1978 NCAA Division I-A football season

1978 NCAA Division I-A season
Number of teams 138[1]
Preseason AP #1 Alabama Crimson Tide[2]
Post-season
Bowl games 15
Heisman Trophy Billy Sims, Oklahoma RB
Winner Alabama Crimson Tide (AP)
USC Trojans (Coaches)
Division I-A football seasons
«1977
1979 →

The 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season was the first season of Division I-A football; Division I-A was created in 1978 when Division I was subdivided into Division I-A and I-AA for football only. The season came down to a rare #1 vs. #2 post-season meeting as #1 Penn State and #2 Alabama met in the New Year's Day Sugar Bowl. The game is most remembered for Alabama's goal line stand with four minutes left in the game. On fourth down and a foot, Alabama managed to keep Penn State out of the end zone and went on to win 14-7. Keith Jackson, who did the play by play for ABC, called it the greatest game he'd ever seen. 76,824 people packed the Louisiana Superdome, which was tremendously loud.

Alabama's only loss that year was 24-14 in Birmingham to Southern California. Both schools claim this year as a national title year. Alabama claimed the national title because it defeated top-ranked Penn State on the field. USC claimed the title because it defeated Alabama in the regular season and also finished with only one loss. The AP Poll and most other voting outlets crowned Alabama as national champion, while the UPI Coaches' Poll selected USC. This was the first year of the Pacific-10 Conference, as the Pac-8 added Arizona schools the University of Arizona and Arizona State University.

This season all seven teams from the Southwestern Athletic Conference played in Division I-AA in the Southwestern Athletic Conference but all other Division I conference teams and independent teams from the previous season played in Division I-A.

Rules changes

September

The pre-season ranking of the top 5 were 1. Alabama, 2. Arkansas, 3. Penn State, 4. Oklahoma, and 5. Notre Dame.

On September 2, Alabama avenged its only loss from the prior season when they topped #10 Nebraska, 20-3. #2 Arkansas would not start its season for another two weeks. #3 Penn State struggled in beating Temple 10-7 and dropped to 5th, #4 Oklahoma was idle, as was #5 Notre Dame. 1. Alabama, 2. Arkansas, 3. Oklahoma, 4. Notre Dame, 5. Penn State

On September 9, #1 Alabama and #2 Arkansas were not scheduled, while #3 Oklahoma opened its season with a 35-29 win at Stanford. #4 Notre Dame was stunned at Missouri, 3-0, while #5 Penn State beat Rutgers, 26-10. #6 Michigan, who had yet to begin their season, replaced Notre Dame in the top 5. 1. Alabama, 2. Arkansas, 3. Oklahoma, 4. Michigan, 5. Penn State.

September 16 saw #1 Alabama win at #11 Missouri, 38-20 while #2 Arkansas opened its season with a 48-17 win over Vanderbilt. #3 Oklahoma walloped West Virginia 52-10, and #4 Michigan started its campaign with a 31-0 shutout of Illinois. #5 Penn State blanked #6 Ohio State 19-0 and would regain the #3 ranking, tying Oklahoma in the voting. 1. Alabama, 2. Arkansas, 3. Penn State, 3. Oklahoma, 5. Michigan.

On September 23, #1 Alabama lost in Birmingham to #7 USC, 24-14. #2 Arkansas struggled in beating Oklahoma State 19-7, #3 Penn State struggled with SMU but won 26-21, #3 Oklahoma would vault to the top spot on the strength of their 66-7 win over Rice, and #5 Michigan won at #14 Notre Dame, 28-14. The new poll was 1. Oklahoma, 2. Arkansas, 3. USC, 4. Michigan, 5. Penn State.

On September 30, new #1 Oklahoma beat #14 Missouri 45-23, #2 Arkansas was unimpressive in a 21-13 win over Tulsa, #3 USC thumped Michigan State 30-9, #4 Michigan beat Duke 52-0, and #5 Penn State crushed TCU 58-0. 1. Oklahoma, 2. USC, 3. Michigan, 4. Arkansas, 5. Penn State.

October

On October 7, #1 Oklahoma solidified its ranking with a 31-10 win over #6 Texas. #2 USC was idle, #3 Michigan struggled in beating Arizona 21-17, #4 Arkansas beat TCU 42-3, and #5 Penn State avenged its only loss from 1977 in shutting out Kentucky, 30-0. The new poll was 1. Oklahoma, 2. USC, 3. Penn State, 4. Arkansas, 5. Michigan

October 14 was a day of surprises. #1 Oklahoma escaped with a 17-16 win over Kansas, #2 USC lost to Arizona State in Tempe 20-7, and #5 Michigan lost to Michigan State, 24-15. #3 Penn State and #4 Arkansas escaped the madness by being idle. Alabama rejoined the top 5 by beating Florida 23-12, and Nebraska cracked the top 5 by beating Kansas State 48-14. 1. Oklahoma, 2. Penn State, 3. Arkansas, 4. Alabama, 5. Nebraska

October 21 saw more upheaval in the rankings as #3 Arkansas lost to #8 Texas 28-21. #1 Oklahoma beat Iowa State 34-6, #2 Penn State won over Syracuse 45-14, #4 Alabama beat Tennessee 30-13, and #5 Nebraska won at Colorado 52-14. Maryland jumped into the top 5 with a 39-0 win over Wake Forest. New poll: 1. Oklahoma 2. Penn State 3. Alabama 4. Nebraska 5. Maryland

On October 28, #1 Oklahoma beat Kansas State 56-19, #2 Penn State beat West Virginia 49-21, #3 Alabama beat Virginia Tech 35-0, #4 Nebraska beat Oklahoma State 22-14, and #5 Maryland got ready for their upcoming showdown with Penn State by thumping Duke 27-0.

November

On November 4, Oklahoma beat Colorado 28-7, #2 Penn State stymied #5 Maryland 27-3, #3 Alabama topped Mississippi State 35-14, and #4 Nebraska beat Kansas 63-21. USC returned to the top 5 after a 13-7 win at Stanford.

November 11 saw #1 Oklahoma lose to #4 Nebraska 17-14 in the game that decided the Big Eight title. #2 Penn State climed the top spot with a 19-10 win over N.C. State. #3 Alabama rolled along with a 31-10 win at #10 LSU. #5 USC beat #19 Washington 28-10. The new poll was 1. Penn State 2. Nebraska 3. Alabama 4. Oklahoma 5. USC.

On November 18, #1 Penn State was idle while #2 Nebraska was knocked off at home by Missouri 35-31 and fell to 7th. #3 Alabama was also idle, and #4 Oklahoma won its final game over Oklahoma State 62-7. In the showdown to decide the Pac-10 title and Rose Bowl berth, #5 USC stopped #14 UCLA by a score of 17-10. Houston, who had beaten #6 Texas the week before to clinch the SWC title and Cotton Bowl berth, moved up to #5. New poll: 1. Penn State 2. Alabama 3. USC 4. Oklahoma 5. Houston

On November 24, #1 Penn State wrapped up its undefeated regular season with a 17-10 over #15 rival Pittsburgh. #2 Alabama had one more week off before its game with rival Auburn. #3 USC needed a controversial call (an apparent fumble was ruled an incomplete pass thus keeping the final drive alive) and last second field goal to beat #8 Notre Dame 27-25. #5 Houston was upset by Texas Tech 22-21. #6 Michigan clinched the Rose Bowl berth with a 14-3 win over rival Ohio State.

December

On December 2, #2 Alabama finished its season with a win in the Iron Bowl rivalry game over Auburn, 34-16. Thus, the final regular season top 5 was: 1. Penn State 2. Alabama 3. USC 4. Oklahoma 5. Michigan. Penn State accepted the Sugar Bowl bid to set up a 1 vs. 2 matchup with Alabama. USC and Michigan would square off in a Rose Bowl battle of 1 loss teams, while the Orange Bowl surprised everyone by inviting Big 8 runner up Oklahoma (over 7th ranked ACC champ Clemson) to play Big 8 champ Nebraska in a rematch of their regular season meeting. Of note is that Clemson went to the Gator Bowl instead, where it beat Ohio State 17-15. It was near the end of that game when legendary Ohio State coach Woody Hayes punched Clemson linebacker Charlie Bauman after his game clinching interception, leading to Hayes' dismissal as Ohio State coach.

Conference standings

1978 ACC football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#6 Clemson † 6 – 0 – 0     11 – 1 – 0
#20 Maryland 5 – 1 – 0     9 – 3 – 0
#18 NC State 4 – 2 – 0     9 – 3 – 0
North Carolina 3 – 3 – 0     5 – 6 – 0
Duke 2 – 4 – 0     4 – 7 – 0
Wake Forest 1 – 5 – 0     1 – 10 – 0
Virginia 0 – 6 – 0     2 – 9 – 0
† – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1978 Big 8 football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#3 Oklahoma § 6 – 1 – 0     11 – 1 – 0
#8 Nebraska § 6 – 1 – 0     9 – 3 – 0
Iowa State 4 – 3 – 0     8 – 4 – 0
#15 Missouri 4 – 3 – 0     8 – 4 – 0
Kansas State 3 – 4 – 0     4 – 7 – 0
Oklahoma State 3 – 4 – 0     3 – 8 – 0
Colorado 2 – 5 – 0     6 – 5 – 0
Kansas 0 – 7 – 0     1 – 10 – 0
§ – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll
1978 Big Ten football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#5 Michigan § 7 – 1 – 0     10 – 2 – 0
#12 Michigan State § 7 – 1 – 0     8 – 3 – 0
#13 Purdue 6 – 1 – 1     9 – 2 – 1
Ohio State 6 – 2 – 0     7 – 4 – 1
Minnesota 4 – 4 – 0     5 – 6 – 0
Wisconsin 3 – 4 – 2     5 – 4 – 2
Indiana 3 – 5 – 0     4 – 7 – 0
Iowa 2 – 6 – 0     2 – 9 – 0
Illinois 0 – 6 – 2     1 – 8 – 2
Northwestern 0 – 8 – 1     0 – 10 – 1
§ – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll
1978 Ivy League football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
Dartmouth † 6 – 1 – 0     6 – 3 – 0
Brown 5 – 2 – 0     6 – 3 – 0
Yale 4 – 1 – 2     5 – 2 – 2
Cornell 3 – 3 – 1     5 – 3 – 1
Harvard 2 – 4 – 1     4 – 4 – 1
Columbia 2 – 4 – 1     3 – 5 – 1
Princeton 1 – 4 – 2     2 – 5 – 2
Pennsylvania 1 – 5 – 1     2 – 6 – 1
† – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1978 Mid-American Conference football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
Ball State † 8 – 0 – 0     10 – 1 – 0
Central Michigan 8 – 1 – 0     9 – 2 – 0
Miami 5 – 2 – 0     8 – 2 – 1
Western Michigan 5 – 4 – 0     7 – 4 – 0
Bowling Green 3 – 5 – 0     4 – 7 – 0
Ohio 3 – 5 – 0     3 – 8 – 0
Northern Illinois 2 – 4 – 0     5 – 6 – 0
Kent State 2 – 6 – 0     4 – 7 – 0
Toledo 2 – 7 – 0     2 – 9 – 0
Eastern Michigan 1 – 5 – 0     3 – 7 – 0
† – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1978 Missouri Valley Conference football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
New Mexico State † 5 – 1 – 0     6 – 5 – 0
Tulsa 4 – 1 – 0     9 – 2 – 0
Southern Illinois 3 – 2 – 0     7 – 4 – 0
Drake 3 – 3 – 0     4 – 7 – 0
Indiana State 2 – 3 – 0     3 – 8 – 0
Wichita State 2 – 4 – 0     4 – 7 – 0
West Texas State 1 – 5 – 0     3 – 8 – 0
† – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1978 Pacific Coast Athletic Association football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
San Jose State § 4 – 1 – 0     7 – 5 – 0
Utah State § 3 – 1 – 0     7 – 4 – 0
Pacific 3 – 2 – 0     4 – 8 – 0
Cal State Fullerton 2 – 2 – 0     5 – 7 – 0
Long Beach State 1 – 4 – 0     5 – 6 – 0
Fresno State 1 – 4 – 0     3 – 8 – 0
§ – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll
1978 Pacific-10 football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#2 USC † 6 – 1 – 0     12 – 1 – 0
#14 UCLA 6 – 2 – 0     8 – 3 – 1
Washington 6 – 2 – 0     7 – 4 – 0
Arizona State 4 – 3 – 0     9 – 3 – 0
#17 Stanford 4 – 3 – 0     8 – 4 – 0
California 3 – 4 – 0     6 – 5 – 0
Arizona 3 – 4 – 0     5 – 6 – 0
Oregon 2 – 5 – 0     2 – 9 – 0
Oregon State 2 – 6 – 0     3 – 7 – 1
Washington State 1 – 7 – 0     3 – 7 – 1
† – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1978 SEC football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#1 Alabama † 6 – 0 – 0     11 – 1 – 0
#16 Georgia 5 – 0 – 1     9 – 2 – 1
Auburn 3 – 2 – 1     6 – 4 – 1
LSU 3 – 3 – 0     8 – 4 – 0
Tennessee 3 – 3 – 0     5 – 5 – 1
Florida 3 – 3 – 0     4 – 7 – 0
Mississippi State 2 – 4 – 0     6 – 5 – 0
Ole Miss 2 – 4 – 0     5 – 6 – 0
Kentucky 2 – 4 – 0     4 – 6 – 1
Vanderbilt 0 – 6 – 0     2 – 9 – 0
† – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1978 Southern Conference football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
Furman § 4 – 1 – 0     8 – 3 – 0
Chattanooga § 3 – 1 – 0     7 – 3 – 1
Appalachian State 4 – 2 – 0     7 – 4 – 0
Western Carolina 4 – 2 – 0     6 – 5 – 0
The Citadel 2 – 3 – 0     5 – 6 – 0
VMI 0 – 3 – 0     3 – 8 – 0
Marshall 0 – 5 – 0     1 – 10 – 0
§ – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll
1978 Southland Conference football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
Louisiana Tech † 4 – 1 – 0     6 – 5 – 0
Arkansas State 4 – 1 – 0     7 – 4 – 0
Texas–Arlington 3 – 2 – 0     5 – 6 – 0
McNeese State 2 – 3 – 0     7 – 4 – 0
Southwestern Louisiana 2 – 3 – 0     3 – 8 – 0
Lamar 0 – 5 – 0     2 – 8 – 1
† – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1978 Southwest Conference football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#10 Houston † 7 – 1 – 0     9 – 3 – 0
#11 Arkansas 6 – 2 – 0     9 – 2 – 1
#9 Texas 6 – 2 – 0     9 – 3 – 0
Texas Tech 5 – 3 – 0     7 – 4 – 0
#19 Texas A&M 4 – 4 – 0     8 – 4 – 0
SMU 3 – 5 – 0     4 – 6 – 1
Baylor 3 – 5 – 0     3 – 8 – 0
Rice 2 – 6 – 0     2 – 9 – 0
TCU 0 – 8 – 0     2 – 9 – 0
† – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1978 WAC football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
BYU † 5 – 1 – 0     9 – 4 – 0
Utah 4 – 2 – 0     8 – 3 – 0
Wyoming 4 – 2 – 0     5 – 7 – 0
New Mexico 3 – 3 – 0     7 – 5 – 0
Colorado State 2 – 4 – 0     5 – 6 – 0
San Diego State 2 – 4 – 0     4 – 7 – 0
UTEP 1 – 5 – 0     1 – 11 – 0
† – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1978 Division I-A independents football records
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#4 Penn State   –   –       11 – 1 – 0
North Texas   –   –       9 – 2 – 0
East Carolina   –   –       9 – 3 – 0
Navy   –   –       9 – 3 – 0
#7 Notre Dame   –   –       9 – 3 – 0
Rutgers   –   –       9 – 3 – 0
Florida State   –   –       8 – 3 – 0
Temple   –   –       7 – 3 – 1
Pittsburgh   –   –       8 – 4 – 0
Holy Cross   –   –       7 – 4 – 0
Louisville   –   –       7 – 4 – 0
UNLV   –   –       7 – 4 – 0
Southern Miss   –   –       7 – 4 – 0
Northeast Louisiana   –   –       6 – 4 – 1
Georgia Tech   –   –       7 – 5 – 0
Hawaii   –   –       6 – 5 – 0
Miami   –   –       6 – 5 – 0
South Carolina   –   –       5 – 5 – 1
William & Mary   –   –       5 – 5 – 1
Cincinnati   –   –       5 – 6 – 0
Northwestern State   –   –       5 – 6 – 0
Villanova   –   –       5 – 6 – 0
Army   –   –       4 – 6 – 1
Memphis State   –   –       4 – 7 – 0
Tulane   –   –       4 – 7 – 0
Virginia Tech   –   –       4 – 7 – 0
Air Force   –   –       3 – 8 – 0
Colgate   –   –       3 – 8 – 0
Richmond   –   –       3 – 8 – 0
Syracuse   –   –       3 – 8 – 0
Illinois State   –   –       2 – 9 – 0
West Virginia   –   –       2 – 9 – 0
Boston College   –   –       0 – 11 – 0
Rankings from AP Poll

#1 and #2 progress

WEEKS #1 #2 Event
PRE-3 Alabama Arkansas USC 24, Alabama 14 (Sept 23)
4 Oklahoma Arkansas USC 30, Michigan St 9 (Sept 29)
5-6 Oklahoma USC Arizona St. 20, USC 7 (Oct 14)
7-10 Oklahoma Penn State Nebraska 17, Oklahoma 14 (Nov 11)
11 Penn State Nebraska Missouri 35, Nebraska 31 (Nov 18)
12-14 Penn State Alabama Alabama 14, Penn State 7 (Jan 1)

Notable rivalry games

Bowls

Bowl bids

Top ranked Penn State, as an independent, was not tied to any bowl game so the Nittany Lions accepted the Sugar Bowl invitation where they would meet SEC Champion Alabama, who was ranked 2nd in the AP and 3rd in the UPI. Pac-10 champion USC (ranked 3rd in the AP and 2nd in the UPI) faced #5 Michigan in the Rose Bowl in a battle of one loss teams. Nebraska had upset Oklahoma to earn the Big 8 title and automatic Orange Bowl berth; the Orange Bowl pulled a surprise by inviting the Sooners to play Nebraska in a rematch. Most observers felt Clemson would be invited and Oklahoma would play Houston in the Cotton Bowl Classic. The Cotton Bowl Classic bid went to Notre Dame and Clemson had to settle for the Gator Bowl despite a better record and higher ranking than Notre Dame.

Bowl results

In unusually cold and icy Dallas, Notre Dame overcame a 34-12 fourth quarter deficit to beat Houston 35-34. The Fighting Irish were led by quarterback Joe Montana in his final collegiate game. In New Orleans, Alabama used a 4th quarter goal line stand to upset Penn State 14-7. In Pasadena, USC defeated Michigan 17-10, aided by an official's ruling on a touchdown by Charles White when TV replays clearly showed that he fumbled on the two yard line. In the Orange Bowl, Oklahoma won its rematch with Nebraska 31-24. One other Bowl of note saw Clemson beat Ohio State 17-15 in the Gator Bowl; the next day, legendary Ohio State coach Woody Hayes was fired for punching Clemson defensive back Charlie Bauman in the throat after his game saving interception.

NEW YEARS DAY BOWLS
Cotton Bowl Classic #10 Notre Dame 35 #9 Houston 34
Sugar Bowl #2 Alabama 14 #1 Penn State 7
Rose Bowl #3 USC 17 #5 Michigan 10
Orange Bowl #4 Oklahoma 31 #6 Nebraska 24
OTHER BOWLS
Gator Bowl #7 Clemson 17 #20 Ohio State 15
Fiesta Bowl #8 Arkansas 10 #15 UCLA 10
Bluebonnet Bowl Stanford 25 #11 Georgia 22
Peach Bowl #17 Purdue 41 Georgia Tech 21
Sun Bowl #14 Texas 42 #13 Maryland 0
Tangerine Bowl North Carolina St. 30 #16 Pittsburgh 17
Liberty Bowl #18 Missouri 20 LSU 15
Holiday Bowl Navy 23 Brigham Young 16
Hall of Fame Classic Texas A&M 28 #19 Iowa State 12
Independence Bowl East Carolina 35 Louisiana Tech 13
Garden State Bowl Arizona State 34 Rutgers 18

National champion

The season ended with the top 3 teams (Alabama, USC, and Oklahoma) with one loss. In the AP poll, Alabama (11-1-0), on the strength of their Sugar Bowl win over former #1 Penn State, was voted #1. In the UPI poll, USC (12-1-0) was voted #1, based in a large part on their 24-14 win at Alabama over the Crimson Tide. Oklahoma, who was #1 for most of the season, felt that they should be national champs as they avenged their only loss by beating Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. The Sooners had to settle for the #3 ranking in both polls.

Final AP and UPI rankings

Rank AP UPI
1. Alabama USC
2. USC Alabama
3. Oklahoma Oklahoma
4. Penn State Penn State
5. Michigan Michigan
6. Clemson Notre Dame
7. Notre Dame Clemson
8. Nebraska Nebraska
9. Texas Texas
10. Houston Arkansas
11. Arkansas Houston
12. Michigan State UCLA
13. Purdue Purdue
14. UCLA Missouri
15. Missouri Georgia
16. Georgia Stanford
17. Stanford Navy
18. N.C. State Texas A&M
19. Texas A&M Arizona State
20. Maryland N.C. State

Heisman Trophy voting

  1. Billy Sims, Oklahoma HB
  2. Chuck Fusina, Penn State QB
  3. Rick Leach, Michigan QB
  4. Charles White, Southern California TB
  5. Charles Alexander, LSU TB

Other major awards

References

  1. ↑ http://www.jhowell.net/cf/cf1978.htm
  2. ↑ http://www.appollarchive.com/football/ap/seasons.cfm?appollid=480