| 1976 NCAA Division I football season | ||
|---|---|---|
 | ||
| Preseason AP No. 1 | Nebraska[1] | |
| Regular season | September 4 – November 27, 1976 | |
| Number of bowls | 12 | |
| Bowl games | December 13, 1976 – January 2, 1977 | |
| Champion(s) | Pittsburgh (AP, Coaches, FWAA, NFF) | |
| Heisman | Tony Dorsett (running back, Pittsburgh) | |
| ||
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.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 2, 2011. Retrieved December 30, 2008.
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