1976 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team

American college football season

1976 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football

Conference	Independent
Record	4–6–1
Head coach	Pepper Rodgers (3rd season)
Captain	Lucius Sanford Leo Tierney Tony Daykin
Home stadium	Grant Field
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

The 1976 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team represented the Georgia Institute of Technology during the 1976 NCAA Division I football season. The Yellow Jackets were led by third-year head coach Pepper Rodgers, and played their home games at Grant Field in Atlanta.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 11	South Carolina	Grant Field Atlanta, GA	ABC	L 17–27	38,923	^[2]
September 18	No. 3 Pittsburgh	Grant Field Atlanta, GA		L 14–42	43,424	^[3]
September 25	Clemson	Grant Field Atlanta, GA (rivalry)		T 24–24	43,397	^[4]
October 2	Virginia	Grant Field Atlanta, GA		W 35–14	38,119	^[5]
October 9	Tennessee	Grant Field Atlanta, GA (rivalry)		L 7–42	55,631	^[6]
October 16	at Auburn	Jordan-Hare Stadium Auburn, AL (rivalry)		W 28–10	63,876	^[7]
October 23	Tulane	Grant Field Atlanta, GA		W 28–16	31,214	^[8]
October 30	at Duke	Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC		L 7–31	30,300	^[9]
November 6	No. 11 Notre Dame	Grant Field Atlanta, GA (rivalry)		W 23–14	50,079	^[10]
November 13	at Navy	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD		L 28–34	20,010	^[11]
November 27	at No. 4 Georgia	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA (rivalry)		L 10–13	60,500	^[12]
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[13]^[14]

Roster

1976 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
WR	`31`	Drew Hill	So
OT	`88`	Kent Hill	So
RB	`40`	Eddie Lee Ivery	So
G	`71`	Randy Pass	Jr
G	`78`	Elliott Price	Sr
OT	`77`	Roy Simmons	So
RB	`46`	David Sims	Sr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DB	`25`	Don Bessillieu	So
DB	`30`	Tony Daykin	So
DB	`42`	Eddie Porter	Sr
DB	`20`	Danny Rhino	Sr
LB	`89`	Lucius Sanford	Jr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class

Head coach

Pepper Rodgers

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

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

Injured
Redshirt

References

^ https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/years/1976-standings.html
^ "South Carolina defense surprises Georgia Tech". The Miami Herald. September 12, 1976. Retrieved January 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Pitt rolls past Georgia Tech, 42–14". Kingsport Times-News. September 19, 1976. Retrieved January 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Clemson, Georgia Tech battle to 24–24 tie". Salisbury Evening Post. September 26, 1976. Retrieved January 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Ga. Tech routs hapless Virginia 35–14". The Danville Register. October 3, 1976. Retrieved January 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Volunteers smash Ga. Tech by 42–7". The Anniston Star. October 10, 1976. Retrieved May 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Tech upsets Auburn, 28–10". Florence Morning News. October 17, 1976. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Halfback pass spurs Georgia Tech rally". The Montgomery Advertiser. October 24, 1976. Retrieved October 18, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Duke uses Tech mistakes to claim easy 31–7 win". The Robesonian. October 31, 1976. Retrieved January 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Georgia Tech stuns Irish". The Lynchburg News. November 7, 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.
^ "Georgia struggles by Tech". The News and Observer. November 28, 1976. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "1976 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Schedule and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 18, 2017.
^ 2011 Georgia Tech Media Guide Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine. p. 173

v t e Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football
Venues	Piedmont Park (1892–1893, 1898–1901, 1903–1904) Brisbine Park (1892, 1896–1897, 1902) Athletic Park Grounds (1894) The Flats (1905–1907, 1912) Ponce de Leon Park (1907–1911) Bobby Dodd Stadium (1913–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Alabama Auburn Clemson Georgia: Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate Tennessee Vanderbilt Virginia Tech
Culture & lore	Buzz Ramblin' Wreck "Ramblin' Wreck from Georgia Tech" "Up with the White and Gold" Marching band Heisman shift 1916 Cumberland game 1990 Virginia game 2023 Miami game
People	Head coaches Starting quarterbacks NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	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
National championship seasons in bold