An interesting Gopher Football season with a UCLA connection:

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walrus

walrus

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Season: 1977
Gopher Coach: Cal Stoll
Bruin Coach> Terry Donahue
UCLA connection: Sept 24, 1977, Minnesota vs. UCLA
Memorial Stadium @ the Brick House
Outcome: Minnesota 27 UCLA 13

UCLA had a high powered offense with Freeman McNeil and Theotis Brown at the running back positions,
It was Terry Donahue's second season at UCLA. He went on to become the all time win leading coach at UCLA and had a 98-51-8 all time Pac10 record.

Why was this part of one of the most memorable seasons of Gopher Football I have ever experienced?

It was significant to me because it was a season in which the Gopher Team beat both participants in the RB classic held on Jan. 1, 1978!

The win over UCLA at the Brick House was the first big win for the U of M during the 1977 season. They started out with a 10-0 win over Western Michigan. Their second game of the season was a blow-out loss to Ohio State. Then they beat UCLA. The next game the Gopher Team pulled out a 19-17 win over Washington and Warren Moon. A few games later, they pulled the great 16-0 shut out of number one ranked Michigan in the Brick House.

The ironic thing is that UCLA forfeited every game on their schedule following the Gopher win over the Bruins because of the use of players ruled ineligible by the NCAA. They did beat Washington but, lost to USC and Stanford inPAC10 play.

Washington went to the Rose Bowl and beat Michigan in that game.

So, here we are again. Set to play the Bruins on Saturday evening. Ironically, again, UCLA, USC, Oregon and Washington are now B1G Conference members.

I have always greatly admired Cal Stoll. His coaching tenure at Minnesota lasted only one more season. But, even in that 1977 season he managed to beat both participants in the Rose Bowl game. Some years after that season Cal Stoll had a heart transplant and was a remarkable inspiration for heart transplant survivors and families.

Steve Midboe was the Gopher MVP that season and Paul R. kicked a bunch for field goals and extra points for the Gopher Team.
 

Looking back on the schedules they played and mostly competitive games, he was an under appreciated coach in my opinion. I think had bowl games been then what they have become now, he may have stuck awhile longer.
 

walrus said:
Season: 1977
Gopher Coach: Cal Stoll
Bruin Coach> Terry Donahue
UCLA connection: Sept 24, 1977, Minnesota vs. UCLA
Memorial Stadium @ the Brick House
Outcome: Minnesota 27 UCLA 13

UCLA had a high powered offense with Freeman McNeil and Theotis Brown at the running back positions,
It was Terry Donahue's second season at UCLA. He went on to become the all time win leading coach at UCLA and had a 98-51-8 all time Pac10 record.

Why was this part of one of the most memorable seasons of Gopher Football I have ever experienced?

It was significant to me because it was a season in which the Gopher Team beat both participants in the RB classic held on Jan. 1, 1978!

The win over UCLA at the Brick House was the first big win for the U of M during the 1977 season. They started out with a 10-0 win over Western Michigan. Their second game of the season was a blow-out loss to Ohio State. Then they beat UCLA. The next game the Gopher Team pulled out a 19-17 win over Washington and Warren Moon. A few games later, they pulled the great 16-0 shut out of number one ranked Michigan in the Brick House.

The ironic thing is that UCLA forfeited every game on their schedule following the Gopher win over the Bruins because of the use of players ruled ineligible by the NCAA. They did beat Washington but, lost to USC and Stanford inPAC10 play.

Washington went to the Rose Bowl and beat Michigan in that game.

So, here we are again. Set to play the Bruins on Saturday evening. Ironically, again, UCLA, USC, Oregon and Washington are now B1G Conference members.

I have always greatly admired Cal Stoll. His coaching tenure at Minnesota lasted only one more season. But, even in that 1977 season he managed to beat both participants in the Rose Bowl game. Some years after that season Cal Stoll had a heart transplant and was a remarkable inspiration for heart transplant survivors and families.

Steve Midboe was the Gopher MVP that season and Paul R. kicked a bunch for field goals and extra points for the Gopher Team.
Click to expand...
Yes, I realize that I have posted this before, but how often have we played UCLA?
 

walrus said:
Season: 1977
Gopher Coach: Cal Stoll
Bruin Coach> Terry Donahue
UCLA connection: Sept 24, 1977, Minnesota vs. UCLA
Memorial Stadium @ the Brick House
Outcome: Minnesota 27 UCLA 13

UCLA had a high powered offense with Freeman McNeil and Theotis Brown at the running back positions,
It was Terry Donahue's second season at UCLA. He went on to become the all time win leading coach at UCLA and had a 98-51-8 all time Pac10 record.

Why was this part of one of the most memorable seasons of Gopher Football I have ever experienced?

It was significant to me because it was a season in which the Gopher Team beat both participants in the RB classic held on Jan. 1, 1978!

The win over UCLA at the Brick House was the first big win for the U of M during the 1977 season. They started out with a 10-0 win over Western Michigan. Their second game of the season was a blow-out loss to Ohio State. Then they beat UCLA. The next game the Gopher Team pulled out a 19-17 win over Washington and Warren Moon. A few games later, they pulled the great 16-0 shut out of number one ranked Michigan in the Brick House.

The ironic thing is that UCLA forfeited every game on their schedule following the Gopher win over the Bruins because of the use of players ruled ineligible by the NCAA. They did beat Washington but, lost to USC and Stanford inPAC10 play.

Washington went to the Rose Bowl and beat Michigan in that game.

So, here we are again. Set to play the Bruins on Saturday evening. Ironically, again, UCLA, USC, Oregon and Washington are now B1G Conference members.

I have always greatly admired Cal Stoll. His coaching tenure at Minnesota lasted only one more season. But, even in that 1977 season he managed to beat both participants in the Rose Bowl game. Some years after that season Cal Stoll had a heart transplant and was a remarkable inspiration for heart transplant survivors and families.

Steve Midboe was the Gopher MVP that season and Paul R. kicked a bunch for field goals and extra points for the Gopher Team.
Click to expand...
I still remember the Washington win. The only game my mom brought me to.
 




The video shows the UCLA punter fumbling the snap in the rain and the Gophers recovering. The Gopher offense took the field and the rain stopped and the sun appeared much to the delight of the crowd. I remember the scene vividly 47 years later.
 

I remember meeting Cal Stoll after he and my father became friends through their heart transplants. Every time I see his name my face smiles, he was a good guy. He told me the firing bothered him as his record was better than the current Minnesota coach was at the time.
 

Thanks for the video, I remember sitting in the driveway in dads green Pontiac listening to the Michigan game on the radio
 



UCLA had a chance to go to the Rose Bowl that season if they could beat USC later in the day, but if they did not, Washington would go. It was interesting knowing that, after Michigan beat Ohio State to clinch their spot in the Rose Bowl, Gopher fans could say that they had beaten all THREE teams still in contention. Their win over UCLA was a bit of an eye-opener. The only bummer for 1977 was this: Stoll had planned to redshirt Dungy in 1973, his freshman year. But injuries forced his hand and he had to play Dungy. That put Dungy's senior season as 1976. I always wondered how the 1977 season had turned out had Stoll had Dungy to go with that very strong defense.....
 

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