1977 Tennessee State Tigers football team

The 1977 Tennessee State Tigers football team represented Tennessee State University as an independent during the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. In their 15th year under head coach John Merritt, the team compiled an overall record of 8–1–1.

1977 Tennessee State Tigers football
Conference	Independent
Record	8–1–1
Head coach	John Merritt (15th season)
Home stadium	Hale Stadium

1977 NCAA Division I independents football records

	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. Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 3	vs. Middle Tennessee	Dudley Field Nashville, TN	W 27–0	17,500
September 10	at Jackson State	Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS	W 17–7
September 17	at Alabama A&M	Milton Frank Stadium Huntsville, AL	W 23–10
September 24	Texas Southern	Hale Stadium Nashville, TN	W 23–7
October 1	Central State (OH)	Hale Stadium Nashville, TN	W 1–0
October 8	Grambling State	Hale Stadium Nashville, TN	W 26–8
October 22	Florida A&M	Dudley Field Nashville, TN	L 28–31	32,900–33,402
October 29	at Southern	BREC Memorial Stadium Baton Rouge, LA	W 15–7
November 5	Tennessee–Martin	Hale Stadium Nashville, TN	W 55–7	14,500
November 12	at Chattanooga	Chamberlain Field Chattanooga, TN	T 14–14
Homecoming