The 1977 Kent State Golden Flashes football team was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

team that represented

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in As ...

in the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the twel ...

(MAC) during the

1977 NCAA Division I football season The 1977 NCAA Division I football season was one in which the top five teams finished with 11–1 records. Notre Dame, which beat top-ranked and undefeated Texas in the Cotton Bowl, became the national champion. The 1977 season was the last ...

. In their third and final season under head coach

Dennis Fitzgerald Joseph Dennis Fitzgerald (March 13, 1936 – January 14, 2001) was an American freestyle wrestler and football player and coach. Fitzgerald played college football as a halfback at the University of Michigan and was selected as named the most val ...

, the Golden Flashes compiled a 6–5 record (5–4 against MAC opponents), finished in sixth place in the MAC, and were outscored by all opponents by a combined total of 241 to 200. The team's statistical leaders included Tom Roper with 630 rushing yards, Mike Whalen with 534 passing yards, and Kim Featsent with 549 receiving yards. Five Kent State players were selected as first-team All-MAC players: wide receiver Kim Featsent, offensive tackle Tom Jesko, linebacker Jack Lazor, placekicker Paul Marchese, and defensive lineman Mike Zele. Dennis Fitzgerald resigned as Kent State's head coach in March 1978 to accept a position as an assistant coach at Syracuse. In three years as Kent State's head coach, he compiled an 18–16 record.

Schedule

References

Kent State Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in Ash ...

Kent State Golden Flashes football seasons

Kent State Golden Flashes football Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces the ...

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