The 1976 NCAA Division I football season ended with a championship for the Panthers of the University of Pittsburgh. Led by head coach Johnny Majors (voted the AFCA Coach of the Year), the Pitt Panthers brought a college football championship to the home of the defending pro football champions, the Steelers. Pitt also had the Heisman Trophy winner, Tony Dorsett; the Panthers had been ranked ninth in the preseason AP poll.
During the 20th century, the NCAA had no playoff for major college football teams, which became in 1978. The NCAA Football Guide, however, did note an "unofficial national champion" based on the top ranked teams in the "wire service" (AP and UPI) polls. The "writers' poll" by Associated Press (AP) was the most popular, followed by the "coaches' poll" by United Press International) (UPI). The AP poll consisted of the votes of as many as 62 writers, though not all voted in each poll, and the UPI poll was taken of a 25-member board of coaches.
Rule changes
Spearing will be called anytime the infraction occurs, previously it was called only if the official determined "malicious" intent. Blocking rules were liberalized, allowing half of full extension of arms within the frame of, but below the shoulder of, the opponent.
Conference and program changes
September
In the preseason poll released on September 7, the AP ranked Nebraska first, followed by Michigan, Arizona State (the highest preseason ranking for a WAC team), Ohio State, and Oklahoma.
September 11: No. 1 Nebraska failed to win its opening game, being tied 6–6 by LSU in Baton Rouge, escaping with the stalemate only after the Bayou Bengals missed a 44-yard field goal attempt in the closing seconds. No. 2 Michigan beat Wisconsin 40–27, but No. 3 Arizona State lost its home opener 28–10 to No. 17 UCLA; after an undefeated season in 1975, the Sun Devils would finish just 4−7 this year. No. 4 Ohio State beat Michigan State 49–21, and No. 5 Oklahoma won 24–3 at Vanderbilt. Losses by No. 6 Alabama, No. 7 Texas, and No. 8 USC opened the door for No. 9 Pittsburgh to make a big jump in the next poll, and the Panthers came through with a 31–10 win at No. 11 Notre Dame. With Nebraska and Arizona State dropping to 8th and 18th, the next AP Poll featured No. 1 Michigan, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3.Pittsburgh, No. 4 Oklahoma, and No. 5 UCLA.
September 18: The top five teams all won: No. 1 Michigan beat Stanford 51–0, and No. 2 Ohio State won 12–7 at No. 7 Penn State. No. 3 Pittsburgh beat Georgia Tech 42–14 in Atlanta, No. 4 Oklahoma beat California 28–17, and No. 5 UCLA beat Arizona 37–9. The top five remained the same in the next poll.
September 25: No. 1 Michigan crushed Navy 70–14, but No. 2 Ohio State lost 22–21 to Missouri and fell to eighth in the next poll. No. 3 Pittsburgh beat Temple 21–7, No. 4 Oklahoma beat Florida State 24–9, and No. 5 UCLA beat Air Force, 40–7. No. 6 Nebraska, which beat TCU 64–10, returned to the Top Five: No. 1 Michigan, No. 2 Pittsburgh, No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 4 UCLA, and No. 5 Nebraska.
October
October 2: No. 1 Michigan beat Wake Forest 31–0, and No. 2 Pittsburgh won 44–31 at Duke. No. 3 Oklahoma won 24–10 at Iowa State, while No. 4 UCLA traveled to Columbus and played No. 8 Ohio State to a 10–10 tie. No. 5 Nebraska beat Miami (FL) 17–9, but dropped to sixth in the next poll. No. 6 Georgia shut out No. 10 Alabama 21–0 and moved up: No. 1 Michigan, No. 2 Pittsburgh, No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 4 Georgia, and No. 5 UCLA.
October 9: No. 1 Michigan defeated Michigan State 42–10, and No. 2 Pittsburgh beat Louisville 27–6. No. 3 Oklahoma played its annual game in Dallas against No. 16 Texas and wound up with a 6–6 tie. No. 4 Georgia was upset 21–17 at Mississippi, No. 5 UCLA beat Stanford 38–20, No. 6 Nebraska won 24–12 at Colorado, and No. 7 Maryland beat NC State 16–6. The next poll featured No. 1 Michigan, No. 2 Pittsburgh, No. 3 Nebraska, No. 4 UCLA, and No. 5 Maryland.
October 16: After playing its first five games at home, No. 1 Michigan traveled to Evanston and defeated Northwestern, 38–7. No. 2 Pittsburgh beat Miami (FL), 36–19. No. 3 Nebraska shut out Kansas State 51–0, No. 4 UCLA beat Washington State 62–3, but No. 5 Maryland narrowly beat Wake Forest 17–15 and fell to sixth. No. 6 Oklahoma returned to the Top Five after a 28–10 win at No. 15 Kansas. The next poll featured No. 1 Michigan, No. 2 Pittsburgh, No. 3 Nebraska, No. 4 UCLA, and No. 5 Oklahoma.