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
ConferenceIndependent
Record12–2
Head coach
Home stadiumTaylor Stadium
Seasons
← 1976
1978 →
1977 NCAA Division II independents football records
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 edit

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 10ConnecticutW 49–09,500[3]
September 17at Baldwin–Wallace
L 21–145,184[4]
September 24Penn
  • Taylor Stadium
  • Bethlehem, PA
W 19–710,000[5]
October 1at DavidsonW 43–74,600[6]
October 8at Rhode IslandW 42–164,115[7]
October 15at RutgersL 0–2021,000[8]
October 22VMI
  • Taylor Stadium
  • Bethlehem, PA
W 30–2013,000[9]
October 29Bucknell
  • Taylor Stadium
  • Bethlehem, PA
W 47–1311,000[10]
November 5at Gettysburg
W 47–03,460[11]
November 12C.W. PostNo. T–10
  • Taylor Stadium
  • Bethlehem, PA
W 36–106,500[12]
November 19LafayetteNo. 8
W 35–1718,000[13]
November 26at No. 2 UMassNo. 8W 30–235,700[14]
December 3at No. 3 UC DavisNo. 8
W 39–3010,500[15]
December 10vs. No. 9 Jacksonville StateNo. 8
W 33–014,114[16]

[17]

References edit

  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. ^ "Lehigh Football Record Book" (PDF). Lehigh Athletics. Retrieved May 29, 2020.