The 1976 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 1976 NCAA Division I football season and is recognized as a consensus national champion. Pitt was also awarded the Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy as the best Division I team in the East. The Panthers played their home games at Pitt Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
During the 1970s, the top-ranked team won its bowl game only three times: Pittsburgh joined Nebraska (1971) and USC (1972). In the first game of the 1976 season, the Panthers faced off against Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. A year earlier, Tony Dorsett had finished with 303 yards rushing in Pitt's 34–20 victory over the Irish.