# 1976 Navy Midshipmen football team

The 1976 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy (USNA) as an independent during the 1976 NCAA Division I football season. The team was led by fourth-year head coach George Welsh.

## Schedule

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
| September 11 | | Rutgers | Navy–Marine Corps Memorial StadiumAnnapolis, MD | L 3–13 | 17,501 |
| September 18 | | at Connecticut | Memorial StadiumStorrs, CT | W 21–3 | 15,906 |
| September 25 | | at No. 1 Michigan | Michigan StadiumAnn Arbor, MI | L 14–70 | 101,040 |
| October 2 | | No. 15 Boston College | Navy–Marine Corps Memorial StadiumAnnapolis, MD | L 13–17 | 16,156 |
| October 9 | | at Air Force | Falcon StadiumColorado Springs, CO (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy) | L 3–13 | |
| October 16 | | William & Mary | Navy–Marine Corps Memorial StadiumAnnapolis, MD | L 13–21 | 21,681 |
| October 23 | | No. 2 Pittsburgh | Navy–Marine Corps Memorial StadiumAnnapolis, MD | L 0–45 | 26,346 |
| October 30 | 1:30 p.m. | vs. No. 11 Notre Dame | Municipal StadiumCleveland, OH (rivalry) | L 21–27 | 61,172 |
| November 6 | | at Syracuse | Archbold StadiumSyracuse, NY | W 27–10 | 22,333 |
| November 13 | | Georgia Tech | Navy–Marine Corps Memorial StadiumAnnapolis, MD | W 34–28 | 20,010 |
| November 27 | | vs. Army | John F. Kennedy StadiumPhiladelphia, PA (Army–Navy Game) | W 38–10 | |
| Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||

## Game summaries
### Vs. Notre Dame

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Notre Dame | 3 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 27 |
| Navy | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio
* Date: October 30
* Game attendance: 61,172
* Recap/Box Score
Game information :
First quarter
ND – Dave Reeve 47-yard field goal. Notre Dame 3–0. Drive:
Second quarter
NAVY – Dave King 17-yard pass from Bob Leszcyznski (Bob Tata kick). Navy 7–3. Drive:
NAVY – Larry Klawinski 1-yard run (Bob Tata kick). Navy 14–3. Drive:
ND – Dan Kelleher 58-yard pass from Rick Slager (Dave Reeve kick). Navy 14–10. Drive:
ND – Al Hunter 5-yard run (Dave Reeve kick). Notre Dame 17–14. Drive: 60 yards.
ND – Al Hunter 28-yard pass from Rick Slager (Dave Reeve kick). Notre Dame 24–14. Drive:
Third quarter
No scoring
Fourth quarter
NAVY – Reggie Thompson 1-yard run (Bob Tata kick). Notre Dame 24–21. Drive:
ND – Dave Reeve 24-yard field goal. Notre Dame 27–21. Drive:
Top passers
ND
NAVY – Bob Leszcyznski – 21/45, 294 yards, TD, INT
Top rushers
ND
NAVY
Top receivers
ND – Dan Kelleher – 7 receptions, 162 yards, TD
NAVY :

### Vs. Army

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Army | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| Navy | 7 | 7 | 17 | 7 | 38 |
at JFK Stadium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
* Date: November 27
* Game weather: Cloudy
* Game attendance: 77,612
Game information :
First quarter
NAVY – Joe Gattuso 2-yard run (Bob Tata kick), 0:15. Navy 7–0. Drive: 51 yards.
Second quarter
ARMY – Greg King 11-yard run (Mike Castelli kick). Tie 7–7. Drive:
NAVY – Phil McConkey 11-yard pass from Bob Leszczynski (Bob Tata kick). Navy 14–7. Drive: 57 yards.
ARMY – Mike Castelli 37-yard field goal. Navy 14–10. Drive:
Third quarter
NAVY – Joe Gattuso 20-yard run (Bob Tata kick). Navy 21–10. Drive: 75 yards.
NAVY – Joe Gattuso 1-yard run (Bob Tata kick). Navy 28–10. Drive: 65 yards.
NAVY – Bob Tata 33-yard field goal. Navy 31–10. Drive:
Fourth quarter
NAVY – Dave King 16-yard pass from Bob Leszczynski (Bob Tata kick). Navy 38–10. Drive: 30 yards.
Top passers
ARMY – Leamon Hall – 13/31, 3 INT
NAVY – Bob Leszczynski – 2 TD
Top rushers
ARMY
NAVY – Joe Gattuso – 29 rushes, 128 yards, 3 TD
Top receivers
ARMY
NAVY :