1976 Navy Midshipmen football team

1976 Navy Midshipmen football
1976 Navy Midshipmen football
Conference	Independent
Record	4–7
Head coach	George Welsh (4th season);
Captain	Jeff Sapp, Kevin Sullivan
Home stadium	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
	Seasons ← 1975 1977 →

The 1976 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy (USNA) as an independent during the 1976 NCAA Division I football season. The team was led by fourth-year head coach George Welsh.^[2]^[3]

1976 NCAA Division I independents football records
v t e	Conf			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
No. 1 Pittsburgh		–		12	–	0	–	0
No. 17 Rutgers		–		11	–	0	–	0
San Diego State		–		10	–	1	–	0
No. 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
Southern Illinois		–		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
Richmond		–		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
Marshall		–		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

North Texas State (originally 6–5) was awarded a forfeit win after Mississippi State was found to be using an ineligible player.^[1] Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 11		Rutgers	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	L 3–13	17,501	^[4]
September 18		at Connecticut	Memorial Stadium Storrs, CT	W 21–3	15,906	^[5]
September 25		at No. 1 Michigan	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	L 14–70	101,040	^[6]^[7]
October 2		No. 15 Boston College	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	L 13–17	16,156
October 9		at Air Force	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)	L 3–13
October 16		William & Mary	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	L 13–21	21,681	^[8]
October 23		No. 2 Pittsburgh	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	L 0–45	26,346
October 30	1:30 p.m.	vs. No. 11 Notre Dame	Municipal Stadium Cleveland, OH (rivalry)	L 21–27	61,172
November 6		at Syracuse	Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY	W 27–10	22,333
November 13		Georgia Tech	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	W 34–28	20,010	^[9]
November 27		vs. Army	John F. Kennedy Stadium Philadelphia, PA (Army–Navy Game)	W 38–10
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

Vs. Notre Dame

Navy Midshipmen (1–6) vs. #11 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5–1)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Notre Dame	3	21	0	3	27
Navy	0	14	0	7	21

at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio

Date: October 30
Game attendance: 61,172
Recap/Box Score

Game information

First quarter

ND – Dave Reeve 47-yard field goal. Notre Dame 3–0. Drive:

Second quarter

NAVY – Dave King 17-yard pass from Bob Leszcyznski (Bob Tata kick). Navy 7–3. Drive:
NAVY – Larry Klawinski 1-yard run (Bob Tata kick). Navy 14–3. Drive:
ND – Dan Kelleher 58-yard pass from Rick Slager (Dave Reeve kick). Navy 14–10. Drive:
ND – Al Hunter 5-yard run (Dave Reeve kick). Notre Dame 17–14. Drive: 60 yards.
ND – Al Hunter 28-yard pass from Rick Slager (Dave Reeve kick). Notre Dame 24–14. Drive:

Third quarter

No scoring

Fourth quarter

NAVY – Reggie Thompson 1-yard run (Bob Tata kick). Notre Dame 24–21. Drive:
ND – Dave Reeve 24-yard field goal. Notre Dame 27–21. Drive:

Top passers

ND
NAVY – Bob Leszcyznski – 21/45, 294 yards, TD, INT

Top rushers

ND
NAVY

Top receivers

ND – Dan Kelleher – 7 receptions, 162 yards, TD
NAVY

At Syracuse

Georgia Tech

Vs. Army

Army Cadets (5–5) vs. Navy Midshipmen (3–7)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Army	0	10	0	0	10
Navy	7	7	17	7	38

at JFK Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Date: November 27
Game weather: Cloudy
Game attendance: 77,612
^[10]

Game information

First quarter

NAVY – Joe Gattuso 2-yard run (Bob Tata kick), 0:15. Navy 7–0. Drive: 51 yards.

Second quarter

ARMY – Greg King 11-yard run (Mike Castelli kick). Tie 7–7. Drive:
NAVY – Phil McConkey 11-yard pass from Bob Leszczynski (Bob Tata kick). Navy 14–7. Drive: 57 yards.
ARMY – Mike Castelli 37-yard field goal. Navy 14–10. Drive:

Third quarter

NAVY – Joe Gattuso 20-yard run (Bob Tata kick). Navy 21–10. Drive: 75 yards.
NAVY – Joe Gattuso 1-yard run (Bob Tata kick). Navy 28–10. Drive: 65 yards.
NAVY – Bob Tata 33-yard field goal. Navy 31–10. Drive:

Fourth quarter

NAVY – Dave King 16-yard pass from Bob Leszczynski (Bob Tata kick). Navy 38–10. Drive: 30 yards.

Top passers

ARMY – Leamon Hall – 13/31, 3 INT
NAVY – Bob Leszczynski – 2 TD

Top rushers

ARMY
NAVY – Joe Gattuso – 29 rushes, 128 yards, 3 TD

Top receivers

ARMY
NAVY

Personnel

1976 Navy Midshipmen football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
FB		Steve Chafin
OL		Jim Chamberlain
OL		Gene Cioni
OL		Ray Fritsch
RB		Joe Gattuso
OL		Cary Hithon
WB		Dave King	Fr
RB		Larry Klawinski
QB		John Kurowski
QB	`15`	Bob Leszczynski	So
WR		Phil McConkey
RB		Leon Miller
OL	`71`	Mark Poston
OL		Kevin Ryan
WR		Steve Scott
TE		Kevin Sullivan
RB		Reggie Thompson

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
LB		Otto Bulich
DB		Greg Byrd
DL		Pete Caulk
LB		Bob DeStafney
DB		Mike Galpin
DL		Kelvin Graham
DL		Jeff Hoobler
		Gregg Milo
MG		Jeff Sapp
DB		Larry Simpson
DL		John Snyder
DB		John Sturges

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
P		Art Ohanian
K		Bob Tata	So

Head coach

George Welsh

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Len Fontes – Defensive backs

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

References

^ https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/years/1976-standings.html
^ "Football History" (PDF). United States Naval Academy. p. 194. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
^ "Navy Yearly Results (1975-1979)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on July 15, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
^ Jackson, James H. (September 12, 1976). "Middies Drop Opener, 13-3, to Rutgers". The Sunday Sun. Baltimore, Md. p. B1 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Final 1976 Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved December 26, 2022.
^ Joe Peacock (September 27, 1976). "Michigan's 49-Point 2nd-Half Burns Navy". Argus-Press, Owosso, Michigan. p. 5.
^ "Michigan Torpedoes Navy". Sparatanburg Herald-Journal (AP story). September 26, 1976. p. 8.
^ "Kruis leads Indians over Middies 21–13". The Roanoke Times. October 17, 1976. Retrieved January 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Gattuso, Leszcynski sparkle, Navy nips Georgia Tech 34–28". Daily Press. November 14, 1976. Retrieved January 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ https://www.nytimes.com/1976/11/28/archives/navy-trounces-army-4th-year-in-row-3810-navy-trounces-army-4th-year.html "Navy Trounces Army 4th Year in Row, 38-10." New York Times. 1976 Nov 28. Retrieved 2021-Jan-12.

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[1] ttps://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/years/1976-standings.html

[FH-2] "Football History" (PDF). United States Naval Academy. p. 194. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2015.

[CFDW-3] "Navy Yearly Results (1975-1979)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on July 15, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2015.

[4] Jackson, James H. (September 12, 1976). "Middies Drop Opener, 13-3, to Rutgers". The Sunday Sun. Baltimore, Md. p. B1 – via Newspapers.com.

[5] "Final 1976 Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved December 26, 2022.

[6] Joe Peacock (September 27, 1976). "Michigan's 49-Point 2nd-Half Burns Navy". Argus-Press, Owosso, Michigan. p. 5.

[7] "Michigan Torpedoes Navy". Sparatanburg Herald-Journal (AP story). September 26, 1976. p. 8.

[8] "Kruis leads Indians over Middies 21–13". The Roanoke Times. October 17, 1976. Retrieved January 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[9] "Gattuso, Leszcynski sparkle, Navy nips Georgia Tech 34–28". Daily Press. November 14, 1976. Retrieved January 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[10] ttps://www.nytimes.com/1976/11/28/archives/navy-trounces-army-4th-year-in-row-3810-navy-trounces-army-4th-year.html "Navy Trounces Army 4th Year in Row, 38-10." New York Times. 1976 Nov 28. Retrieved 2021-Jan-12.

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