1976 South Carolina State Bulldogs football team

1976 South Carolina State Bulldogs football
1976 South Carolina State Bulldogs football
Black college national champion; MEAC co-champion
Bicentennial Bowl, W 26–10 vs. Norfolk State
Conference	Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
Record	10–1 (5–1 MEAC)
Head coach	Willie Jeffries (4th season);
Defensive coordinator	James Carson (2nd season)
Home stadium	Bulldog Stadium
	Seasons ← 1975 1977 →

1976 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. T–8 South Carolina State +	5	–	1	–	0	10	–	1	–	0
Morgan State +	5	–	1	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
North Carolina A&T	3	–	2	–	1	6	–	4	–	1
Howard	3	–	2	–	1	5	–	5	–	1
North Carolina Central	2	–	4	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
Delaware State	1	–	5	–	0	3	–	7	–	1
Maryland Eastern Shore	1	–	5	–	0	2	–	9	–	0

+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from Associated Press poll

The 1976 South Carolina State Bulldogs football team represented South Carolina State University as a member of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) during the 1976 NCAA Division II football season. In its fourth season under head coach Willie Jeffries, the team compiled a 10–1 record (5–1 against conference opponents), tied for the MEAC championship, defeated Norfolk State in the Bicentennial Bowl, and outscored opponents by a total of 278 to 44. The team was recognized as the 1976 black college football national champion and was ranked No. 8 by the Associated Press in the final 1976 NCAA Division II football rankings.^[1]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 11	at Delaware State		Alumni Stadium Dover, DE	W 30–0	2,700	^[2]
September 18	at North Carolina A&T		World War Memorial Stadium Greensboro, NC (rivalry)	L 14–15	20,000	^[3]
September 25	at Howard		Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium Washington, DC	W 40–0	8,500	^[4]
October 2	Alcorn State*		Bulldog Stadium Orangeburg, SC	W 7–6	9,860–15,000	^[5]^[6]
October 9	Johnson C. Smith*		Bulldog Stadium Orangeburg, SC	W 28–0	7,000	^[7]
October 16	at Morgan State		Hughes Stadium Baltimore, MD	W 17–0	6,500	^[8]
October 23	Newberry*		Bulldog Stadium Orangeburg, SC	W 25–7	5,128–5,129	^[9]
October 30	North Carolina Central		Bulldog Stadium Orangeburg, SC	W 30–0	4,320	^[10]
November 6	Maryland Eastern Shore	No. 9	Bulldog Stadium Orangeburg, SC	W 47–0	14,103	^[11]
November 13	at Wofford*	No. 6	Synder Field Spartanburg, SC	W 14–6	6,200	^[12]
December 11	at Norfolk State*	No. 8	City Stadium Richmond, VA (Bicentennial Bowl)	W 26–10	7,500	^[13]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game