Template:1978 Yankee Conference football standings
The 1978 UMass Minutemen football team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the 1978 NCAA Division I-AA football season as a member of the Yankee Conference. The team was coached by Bob Pickett and played its home games at Alumni Stadium in Hadley, Massachusetts. The 1978 season was the first after the NCAA split Division I football into two subdivisions, and the first that featured a postseason playoff for Division I-AA. The Minutemen reached this inaugural championship game, losing to Florida A&M, 35–28. UMass finished the season with a record of 9–4 overall and 5–0 in conference play.
Schedule[]
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|
| September 15 | Villanova* | | | | L 21–25 | 8,800 |
| September 23 | at Maine | | | | W 40–6 | 7,200 |
| September 30 | at Harvard* | | | | L 0–10 | 12,200 |
| October 7 | Morgan State* | | | | W 38–6 | 6,700 |
| October 14 | at Boston University | | | | W 31–7 | 3,570 |
| October 21 | at Rhode Island | | | | W 19–17 | 7,995 |
| October 28 | Connecticut | | | | W 17–10 | 14,200 |
| November 4 | Rutgers* | | | | L 11–21 | 9,800 |
| November 11 | at Holy Cross* | | | | W 33–8 | 20,614 |
| November 18 | New Hampshire | | | | W 34–7 | 11,300 |
| November 25 | Boston College* | | | | W 27–0 | 7,950 |
| December 9 | at No. 1 Nevada* | No. 4(tie) | | | W 44–21 | 14,026 |
| December 16 | vs. No. 3 Florida A&M* | No. 4(tie) | | ABC Sports | L 28–35 | 13,604 |
- *Non-conference game
- Rankings from Associated Press Poll released prior to the game
|
References[]
