1976 McMNC: Pittsburgh Panthers

AP Top 10: Final Record -- Key Bowl Results

1. Pittsburgh: 12-0-0 -- W, Sugar, 27-3
2. USC: 11-1-0 -- W, Rose, 14-6
3. Michigan: 10-2-0 -- L, Rose, 6-14
4. Houston: 10-2-0 -- W, Cotton, 30-21
5. Oklahoma: 9-2-1 -- W, Fiesta, 41-7
6. Ohio State: 9-2-1 -- W, Orange, 27-10
7. Texas A&M: 10-2-0 -- W, Sun, 37-14
8. Maryland: 11-1-0 -- L, Cotton, 21-30
9. Nebraska: 9-3-1 -- W, Bluebonnet, 27-24
10. Georgia: 10-2-0 -- L, Sugar, 3-27

Note: Rutgers went 11-0 with a 32% SOS rating to finish 17th in the AP poll. Congrats! Also, if Maryland had won the Cotton Bowl, they would have a case against Pittsburgh (see below).

So Pitt is the clear favorite here, of course, as the only undefeated team. The question is their SOS and the one-loss, bowl-winning team behind them: USC. Not a lot to choose from in 1976, huh?

USC: Ironic, but their one loss is the same as Alabama's from 1975 -- a double-digit home loss to 6-5 Missouri. The Trojans actually lost 46-25 in their opening game of the season, before winning the last 11 straight. Their SOS rating was 51%, which isn't going to overwhelm anyone, although it's not bad by any stretch. They beat 6-5 Stanford on the road by 24 points, they beat AP #15 UCLA (9-2-1) on the "road" by ten points, they beat AP #12 Notre Dame (9-3) by four points at home, and they beat #3 Michigan in the Rose Bowl. Again, these were four of the last five games of the season for USC -- and the only wins against winning teams all season. Their SOS was sunk by 2-10 Oregon State and 3-8 Washington State, by the way.

Pittsburgh: Since the Panthers' SOS rating was 48%, they're going to keep their McMNC rights intact with the perfect record and a bowl win. They beat #12 Notre Dame on the road by 21 points, and that was their only win over a ranked team until the Sugar Bowl. They played only one other winning team in 1976: 7-5 Penn State. One of the weaker schedules you see for a McMNC winner, that's for sure. If Maryland had won its bowl game, they had a higher SOS rating (49%) and might have edged the Panthers.

USC has more wins over ranked teams, and they have more wins over winning teams. But the one loss was a big one for the Trojans, and it cost them the McMNC in 1976.

McMNC Revisions
1. Pittsburgh
2. USC
3. Houston
4. Texas A&M
5. Michigan

RUNNING SCORECARD:
Tennessee: +1938, +1942, +1950, -1951
UCLA: +1965
Arkansas: +1964
Mississippi: +1962
Washington: +1960
Iowa: +1956
Georgia Tech: +1952
Illinois: +1951
Michigan: +1947, =1948
Georgia: +1946
Purdue: +1943
Stanford: +1940
California: +1937
Pittsburgh: +1936, -1937, =1976
Nebraska: =1970, =1971
Syracuse: =1959
LSU: =1958
Texas A&M: =1939
Michigan State: -1952, +1953
USC: -1962, =1967, +1969, =1972
Ohio State: -1942, +1944, =1954, =1968
Oklahoma: +1949, -1950, =1955, -1956, +1957, =1975
TCU: -1938
Maryland: -1953
Auburn: -1957
Texas: =1963, -1969
Alabama: +1945, =1961, -1964, -1965
Army: -1944, -1945
Minnesota: -1936, -1940, =1941, -1960
Notre Dame: -1943, -1946, -1947, -1949, =1966, =1973