1976 Baylor Bears football team

The 1976 Baylor Bears football team represented the Baylor University in the 1976 NCAA Division I football season. The Bears finished the season fourth in the Southwest Conference. Despite finishing the season ranked No. 19 in the country with a 7–3–1 record, the Bears did not receive an invitation to a bowl game.^[1]

1976 Southwest Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 4 Houston +	7	–	1	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
No. 13 Texas Tech +	7	–	1	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
No. 7 Texas A&M	6	–	2	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
Baylor	4	–	3	–	1	7	–	3	–	1
Texas	4	–	4	–	0	5	–	5	–	1
Arkansas	3	–	4	–	1	5	–	5	–	1
Rice	2	–	6	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
SMU	2	–	6	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
TCU	0	–	8	–	0	0	–	11	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 11	Houston		Baylor Stadium Waco, TX	L 5–23	37,500
September 18	at Auburn*		Jordan-Hare Stadium Auburn, AL	W 15–14	50,000	^[2]
September 25	at No. 14 Illinois*		Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	W 34–19	44,481
October 2	South Carolina*		Baylor Stadium Waco, TX	W 18–17	34,500	^[3]
October 9	SMU		Baylor Stadium Waco, TX	W 27–20	25,000
October 16	at Texas A&M		Kyle Field College Station, TX (Battle of the Brazos)	L 0–24	52,241
November 6	No. 12 Arkansas		Baylor Stadium Waco, TX	T 7–7	47,900
November 13	at Rice		Rice Stadium Houston, TX	W 38–6	10,000
November 20	Texas		Baylor Stadium Waco, TX	W 20–10	45,500
November 27	at TCU		Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX (rivalry)	W 24–19	11,480
December 4	at No. 9 Texas Tech	No. 18	Jones Stadium Lubbock, TX (rivalry)	L 21–24	37,105
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

1976 Baylor Bears football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
QB		Sammy Bickham
RB		Gary Blair
OL		Billy Clements
WR		Tommy Davidson
RB		Mike Ebow
RB		Cleveland Franklin
RB		Mark Grayless
OL		Gary Gregory
RB		Greg Hawthorne
RB		Steve Howell
WR		Alcy Jackson
QB		Mark Jackson
OL		Jon Kramer
WR		Ronnie Lee
RB		Ernest Lynch
RB		David Seaborn
WR		David Steven
RB		Bo Taylor
OL		Arland Thompson
OL		Rell Tipton

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
LB		Tim Black
DL		Flynn Bucy
DB		Ron Burns
DB		Gary Green
DB		Tony Green
DL		Gary Hutchison
DL		Gary Don Johnson
DL		Keavin McDonald
DB		Mike Nelms
LB		Shane Nelson
DL		Chris Quinn
DB		Scooter Reed
LB		Johnny Slaughter

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K		Lester Belrose
P		Luke Prestridge

Texas Longhorns (4–3–1) at Baylor Bears (5–2–1)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Texas	3	0	0	7	10
Baylor	0	7	7	6	20

Game information

First quarter

Second quarter

BAY – Ronnie Lee 6-yard pass from Mark Jackson (Lester Belrose kick), 7:00. Baylor 7–3. Drive:

Third quarter

BAY – Mark Jackson 7-yard run (Lester Belrose kick), 12:01. Baylor 14–3. Drive: 2 plays, 15 yards, 0:41.

Fourth quarter

BAY – Lester Belrose 23-yard field goal, 14:54. Baylor 17–3. Drive:
BAY – Lester Belrose 20-yard field goal, 7:59. Baylor 20–3. Drive:
TEX – Raymond Clayborn 68-yard punt return (Russell Erxleben kick), 1:16. Baylor 20–10.

^ "1976 Baylor Bears Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 29, 2020.
^ "Battered Baylor slips by fumbling Auburn". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. September 19, 1976. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "South Carolina struck by Bear miracle". Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. October 3, 1976. Retrieved January 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

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