1976 Missouri Tigers football team

External videos
External videos
	Game highlights (part 1)
	Game highlights (part 2)
	Game highlights (part 3)
	Game film (silent)

1976 Missouri Tigers football
1976 Missouri Tigers football
Conference	Big Eight Conference
Record	6–5 (3–4 Big 8)
Head coach	Al Onofrio (6th season);
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
	Seasons ← 1975 1977 →

1976 Big Eight Conference football standings
v t	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 16 Colorado +	5	–	2	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
No. 14 Oklahoma State +	5	–	2	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
No. 5 Oklahoma +	5	–	2	–	0	9	–	2	–	1
No. 19 Iowa State	4	–	3	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
No. 9 Nebraska	4	–	3	–	0	9	–	3	–	1
Missouri	3	–	4	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Kansas	2	–	5	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Kansas State	0	–	7	–	0	1	–	10	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1976 Missouri Tigers football team was an American football team that represented the University of Missouri in the Big Eight Conference (Big 8) during the 1976 NCAA Division I football season. The team compiled a 6–5 record (3–4 against Big 8 opponents), finished in sixth place in the Big 8, and was outscored by opponents by a combined total of 246 to 241. Al Onofrio was the head coach for the sixth of seven seasons.^[1]^[2] The team played its home games at Faurot Field in Columbia, Missouri.

The team's statistical leaders included Curtis Brown with 844 rushing yards, Pete Woods with 996 passing yards and 1,189 yards of total offense, Joe Stewart with 834 receiving yards, and placekicker Tim Gibbons with 62 points scored.^[3]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 11	at No. 8 USC*		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	W 46–25	49,535
September 18	Illinois*	No. 6	Faurot Field Columbia, MO (rivalry)	L 6–31	63,486
September 25	at No. 2 Ohio State*		Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	W 22–21	87,936
October 2	No. 14 North Carolina*	No. 12	Faurot Field Columbia, MO	W 24–3	60,676	^[4]
October 9	at Kansas State	No. 9	KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS	W 28–21	22,200
October 16	Iowa State	No. 7	Faurot Field Columbia, MO (rivalry)	L 17–21	66,491
October 23	at No. 3 Nebraska	No. 17	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)	W 34–24	76,051
October 30	at No. 16 Oklahoma State	No. 10	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK	L 19–20
November 6	No. 14 Colorado	No. 16	Faurot Field Columbia, MO	W 16–7	64,830
November 13	at No. 14 Oklahoma	No. 11	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK (rivalry)	L 20–27	71,620
November 20	Kansas	No. 19	Faurot Field Columbia, MO (Border War)	L 14–41	62,599
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel

1976 Missouri Tigers football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
C	`55`	Pete Allard	So
RB	`25`	Curtis Brown	Sr
RB	`33`	Rich Dansdill	So
FB	`32`	Annise Davis	Jr
WR	`80`	Lamont Downer	So
C	`66`	Marty Engman	Sr
RB	`23`	Earl Gant	So
OT, G	`64`	Garry Hiebert	Jr
G	`65`	Tom Kowalczyk	Sr
RB	`24`	Dean Leibson	Jr
WR	`10`	Leo Lewis	So
C	`51`	Larry McDevitt	Sr
WR	`88`	Percy McBride	Sr
QB	`11`	Paul Miller	So
TE	`84`	Mike Owens	So
QB	`15`	Steve Pisarkiewicz	Sr
WR	`45`	Joe Stewart	Jr
OT	`76`	James Taylor	Jr
OT	`75`	Morris Towns	Sr
G	`61`	Mark Wahlmeier	Jr
RB	`43`	Jornel Williams	Sr
TE	`83`	Kellen Winslow	So
QB	`18`	Pete Woods	Jr
G	`77`	Joel Yearian	Sr

Defense (C)

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DB	`27`	Chuck Banta	Sr
DT	`69`	Doug Bentlage	Sr
DB	`2`	Bruce Carter	Sr
DT	`79`	Don Cole	Jr
DB	`41`	Bob Fitzgerald	Sr
DT	`91`	Randy Frisch	Sr
LB	`68`	Chris Garlich	So
DE	`94`	Steve Hamilton	So
LB	`38`	Tim Helm	Sr
DE	`95`	Blaine Henningsen	Sr
LB	`57`	Tom Hodge	Sr
DT	`72`	Curtis Kirkland	Sr
LB	`52`	Mark Kirkpatrick	Sr
DB	`40`	Jim Leavitt	Jr
DB	`22`	Steve Mally	Jr
DT	`74`	Keith Morrissey	Jr
DB	`7`	Mike Newman	Sr
DB	`8`	Terry Newman	So
DB	`16`	Mark Phillips	Jr
DT	`63`	Doug Seymour	Sr
DE	`93`	Dale Smith	Sr
DT	`92`	Rickie Sutherland	Jr
DB	`29`	Dan Whitmer	Sr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
P	`26`	Steve Blau	Jr
K	`9`	Tim Gibbons	Sr

Head coach

Al Onofrio

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

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

Injured
Redshirt

Game summaries

At USC

Illinois

At Ohio State

Missouri Tigers (1–1) at #2 Ohio State Buckeyes (2–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Missouri	0	7	7	8	22
Ohio St	0	21	0	0	21

at Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

Date: September 25, 1976
Game time: 1:30 p.m.
Game weather: Sunny, 70 °F (21 °C)
Game attendance: 87,936
Box Score

Game information

First quarter

No scoring

Second quarter

OSU – Pete Johnson 2-yard run (Tom Skladany kick), 14:25. Ohio St 7–0. Drive: 13 plays, 80 yards, 4:34.
UM – Joe Stewart 31-yard pass from Pete Woods (Tim Gibbons kick), 11:56. Tie 7–7. Drive: 8 plays, 79 yards, 2:22.
OSU – Pete Johnson 2-yard run (Tom Skladany kick), 9:47. Ohio St 14–7. Drive: 6 plays, 77 yards, 2:02.
OSU – Pete Johnson 3-yard run (Tom Skladany kick), 7:33. Ohio St 21–7. Drive: 2 plays, 12 yards, 0:22.

Third quarter

UM – Curtis Brown 4-yard run (Tim Gibbons kick), 9:00. Ohio St 21–14. Drive: 8 plays, 36 yards, 2:50.

Fourth quarter

UM – Leo Lewis 2-yard pass from Pete Woods (run good), 0:12. Missouri 22–21. Drive: 12 plays, 80 yards, 4:30.

Top passers

UM – Pete Woods – 9/19, 113 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
OSU – Rod Gerald – 1/8, 9 yards, INT

Top rushers

UM – Curtis Brown – 20 rushes, 108 yards, TD
OSU – Pete Johnson – 23 rushes, 119 yards, 3 TD

Top receivers

UM – Joe Stewart – 3 receptions, 65 yards, TD
OSU – Herman Jones – 1 reception, 9 yards

North Carolina

At Kansas State

Iowa State

At Nebraska

At Oklahoma State

Colorado

At Oklahoma

Kansas

References

^ "1976 Missouri Tigers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
^ "2016 Mizzou Football Media Guide" (PDF). University of Missouri. p. 158. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
^ "2014 Mizzou Football Records Book" (PDF). University of Missouri. pp. 26–27. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
^ "Mizzou humbles North Carolina, 24–3". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. October 3, 1976. Retrieved January 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[SR-1] "1976 Missouri Tigers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 12, 2016.

[2] "2016 Mizzou Football Media Guide" (PDF). University of Missouri. p. 158. Retrieved November 12, 2016.

[3] "2014 Mizzou Football Records Book" (PDF). University of Missouri. pp. 26–27. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2016.

[4] "Mizzou humbles North Carolina, 24–3". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. October 3, 1976. Retrieved January 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t Missouri Tigers football
Venues	Guitar and Lowry Field (1890–1891) Athletic Grounds (1892–1895) Rollins Field (1896–1926) Faurot Field (1926–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Arkansas: Battle Line Rivalry Illinois Iowa State Kansas: Border War Nebraska Oklahoma
Culture and lore	Truman the Tiger Marching Mizzou 1911 Kansas game Fifth Down Game (1990) Flea Kicker
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical Leaders
Seasons	1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024