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1976 NCAA Division I football season

1976 ACC football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#13 Maryland $ 5 0 0     11 1 0
North Carolina 4 1 0     9 3 0
Wake Forest 3 3 0     5 6 0
Duke 2 3 1     5 5 1
NC State 2 3 0     3 7 1
Virginia 1 3 0     2 9 0
Clemson 0 4 1     3 6 2
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1976 Big 8 football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#5 Oklahoma + 5 2 0     9 2 1
#14 Oklahoma State + 5 2 0     9 3 0
#16 Colorado + 5 2 0     8 4 0
#9 Nebraska 4 3 0     9 3 1
#19 Iowa State 4 3 0     8 3 0
Missouri 3 4 0     6 5 0
Kansas 2 5 0     6 5 0
Kansas State 0 7 0     1 10 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll
1976 Big Ten football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#3 Michigan + 7 1 0     10 2 0
#6 Ohio State + 7 1 0     9 2 1
Minnesota 4 4 0     6 5 0
Illinois 4 4 0     5 6 0
Indiana 4 4 0     5 6 0
Purdue 4 4 0     5 6 0
Iowa 3 5 0     5 6 0
Wisconsin 3 5 0     5 6 0
Michigan State 3 5 0     4 6 1
Northwestern 1 7 0     1 10 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll
1976 Ivy League football standings
Conf     Overall
Team   W   L         W   L  
Yale $   6 1         8 1  
Brown $   6 1         8 1  
Harvard   4 3         6 3  
Dartmouth   4 3         6 3  
Columbia   2 5         3 6  
Pennsylvania   2 5         3 6  
Princeton   2 5         2 7  
Cornell   2 5         2 7  
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1976 Mid-American Conference football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
Ball State $ 4 1 0     8 3 0
Kent State 6 2 0     8 4 0
Ohio 6 2 0     7 4 0
Western Michigan 6 3 0     7 4 0
Central Michigan 4 3 0     7 4 0
Bowling Green 4 3 0     6 5 0
Miami (OH) 2 4 0     3 8 0
Toledo 2 6 0     3 8 0
Eastern Michigan 1 5 0     2 9 0
Northern Illinois 0 6 0     1 10 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1976 Pacific-8 football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#2 USC $ 7 0 0     11 1 0
#15 UCLA 6 1 0     9 2 1
Stanford 5 2 0     6 5 0
California 3 4 0     5 6 0
Washington 3 4 0     5 6 0
Washington State 2 5 0     3 8 0
Oregon 1 6 0     4 7 0
Oregon State 1 6 0     2 10 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1976 SEC football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#10 Georgia $ 5 1 0     10 2 0
#11 Alabama 5 2 0     9 3 0
#20 Mississippi State 4 2 0     9 2 0
Florida 4 2 0     8 4 0
#18 Kentucky 4 2 0     8 4 0
Ole Miss 3 4 0     5 6 0
LSU 2 4 0     6 4 1
Tennessee 2 4 0     6 5 0
Auburn 2 4 0     3 8 0
Vanderbilt 0 6 0     2 9 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • Mississippi State later forfeited all 1976 wins due to NCAA violations.
Rankings from AP Poll
1976 Southern Conference football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
East Carolina $ 4 1 0     9 2 0
William & Mary 3 2 0     7 4 0
Appalachian State 2 2 1     6 4 1
Furman 2 2 1     6 4 1
VMI 2 3 0     5 5 0
The Citadel 1 4 0     6 5 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1976 NCAA Division I Independents football records
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#1 Pittsburgh         12 0 0
#17 Rutgers         11 0 0
San Diego State         10 1 0
#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
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
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
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
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1976 NCAA Division I football season ended with a championship for the Panthers of the University of Pittsburgh. Led by head coach Johnny Majors (voted the AFCA Coach of the Year), the Pitt Panthers brought a college football championship to the home of the defending pro football champions, the Steelers. Pitt also had the Heisman Trophy winner, Tony Dorsett; the Panthers had been ranked ninth in the preseason AP poll.

During the 20th century, the NCAA had no playoff for major college football teams, which became Division I-A in 1978. The NCAA Football Guide, however, did note an "unofficial national champion" based on the top ranked teams in the "wire service" (AP and UPI) polls. The "writers' poll" by Associated Press (AP) was the most popular, followed by the "coaches' poll" by United Press International) (UPI). The AP poll consisted of the votes of as many as 62 writers, though not all voted in each poll, and the UPI poll was taken of a 25-member board of coaches.

In the preseason poll released on September 7, the AP ranked Nebraska first, followed by Michigan, Arizona State (the highest preseason ranking for a WAC team), Ohio State, and Oklahoma.

September 11 #1 Nebraska failed to win its opening game, being tied 6–6 by LSU in Baton Rouge, escaping with the stalemate only after the Bayou Bengals missed a 44-yard field goal attempt in the closing seconds. #2 Michigan beat Wisconsin 40–27, and #3 Arizona State lost its home opener 28–10 to #17 UCLA, and dropped to 18th, then out of the Top 20 entirely. #4 Ohio State beat Michigan State 49–21, and #5 Oklahoma won 24–3 at Vanderbilt. After a 31–10 win at #11 Notre Dame, #9 Pittsburgh rose to third. With Nebraska and Arizona State dropping to 8th and 18th, and Pitt and UCLA moving up, the Top Five was: 1.Michigan 2.Ohio State 3.Pittsburgh 4.Oklahoma 5.UCLA.


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