1976 Florida State Seminoles football team

The 1976 Florida State Seminoles football team represented Florida State University as an independent during the 1976 NCAA Division I football season. Led by first-year head coach Bobby Bowden, the Seminoles compiled a record of 5–6. Florida State played home games at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida.

1976 Florida State Seminoles football
Conference	Independent
Record	5–6
Head coach	Bobby Bowden (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	George Haffner (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple
Defensive coordinator	Jack Stanton (1st season)
Base defense	4–3
Home stadium	Doak Campbell Stadium
Seasons ← 1975 1977 →

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

This would be the last time the Seminoles would finish with a losing record until 2018. Despite the 5-6 record, this season would be the start of a turning point for the program, with the hiring of Bobby Bowden, who would turn around the program, as well as capture multiple national championships during his 34-year tenure that lasted until 2009.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 11	at Memphis State	Memphis Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN	L 12–21	30,194
September 18	at Miami (FL)	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL (rivalry)	L 0–47	22,710
September 25	at No. 4 Oklahoma	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK	L 9–24	71,184
October 2	Kansas State	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	W 20–10	30,353
October 9	at No. 13 Boston College	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	W 28–9	22,866
October 16	No. 12 Florida	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL (rivalry)	L 26–33	42,803	[2]
October 23	at Auburn	Jordan-Hare Stadium Auburn, AL	L 19–31	58,500	[3]
October 30	Clemson	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL (rivalry)	L 12–15	21,473	[4]
November 6	Southern Miss	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	W 30–27	29,173	[5]
November 13	at North Texas State	Fouts Field Denton, TX	W 21–20	3,850	[6]
November 20	Virginia Tech	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	W 28–21	16,148	[7]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[8]

Game summaries

Florida

See also: 1976 Florida Gators football team

#12 Florida Gators at Florida State Seminoles

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Florida	10	10	7	6	33
Florida St	0	17	6	3	26

at Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, Florida

• Date: October 17
• Game attendance: 42,803
• Recap/Box

Game information

First quarter FLA – David Posey 27-yard field goal, 11:05. Florida 3–0. Drive: 77 yards. FLA – Larry Brinson 15-yard run (David Posey kick), 5:50. Florida 10–0. Drive: Second quarter FSU – Dave Cappelen 21-yard field goal, 13:41. Florida 10–3. Drive: 82 yards. FLA – David Posey 54-yard field goal, 11:20. Florida 13–3. Drive: FSU – Rudy Thomas 10-yard run (Dave Cappelen kick), 8:10. Florida 13–10. Drive: 70 yards. FSU – Kurt Unglaub 26-yard pass from Jimmy Black (Dave Cappelen kick), 0:47. Florida St 17–13. Drive: 80 yards. FLA – Wes Chandler 23-yard pass from Jimmy Fisher (David Posey kick), 0:10. Florida 20–17. Drive: 93 yards. Third quarter FSU – Jimmy Black 2-yard run (kick blocked), 6:25. Florida St 23–20. Drive: 80 yards. FLA – Willie Wilder 5-yard run (David Posey kick), 3:14. Florida 27–23. Drive: 69 yards. Fourth quarter FLA - 2-yard run (kick failed), 7:44. Florida 33–23. Drive: FSU – Dave Cappelen 27-yard field goal, 5:19. Florida 33–26. Drive: Top passers FLA – Jimmy Fisher – 9/12, 139 yards, TD FSU – Jimmy Black – 14/17, 211 yards, TD, INT Top rushers FLA – Willie Wilder – 98 yards, TD FSU – Jeff Leggett – 15 rushes, 76 yards Top receivers FLA – Wes Chandler/Jimmy Stephens – 4 receptions FSU – Ed Beckman – 6 receptions, 113 yards

Personnel

1976 Florida State Seminoles football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR Mike Barnes TE Ed Beckman QB Jimmy Black WR Jackie Flowers OL Mike Good OL Wade Johnson QB Jimmy Jordan RB Larry Key OL Mike Kissner TE Greg Lazzaro RB Jeff Leggett RB Mark Lyles OL Mark Meseroll OL Alan Risk OL Vic Rivas OL Tom Rushing OL Bill Sawyer OL Jon Thomas RB Rudy Thomas WR Kurt Unglaub	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB Joe Camps LB Aaron Carter DL Walter Carter DL Jimmy Heggins DB Ivory Joe Hunter DB Bobby Jackson DL Willie Jones DB Joe Joyner DB Mike Kincaid DL Rudy Maloy LB Detroit Reynolds DB Jeff Ridings DL Gary Rose DL Abe Smith LB Mike Stewart DB Nat Terry DL Scott Warren DB Gary Woolford	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K Dave Cappelen	Head coach Bobby Bowden Coordinators/assistant coaches George Haffner (offensive coordinator) Kent Schoolfield (wide receivers) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt