The 1977 Kentucky Wildcats football team represented the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...

in 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 ...

. The Wildcats scored 252 points while allowing 111 points. The Wildcats finished conference play undefeated but due to NCAA probation were not eligible for a share of the SEC championship or for postseason play. The Wildcats finished the season ranked #6 in the final

AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broad ...

Regular season

Kentucky's 33-13 victory vs. LSU was its third in four years over the Bayou Bengals, and the Wildcats' first at Tiger Stadium since 1949, when Bear Bryant was Kentucky's coach. In the Border Battle, Kentucky beat

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

by a score of 21–17. Entering that game, Kentucky had seven injured starters unable to play, including quarterback

Derrick Ramsey Derrick Kent Ramsey (born December 23, 1956) was the Kentucky Secretary of Education and Workforce Development, having been appointed by Governor of Kentucky, Governor Matt Bevin. He was the Deputy Secretary of Commerce under former Kentucky Gov ...

, whose arm was injured so badly he could not throw the football. Tennessee jumped out to a 17–14 lead when backup quarterback Mike Deaton completed a 36-yard pass to Felix Wilson; the injured Ramsey then entered the game and led Kentucky to a touchdown. Tennessee's offense then took the ball to Kentucky's 22-yard line but Tennessee quarterback Jimmy Streater fumbled due to a hit by Kentucky All-American defensive end Art Still, and linebacker

Kelly Kirchbaum Kelly L. Kirchbaum (born June 14, 1957) is a former American football linebacker who played two seasons in the National Football League (NFL) with the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles. He was drafted by the New York Jets in the fifth ro ...

recovered the ball to preserve the win.

Schedule

Personnel

Game summaries

Penn State

Georgia

*The Prince of Wales (now

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person t ...

) in attendance

Team players in the NFL

Awards and honors

* Art Still, All-America honors

References

{{Kentucky Wildcats football navbox

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

Kentucky Wildcats football seasons

Kentucky Wildcats football The Kentucky Wildcats football program represents the University of Kentucky in the sport of American football. The Wildcats compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern D ...