1978 Navy Midshipmen football team

1978 Navy Midshipmen football
Holiday Bowl champion
Holiday Bowl, W 23–16 vs. BYU
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 17
1978 record	9–3
Head coach	George Welsh (6th season)
Home stadium	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
Seasons

1978 Division I-A independents football records
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 4 Penn State		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
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
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
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

The 1978 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy (USNA) during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. Navy competed as an independent with no conference affiliation. The team was led by sixth-year head coach George Welsh.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 16	at Virginia	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	W 32–0
September 23	at Connecticut	Memorial Stadium Storrs, CT	W 30–0
September 30	at Boston College	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	W 19–8
October 7	at Air Force	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)	W 37–8
October 14	Duke	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	W 31–8
October 21	William & Mary	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	W 9–0
October 28	Pittsburgh	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	W 21–11	32,909
November 4	vs. Notre Dame	Municipal Stadium Cleveland, OH (rivalry)	L 7–27	63,780
November 11	at Syracuse	Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY	L 17–20
November 18	at Florida State	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	L 6–38	45,795
December 2	vs. Army	JFK Stadium Philadelphia, PA (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy/Army–Navy Game)	W 28–0	79,026
December 22	vs. BYU	San Diego Stadium San Diego, CA (Holiday Bowl)	W 23–16	52,500
Homecoming

Personnel

1978 Navy Midshipmen football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB Callahan, SteveSteve Callahan FB 33 Klawinski, LarryLarry Klawinski 5.0 !Jr QB 15 Leszczynski, BobBob Leszczynski 7.0 !Sr WR McConkey, PhilPhil McConkey TE Papajohn, GregGreg Papajohn RB 23 Sherlock, MikeMike Sherlock 3.0 !So	Defense Pos. # Name Class	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K Tata, BobBob Tata	Head coach George Welsh Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Game summaries

Army

Army Cadets vs. Navy Midshipmen 1 2 3 4 Total Army 0 0 0 0 0 Navy 14 7 7 0 28 at JFK Stadium • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Date: December 2 Game attendance: 79,026

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring Information Score Plays Yards TOP ARMY NAVY 1 Navy Bob Leszczynski 3-yard touchdown run, Bob Tata kick good 0 7 1 Navy Steve Callahan 1-yard touchdown run, Bob Tata kick good 0 14 2 Navy Bob Leszczynski 1-yard touchdown run, Bob Tata kick good 0 21 3 Navy Steve Callahan 18-yard touchdown reception from Bob Leszczynski, Bob Tata kick good 0 28 "TOP" = Time of Possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 0 28