1976 Florida State Seminoles football team

1976 NCAA Division I independents football records
	North Texas State (originally 6–5) was awarded a forfeit win after Mississippi State was found to be using an ineligible player.; Rankings from AP Poll

1976 Florida State Seminoles football
1976 Florida State Seminoles football
Conference	Independent
1976 record	5–6
Head coach	Bobby Bowden (1st season);
Offensive coordinator	George Haffner (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Jack Stanton (1st season)
Home stadium	Doak Campbell Stadium; (Capacity: 40,500)
	Seasons ← 1975 1977 →

The 1976 Florida State Seminoles football team represented Florida State University during the 1976 NCAA Division I football season. It marked the first season for Bobby Bowden as coach.

Schedule[]

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 11	at Memphis State	Memphis Memorial Stadium Memphis, Tennessee	L 12–21	30,194
September 18	at Miami (FL)	Miami Orange Bowl Miami (rivalry)	L 0–47	22,710
September 25	at No. 4 Oklahoma	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, Oklahoma	L 9–24	71,184
October 2	Kansas State	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, Florida	W 20–10	30,353
October 9	at No. 13 Boston College	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts	W 28–9	22,866
October 16	No. 12 Florida	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, Florida (rivalry)	L 26–33	42,803
October 23	at Auburn	Jordan–Hare Stadium Auburn, Alabama	L 19–31	58,500
October 30	Clemson	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, Florida (rivalry)	L 12–15	27,198
November 6	Southern Miss	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, Florida	W 30–27	29,173	^[2]
November 13	at North Texas State	Fouts Field Denton, Texas	W 21–20	3,850
November 20	Virginia Tech	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, Florida	W 28–21	16,148	^[3]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[4]

Personnel[]

1976 Florida State Seminoles football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
WR		Mike Barnes
TE		Ed Beckman
QB		Jimmy Black
WR		Jackie Flowers
OL		Mike Good
OL		Wade Johnson
QB		Jimmy Jordan
RB		Larry Key
OL		Mike Kissner
TE		Greg Lazzaro
RB		Jeff Leggett
RB		Mark Lyles
OL		Mark Meseroll
OL		Alan Risk
OL		Vic Rivas
OL		Tom Rushing
OL		Bill Sawyer
OL		Jon Thomas
RB		Rudy Thomas
WR		Kurt Unglaub

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DB		Joe Camps
LB		Aaron Carter
DL		Walter Carter
DL		Jimmy Heggins
DB		Ivory Joe Hunter
DB		Bobby Jackson
DL		Willie Jones
DB		Joe Joyner
DB		Mike Kincaid
DL		Rudy Maloy
LB		Detroit Reynolds
DB		Jeff Ridings
DL		Gary Rose
DL		Abe Smith
LB		Mike Stewart
DB		Nat Terry
DL		Scott Warren
DB		Gary Woolford

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K		Dave Cappelen

Head coach

Bobby Bowden

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Season summary[]

Florida[]

#12 Florida Gators at Florida State Seminoles

	1	2	3	4	Total
Florida	10	10	7	6	33
Florida St	0	17	6	3	26

at Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, Florida

Date: October 17
Game attendance: 42,803
Recap/Box

Game information

First quarter

FLA – David Posey 27-yard field goal, 11:05. Florida 3–0. Drive: 77 yards.
FLA – Larry Brinson 15-yard run (David Posey kick), 5:50. Florida 10–0. Drive:

Second quarter

FSU – Dave Cappelen 21-yard field goal, 13:41. Florida 10–3. Drive: 82 yards.
FLA – David Posey 54-yard field goal, 11:20. Florida 13–3. Drive:
FSU – Rudy Thomas 10-yard run (Dave Cappelen kick), 8:10. Florida 13–10. Drive: 70 yards.
FSU – Kurt Unglaub 26-yard pass from Jimmy Black (Dave Cappelen kick), 0:47. Florida St 17–13. Drive: 80 yards.
FLA – Wes Chandler 23-yard pass from Jimmy Fisher (David Posey kick), 0:10. Florida 20–17. Drive: 93 yards.

Third quarter

FSU – Jimmy Black 2-yard run (kick blocked), 6:25. Florida St 23–20. Drive: 80 yards.
FLA – Willie Wilder 5-yard run (David Posey kick), 3:14. Florida 27–23. Drive: 69 yards.

Fourth quarter

FLA - 2-yard run (kick failed), 7:44. Florida 33–23. Drive:
FSU – Dave Cappelen 27-yard field goal, 5:19. Florida 33–26. Drive:

Top passers

FLA – Jimmy Fisher – 9/12, 139 yards, TD
FSU – Jimmy Black – 14/17, 211 yards, TD, INT

Top rushers

FLA – Willie Wilder – 98 yards, TD
FSU – Jeff Leggett – 15 rushes, 76 yards

Top receivers

FLA – Wes Chandler/Jimmy Stephens – 4 receptions
FSU – Ed Beckman – 6 receptions, 113 yards

References[]

^ https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/years/1976-standings.html
^ "FSU rallies, downs Southern Mississippi". The Miami Herald. November 7, 1976. Retrieved March 24, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "FSU ends on high note". Pensacola News Journal. November 21, 1976. Retrieved December 14, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ NoleFan.Org - 1976 season.

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[1] ttps://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/years/1976-standings.html

[1976USM1-2] "FSU rallies, downs Southern Mississippi". The Miami Herald. November 7, 1976. Retrieved March 24, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[3] "FSU ends on high note". Pensacola News Journal. November 21, 1976. Retrieved December 14, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.

[4] NoleFan.Org - 1976 season.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t Florida State Seminoles football
Venues	Centennial Field (1947–1949) Doak Campbell Stadium (1950–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Florida Cup Clemson Florida Miami Virginia
Culture & lore	Osceola and Renegade The War Chant Marching Chiefs FSU Hymns Sod Cemetery Wide Right I Wide Right II 1993 'Game of the Century' Choke at Doak/The Fifth Quarter in the French Quarter Bob Crenshaw Award Tomahawk chop
People	Alumni Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders Annual awards
Seasons	1902 1903 1904 1905–1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
National championship seasons in bold

1976 NCAA Division I independents football records
v t	Conf			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
No. 1 Pittsburgh		–		12	–	0	–	0
No. 17 Rutgers		–		11	–	0	–	0
San Diego State		–		10	–	1	–	0
No. 12 Notre Dame		–		9	–	3	–	0
Colgate		–		8	–	2	–	0
Boston College		–		8	–	3	–	0
Cincinnati		–		8	–	3	–	0
Memphis State		–		7	–	4	–	0
North Texas State *		–		7	–	4	–	0
Southern Illinois		–		7	–	4	–	0
Penn State		–		7	–	5	–	0
Villanova		–		6	–	4	–	1
South Carolina		–		6	–	5	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		6	–	5	–	0
Army		–		5	–	6	–	0
Florida State		–		5	–	6	–	0
Illinois State		–		5	–	6	–	0
Richmond		–		5	–	6	–	0
West Virginia		–		5	–	6	–	0
Georgia Tech		–		4	–	6	–	1
Temple		–		4	–	6	–	0
Air Force		–		4	–	7	–	0
Dayton		–		4	–	7	–	0
Louisville		–		4	–	7	–	0
Marshall		–		4	–	7	–	0
Navy		–		4	–	7	–	0
Indiana State		–		3	–	7	–	0
Hawaii		–		3	–	8	–	0
Holy Cross		–		3	–	8	–	0
Miami (FL)		–		3	–	8	–	0
Syracuse		–		3	–	8	–	0
Utah State		–		3	–	8	–	0
Northeast Louisiana		–		2	–	9	–	0
Southern Miss		–		2	–	9	–	0
Tulane		–		2	–	9	–	0

North Texas State (originally 6–5) was awarded a forfeit win after Mississippi State was found to be using an ineligible player.^[1] Rankings from AP Poll