1976 Wisconsin Badgers football team

The 1976 Wisconsin Badgers football team was an American football team that represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the 1976 Big Ten Conference football season. In their seventh season under head coach John Jardine, the Badgers compiled a 5–6 record (3–5 against Big Ten opponents) and finished in a three-way tie for seventh place in the Big Ten.[1]

1976 Wisconsin Badgers football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
1976 record	5–6 (3–5 Big Ten)
Head coach	John Jardine (7th season)
MVP	Mike Carroll
Home stadium	Camp Randall Stadium

1976 Big Ten Conference football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 3 Michigan +	7	–	1	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 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

Quarterback Mike Carroll was selected as the team's most valuable player and led the Big Ten Conference with 1,773 yards of total offense.[2][1] Running back Larry Canada led the team with 993 rushing yards, the fifth-highest total in the Big Ten during the 1976 season. Ira Matthews was the team's leading scorer with 42 points on seven touchdowns.[1]

David Charles was selected by the AP as a second-team wide receiver, and Dave Crossen by the UPI as a second-team linebacker, on the 1976 All-Big Ten Conference football team.[3][4]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 11	at No. 2 Michigan	Michigan Stadium Ann Atbor, MI	L 27–40	101,347
September 18	North Dakota*	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 45–9	62,213
September 25	Washington State*	Camp Randall stadium Madison, WI	W 35–26	64,658
October 2	at No. 9 Kansas*	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	L 24–34	48,350
October 9	Purdue	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	L 16–18	79,111
October 16	No. 9 Ohio State	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	L 20–30	79,579
October 23	at Northwestern	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	W 28–25	24,580
October 30	at Illinois	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 25–31	54,121
November 6	Iowa	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI (rivalry)	W 38–21	79,521
November 13	at Indiana	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	L 14–15	27,518
November 20	Minnesota	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI (Paul Bunyan's Axe)	W 26–17	60,304
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[5]

Roster

1976 Wisconsin Badgers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class FB 30 Larry Canada Sr QB Mike Carrol WR David Charles TE 85 Ron Egloff Sr RB Ira Matthews RB 33 Mike Morgan Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class CB 37 Lawrence Johnson So DT 76 John Rasmussen Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach John Jardine Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Players selected in the 1977 NFL Draft

Only one Wisconsin player was selected in the 1977 NFL Draft.[6]

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL Club
John Rasmussen	Offensive tackle	10	276	New England Patriots

References

1. "1976 Big Ten Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 1, 2017.
2. Roy Damer (December 25, 1975). "Lytle named Big 10 MVP: Purdue's Dierking is runnerup". Chicago Tribune. p. 2-1.
3. "Michigan, Ohio State Pace All-Big Ten Team". Toledo Blade (AP story). December 3, 1976. p. 27.
4. "Illini place two on All-Big 10". The Pantagraph. November 24, 1976. p. A11.
5. "Wisconsin Badgers Index". sports-reference.com. Retrieved 2011-07-28.
6. "1977 NFL Draft: Full Draft". NFL.com. National Football League. Retrieved March 1, 2017.