1976 Kansas Jayhawks football team

The 1976 Kansas Jayhawks football team represented the University of Kansas in the Big Eight Conference during the 1976 NCAA Division I football season. In their second season under head coach Bud Moore, the Jayhawks compiled a 6–5 record (2–5 against conference opponents), finished in seventh place in the conference, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 260 to 251. They played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas.

1976 Kansas Jayhawks football
Conference	Big Eight Conference
Record	6–5 (2–5 Big 8)
Head coach	Bud Moore (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	John Levra (2nd season)
Captains	Nolan Cromwell Chris Golub
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium

1976 Big Eight Conference football standings

	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 16 Colorado +	5	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
No. 14 Oklahoma State +	5	–	2	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
No. 5 Oklahoma +	5	–	2	–	0			9	–	2	–	1
No. 19 Iowa State	4	–	3	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
No. 9 Nebraska	4	–	3	–	0			9	–	3	–	1
Missouri	3	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Kansas	2	–	5	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Kansas State	0	–	7	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The team's statistical leaders included Nolan Cromwell with 273 passing yards, Laverne Smith with 978 rushing yards (completing his KU career averaging 6.5 yards per carry), and Waddell Smith with 221 receiving yards. Cromwell and Chris Golub were the team captains.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 4	at Oregon State*	No. 19	Parker Stadium Corvallis, OR	W 28–16	29,952
September 11	Washington State*	No. 19	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	W 35–16	39,475
September 18	Kentucky*	No. 13	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	W 37–16	50,170
October 2	Wisconsin*	No. 9	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	W 34–24	48,350
October 9	at Oklahoma State	No. 8	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK	L 14–21	37,500
October 16	No. 6 Oklahoma	No. 15	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	L 10–28	52,100
October 23	at Kansas State		KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS (rivalry)	W 24–14	43,500
October 30	No. 9 Nebraska		Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS (rivalry)	L 3–31	50,850
November 6	Iowa State		Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	L 17–31	38,250
November 13	at No. 19 Colorado		Folsom Field Boulder, CO	L 17–40	47,850
November 20	at No. 19 Missouri		Faurot Field Columbia, MO (Border War)	W 41–14	62,559
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1976 Kansas Jayhawks football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB 23 Billy Campfield Jr QB 9 Nolan Cromwell Sr G 67 Dave Hentges Sr OT 64 Lindsey Mason Jr QB 10 Scott McMichael Sr RB 29 Skip Sharp Sr RB 30 Laverne Smith Sr WR 86 Waddell Smith Sr OT 72 Blake Thompson Sr C 54 Mike Wellman So	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 78 Terry Beeson Sr DT 77 Mike Butler Sr DE 93 Tom Dinkel Jr CB 13 Tom Fitch Jr S Chris Golub Sr DE 81 Steve Jones Sr LB 89 Jim Zidd So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Bud Moore Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt