Battle of Backbone Mountain

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1977 Western Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 20 BYU + 6 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
No. 18 Arizona State + 6 – 1 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
Colorado State 5 – 2 – 0 9 – 2 – 1
Wyoming 4 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 1
Arizona 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 7 – 0
New Mexico 2 – 5 – 0 5 – 7 – 0
Utah 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
UTEP 0 – 7 – 0 1 – 10 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1977 Utah Utes football team was an American football team that represented the University of Utah as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. In their first season under head coach Wayne Howard, the Utes compiled an overall record of 3–8 with a mark of 2–5 against conference opponents, placing fourth in the WAC. Home games were played on campus at Robert Rice Stadium in Salt Lake City.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 171:30 pmat No. 5 Oklahoma*
L 24–6271,184
September 247:30 pmNo. 19 Houston*
L 16–3426,232
October 11:30 pmat Colorado State
L 3–4423,401
October 87:30 pmWyoming
  • Robert Rice Stadium
  • Salt Lake City, UT
W 23–1326,428[2]
October 151:30 pmUtah State*
  • Robert Rice Stadium
  • Salt Lake City, UT (rivalry)
W 20–025,438
October 228:30 pmat Arizona
L 17–4543,500
October 291:30 pmat Arizona State
L 19–4716,528
November 51:30 pmat No. 14 BYU
L 8–3833,828
November 121:30 pmUTEPdagger
  • Robert Rice Stadium
  • Salt Lake City, UT
W 29–1218,122
November 1912:00 pmat Florida*
L 29–3856,055[3]
November 267:30 pmat New Mexico
L 24–418,296
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Mountain time

[4][5]

Roster

1977 Utah Utes football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
WR 43 Jack Steptoe Sr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
P 19 Rick Partridge Jr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Game summaries

Utah State

1 234Total
Utah State 0 000 0
• Utah 0 398 20

Utah recorded its first shutout in seven years.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b "1977 Utah Football Media Guide: Coaching Staff". University of Utah Athletic Department. Archived from the original on December 12, 2012. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  2. ^ John Mooney (October 9, 1977). "Utes Stun Wyoming". The Salt Lake Tribune. p. D1 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Gutsy Utes scare Gators in 38–29 defeat". The Salt Lake Tribune. November 20, 1977. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "1978 Media Guide". University of Utah Athletic Department. Archived from the original on December 12, 2012. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
  5. ^ "Ute Record Book" (PDF). University of Utah. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 13, 2011. Retrieved October 21, 2009.
  6. ^ Eugene Register-Guard. October 15, 1977.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1977_Utah_Utes_football_team