The 50 greatest college football teams throughout history

27. Best college football teams of all-time: 1976 Pittsburgh

In the 1976 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers posted a solid record at 10-4 in the National Football League, but they were far from the team that the city had their eyes on during football season.

The 1970s were an incredibly hotly-contested football era, with the top-ranked team in a season winning their bowl game only three times. The 1976 Pittsburgh Panthers team joined Nebraska’s 1971 team and USC’s 1972 team as the only teams to accomplish the task.

The team was highlighted by Heisman Trophy and Walter Camp Award winner Tony Dorsett at running back. Dorsett led the nation in rushing with 1,948 yards on the season and was a dynamic, nearly unstoppable force in the regular season, despite having only six players drafted in the NFL Draft.

Just four seasons removed from a 1-10 record, this Panthers team accepted an invitation to the Sugar Bowl, where they basically vanquished a tough Georgia team by a score of 27-3. Quarterback Matt Cavanaugh (who would become a Pittsburgh assistant and now Washington Redskins assistant), guard Al Romano, defensive tackle Randy Holloway and three others were also All-American standouts on the team.

Their successes in the 1976 season landed them a spot near the top of the all-time great teams for the Pittsburgh Panthers program and it was also good enough to land them near the upper-fourth on our list as well.