.com.
9. Larimer, Terry (October 23, 1977). "Lehigh Turns Tables on VMI". Sunday Call-Chronicle. Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com. Attendance figure in "Lehigh Sinks VMI 30-20, Reiker Passes for 229 Yards, Two TDs". Daily Press. Newport News, Va. October 23, 1977. p. D1.
10. Ranck, Jeff (October 31, 1977). "Engineers Swamp Bisons". The Daily Item. Sunbury, Pa. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Engineers Demolish Bullets in Easy Romp". The Gettysburg Times. Gettysburg, Pa. November 7, 1977. p. 4 – via Newspapers.com.
12. Larimer, Terry (November 13, 1977). "Defense Stands Out as Lehigh Routs C.W. Post 36-10". Sunday Call-Chronicle. Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
13. Lewis, Allen (November 20, 1977). "A Bowl for Lehigh? Rieker's Passes Bomb Lafayette". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pa. p. 11D – via Newspapers.com.
14. Concannon, Joe (November 27, 1977). "Lehigh Flies High – UMass Shot Down, 30-23". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 64 – via Newspapers.com.
15. Ratto, Ray (December 4, 1977). "End of Road for Aggies". San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, Calif. p. 1C – via Newspapers.com.
16. Thompson, Greg (December 11, 1977). "Lehigh Wins Division II Title". The Tampa Tribune-Times. Tampa, Fla. p. 5D – via Newspapers.com.
17. "Final 1977 Cumulative Football Statistics Report (Lehigh)". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved August 16, 2024.
18. "Lehigh Football Record Book" (PDF). Lehigh Athletics. Retrieved May 29, 2020.