1978 NCAA Division I-A football season

1978 NCAA Division I-A season
Total # of teams	139
Preseason AP #1	Alabama Crimson Tide
Number of bowls	15
National championship	1979 Sugar Bowl (#1 Alabama vs #2 Penn St.)
Location of championship	Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
Champions	Alabama Crimson Tide (AP) USC Trojans (Coaches)
Heisman	Billy Sims, Oklahoma
NCAA Division I-A football season «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 from the splitting of Division I 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.

Rules changes for 1978

• Unsuccessful field goals are returned to the previous line of scrimmage. Previously they were placed at the 20-yard line.
• Balls may not be altered and new or nearly new balls are to be used.

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 #5/5 Michigan § 7 – 1 – 0     10 – 2 – 0 #12/NR Michigan State § 7 – 1 – 0     8 – 3 – 0 #13/13 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 / Coaches' 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 [[{{{school}}}|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-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 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 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 [[{{{school}}}|Lamar]] 0 – 5 – 0     2 – 8 – 1 † – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1978 Division I-A independents football records Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T No. 4 Penn State   –   –       11 – 1 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|North Texas State]]   –   –       9 – 2 – 0 East Carolina   –   –       9 – 3 – 0 Navy   –   –       9 – 3 – 0 No. 7 Notre Dame   –   –       9 – 3 – 0 Rutgers   –   –       9 – 3 – 0 Florida State   –   –       8 – 3 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Temple]]   –   –       7 – 3 – 1 Pittsburgh   –   –       8 – 4 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Holy Cross]]   –   –       7 – 4 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Louisville]]   –   –       7 – 4 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|UNLV]]   –   –       7 – 4 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Southern Miss]]   –   –       7 – 4 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Northeast Louisiana]]   –   –       6 – 4 – 1 Georgia Tech   –   –       7 – 5 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Hawaii]]   –   –       6 – 5 – 0 Miami   –   –       6 – 5 – 0 South Carolina   –   –       5 – 5 – 1 William & Mary   –   –       5 – 5 – 1 [[{{{school}}}|Cincinnati]]   –   –       5 – 6 – 0 Villanova   –   –       5 – 6 – 0 Army   –   –       4 – 6 – 1 [[{{{school}}}|Memphis State]]   –   –       4 – 7 – 0 Tulane   –   –       4 – 7 – 0 Virginia Tech   –   –       4 – 7 – 0 Air Force   –   –       3 – 8 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Colgate]]   –   –       3 – 8 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Richmond]]   –   –       3 – 8 – 0 Syracuse   –   –       3 – 8 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Illinois State]]   –   –       2 – 9 – 0 West Virginia   –   –       2 – 9 – 0 Boston College   –   –       0 – 11 – 0 Rankings from AP Poll
1978 Southwest Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T #10 [[{{{school}}}|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 [[{{{school}}}|Texas A&M]] 4 – 4 – 0     8 – 4 – 0 SMU 3 – 5 – 0     4 – 6 – 1 Baylor 3 – 5 – 0     3 – 8 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Rice]] 2 – 6 – 0     2 – 9 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|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 [[{{{school}}}|Wyoming]] 4 – 2 – 0     5 – 7 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|New Mexico]] 3 – 3 – 0     7 – 5 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Colorado State]] 2 – 4 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 San Diego State 2 – 4 – 0     4 – 7 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|UTEP]] 1 – 5 – 0     1 – 11 – 0 † – Conference champion 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)

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 34-13 deficit to beat Houston 35-34. 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

In the AP poll, Alabama (11-1-0), on the strength of their Sugar Bowl win over Penn State, was voted #1. In the UPI poll, USC (12-1-0) was voted #1, based in a large part on their easy early season 24-14 win at Alabama over the Crimson Tide.

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

• Maxwell (outstanding player) - Chuck Fusina, Penn St. QB
• Outland (Interior Lineman) - Greg Roberts, Oklahoma G
• Camp (Running Back) - Billy Sims, Oklahoma RB
• Lombardi (Linebacker) - Bruce Clark, Penn St. D

References

• ESPN college football encyclopedia. ESPN. 2005. pp. 1629 p.. ISBN 1-4013-3703-1.

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