1977 Kentucky Wildcats football team

1977 Southeastern Conference football standings
	$ – Conference champion; Kentucky ineligible for SEC championship due to NCAA probation. Mississippi State later forfeited all 1977 wins due to NCAA violations.; Rankings from AP Poll

Kentucky Wildcats football
1977 Kentucky Wildcats football
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 6
1977 record	10–1 (6–0 SEC)
Head coach	Fran Curci (5th season);
Home stadium	Commonwealth Stadium
	Seasons ← 1976 1978 →

The 1977 Kentucky Wildcats football team represented the University of Kentucky in the 1977 NCAA Division I football season. The Wildcats scored 252 points while allowing 111 points. The Wildcats finished conference play undefeated but due to NCAA probation were not eligible for a share of the SEC championship or for postseason play.^[1] The Wildcats finished the season ranked #6 in the final AP Poll.^[2]

Regular season

In the Border Battle, Kentucky beat Tennessee by a score of 21–17. Entering that game, Kentucky had seven injured starters unable to play, including quarterback Derrick Ramsey, whose arm was injured so badly he could not throw the football. Tennessee jumped out to a 17–14 lead when backup quarterback Mike Deaton completed a 36-yard pass to Felix Wilson; the injured Ramsey then entered the game and led Kentucky to a touchdown. Tennessee's offense then took the ball to Kentucky's 22-yard line but Tennessee quarterback Jimmy Streater fumbled due to a hit by Kentucky All-American defensive end Art Still, and linebacker Kelly Kirchbaum recovered the ball to preserve the win.^[3]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
September 10	North Carolina*		Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY	W 10–7
September 17	at Baylor*		Baylor Stadium Waco, TX	L 6–21	30,000
September 24	West Virginia*	No. 17	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY	W 28–13
October 1	at No. 4 Penn State*	No. 16	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	W 24–20	62,196
October 8	Mississippi State	No. 12	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY	W 23–7
October 15	at No. 16 LSU	No. 8	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA	W 33–13
October 22	at Georgia	No. 7	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA	W 33–0	59,100
October 29	Virginia Tech*	No. 7	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY	W 32–0
November 5	at Vanderbilt	No. 7	Dudley Field Nashville, TN	W 28–6	26,572
November 12	at Florida	No. 7	Florida Field Gainesville, FL	W 14–7	50,243
November 19	Tennessee	No. 7	Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY (Battle for the Barrel)	W 21–17	57,914
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[4]^[5]

Roster

PK Joe Bryant
QB Mike Deaton
QB Derrick Ramsey
DE Art Still
Dave Trosper (offense)
Freddie Williams (offense)
Felix Wilson (offense)

Game summaries

Penn State

Georgia

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Kentucky	0	10	10	13	33
Georgia	0	0	0	0	0

Date: October 22
Location: Sanford Stadium
Game attendance: 59,100

Prince Charles in attendance

^[6]

Team players in the NFL

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL Club
Art Still	Defensive End	1	2	Kansas City Chiefs
Derrick Ramsey	Quarterback	5	136	Oakland Raiders
Mike Martin	Tackle	9	244	Chicago Bears
Will Grant	Center	10	255	Buffalo Bills
Dallas Owens	Defensive Back	10	275	Baltimore Colts
Jerry Blanton	Linebacker	11	282	Buffalo Bills

^[7]

Awards and honors

Art Still, All-America honors

References

^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-10-07. Retrieved 2014-01-09.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "Final 1977 AP Poll at AP Poll Archive.com". Archived from the original on 2009-06-03. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
^ Story, Mark, UK football's greatest wins at Commonwealth, Lexington Herald-Leader, September 4, 2011
^ 1997 Kentucky Football Media Guide, p.168
^ "Kentucky in the 1977 AP polls, AP Poll Archive". Archived from the original on 2009-10-05. Retrieved 2009-10-03.
^ Ocala Star-Banner. 1977 Oct 23. Retrieved 2018-Nov-03.
^ https://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1978.htm

[1] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-10-07. Retrieved 2014-01-09.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[2] "Final 1977 AP Poll at AP Poll Archive.com". Archived from the original on 2009-06-03. Retrieved 2009-05-31.

[3] Story, Mark, UK football's greatest wins at Commonwealth, Lexington Herald-Leader, September 4, 2011

[4] 1997 Kentucky Football Media Guide, p.168

[5] "Kentucky in the 1977 AP polls, AP Poll Archive". Archived from the original on 2009-10-05. Retrieved 2009-10-03.

[6] Ocala Star-Banner. 1977 Oct 23. Retrieved 2018-Nov-03.

[7] ttps://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1978.htm

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

1977 Southeastern Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 2 Alabama $	7	–	0	–	0	11	–	1	–	0
No. 6 Kentucky	6	–	0	–	0	10	–	1	–	0
Auburn	5	–	1	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
LSU	4	–	2	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
Florida	3	–	3	–	0	6	–	4	–	1
Georgia	2	–	4	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Mississippi State	2	–	4	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Ole Miss	2	–	5	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Tennessee	1	–	5	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Vanderbilt	0	–	6	–	0	2	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion Kentucky ineligible for SEC championship due to NCAA probation. Mississippi State later forfeited all 1977 wins due to NCAA violations. Rankings from AP Poll