1976 Akron Zips football team

1976 Akron Zips football
Pioneer Bowl, L 13–24 vs. Montana State
Conference	Independent
Ranking
AP	No. 3
Record	10–3
Head coach	Jim Dennison (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	Wally Neal
Home stadium	Rubber Bowl
Seasons ← 1975 1977 →

1976 NCAA Division II independents football records
v t e	Conf			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
No. 2 Northern Michigan ^		–		11	–	2	–	0
No. 3 Akron ^		–		10	–	3	–	0
No. 7 UNLV ^		–		9	–	3	–	0
No. 4 Delaware ^		–		8	–	3	–	1
Nevada		–		8	–	3	–	0
Portland State		–		8	–	3	–	0
Tennessee State		–		7	–	2	–	1
American International		–		6	–	3	–	0
Northern Colorado		–		6	–	3	–	0
Madison		–		7	–	4	–	0
Santa Clara		–		7	–	4	–	0
Western Carolina		–		6	–	4	–	0
Chattanooga		–		6	–	4	–	1
Southern Connecticut State		–		5	–	4	–	0
Central State (OH)		–		6	–	5	–	0
Lehigh		–		6	–	5	–	0
Cal State Los Angeles		–		5	–	3	–	1
Arkansas–Pine Bluff		–		5	–	5	–	0
Central Connecticut		–		5	–	5	–	0
Lafayette		–		5	–	5	–	0
Eastern Illinois		–		5	–	6	–	0
Bucknell		–		4	–	5	–	0
Youngstown State		–		4	–	6	–	0
Kentucky State		–		3	–	7	–	1
Nebraska–Omaha		–		3	–	8	–	0
Northeastern		–		2	–	7	–	0

^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from Associated Press poll

The 1976 Akron Zips football team was an American football team that represented the University of Akron during the 1976 NCAA Division II football season. In their fourth season under head coach Jim Dennison, the Zips compiled a 10–3 record and outscored all opponents by a combined total of 282 to 144. In post-season play, they defeated UNLV, 27–6, in a Division II quarterfinal, and defeated Northern Michigan, 29–26, in the Knute Rockne Bowl. In the championship game in Wichita Falls, Texas, Akron lost to Montana State in the Pioneer Bowl.^[1]^[2] The 1976 season was the first and only ten-win season in Akron's program history.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
September 11	Temple		Rubber Bowl Akron, OH	L 13–23	33,158
September 18	Morehead State		Rubber Bowl Akron, OH	W 26–6	10,102
September 25	at Youngstown State		Stambaugh Stadium Youngstown, OH (Steel Tire)	W 24–3	4,846
October 2	at Indiana State		Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN	W 34–7	8,318
October 9	Dayton		Rubber Bowl Akron, OH	W 27–6	7,439
October 16	at Ball State	No. T–5	Ball State Stadium Muncie, IN	W 3–0	18,323
October 23	Eastern Michigan	No. T–5	Rubber Bowl Akron, OH	W 36–0	9,042
October 30	at Marshall	No. 3	Fairfield Stadium Huntington, WV	L 0–13	7,191
November 6	at No. 7 Western Illinois	No. T–8	Hanson Field Macomb, IL	W 21–14	13,743
November 13	at Western Kentucky	No. 5	L. T. Smith Stadium Bowling Green, KY	W 29–16	11,200
November 27	No. 7 UNLV	No. 3	Rubber Bowl Akron, OH (NCAA Division II Quarterfinal)	W 27–6	6,562
December 4	No. 2 Northern Michigan	No. 3	Rubber Bowl Akron, OH (NCAA Division II Semifinal–Knute Rockne Bowl)	W 29–26
December 11	vs. No. 1 Montana State	No. 3	Lake Wichita Park Wichita Falls, TX (NCAA Division II Championship Game—Pioneer Bowl)	L 13–24	13,200
Rankings from Associated Press Poll released prior to the game

^ "Montana State wins title". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. December 12, 1976. p. 4B.
^ "Dennehy leads Montana State's bowl win". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 12, 1976. p. D1.
^ "Final 1976 Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
^ "Akron Season Schedule - databaseFootball.com/NCAA". Archived from the original on November 30, 2015. Retrieved December 30, 2015. Akron Team Schedule 1976

v t e Akron Zips football
Venues	League Park (c. 1910) Buchtel Field (c. 1915–1939) Rubber Bowl (1940–2008) InfoCision Stadium–Summa Field (2009–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Kent State (Wagon Wheel) Youngstown State (Steel Tire, 1940–1995)
Culture & lore	Zippy "Akron Blue and Gold" Zips Marching Band
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897–1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904–1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943–1945 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 2023

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This page was last edited on 30 December 2023, at 18:27