1978 Big Ten Conference football season
SportAmerican football
Number of teams10
Top draft pickTom Cousineau
Co-championsMichigan, Michigan State
  Runners-upPurdue
Season MVPRick Leach
Seasons
← 1977
1979 →
1978 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 5 Michigan + 7 – 1 – 0 10 – 2 – 0
No. 12 Michigan State + 7 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
No. 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

The 1978 Big Ten Conference football season was the 83rd season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season.

The 1978 Michigan Wolverines football team, under head coach Bo Schembechler, compiled a 10–2 record, tied with Michigan State for the Big Ten championship, led the conference in scoring defense (8.8 points allowed per game), lost to national champion USC in the Rose Bowl, and was ranked No. 5 in the final AP and UPI polls. Quarterback Rick Leach won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the most valuable player in the Big Ten, finished third in the voting for the Heisman Trophy, and was selected as a first-team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association.

The 1978 Michigan State Spartans football team, under head coach Darryl Rogers, compiled an 8–3, tied with Michigan for the conference championship, led the conference in scoring offense (37.4 points per game), and was ranked No. 12 in the final AP Poll. Ed Smith led the conference with 2,226 passing yards and Kirk Gibson led the conference with 806 receiving yards. Gibson was selected as a first-team All-American by the Associated Press, Newspaper Enterprise Association, and The Sporting News. Tight end Mark Brammer was selected as a first-team All-American by the Football Writers Association of America.

The 1978 Purdue Boilermakers football team, under head coach Jim Young, compiled a 9–2–1 record, finished in third place in the Big Ten, defeated Georgia Tech in the 1978 Peach Bowl, and was ranked No. 13 in the final AP and UPI polls. Jim Young was named Big Ten Coach of the Year. Quarterback Mark Herrmann passed for 1,904 yards, and defensive lineman Keena Turner was selected as the team's most valuable player.

Ohio State linebacker Tom Cousineau's was selected as a consensus first-team All-American and was the first player selected in the 1979 NFL Draft. Minnesota running back Marion Barber, Jr. led the conference with 1,210 rushing yards, and Ohio State quarterback Art Schlichter led the conference in scoring with 78 points on 13 rushing touchdowns. Ohio State coach Woody Hayes was fired after punching a Clemson player in the closing minutes of the 1978 Gator Bowl.

Season overview

Results and team statistics

Conf. Rank Team Head coach AP final AP high Overall record Conf. record PPG PAG MVP
1 (tie) Michigan Bo Schembechler #5 #3 10–2 7–1 31.0 8.8 Rick Leach
1 (tie) Michigan State Darryl Rogers #12 #12 8–3 7–1 37.4 15.5 Ed Smith
3 Purdue Jim Young #13 #12 9–2–1 6–1–1 21.8 10.8 Keena Turner
4 Ohio State Woody Hayes NR #6 7–4–1 6–2 28.3 18.0 Tom Cousineau
5 Minnesota Cal Stoll NR NR 5–6 4–4 19.1 24.3 Marion Barber, Jr.
6 Wisconsin Dave McClain NR NR 5–4–2 3–4–2 20.3 25.2 Mike Kalasmiki
7 Indiana Lee Corso NR NR 4–7 3–5 20.7 26.4 Joe Norman
8 Iowa Bob Commings NR NR 2–9 2–6 11.4 26.5 Brad Reid
9 Illinois Gary Moeller NR NR 1–8–2 0–6–2 9.4 28.8 John Sullivan
10 Northwestern Rick Venturi NR NR 0–10–1 0–8–1 8.4 40.0 Pat Geegan

Key
AP final = Team's rank in the final AP Poll of the 1978 season[1]
AP high = Team's highest rank in the AP Poll throughout the 1978 season[1]
PPG = Average of points scored per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold[1]
PAG = Average of points allowed per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold[1]
MVP = Most valuable player as voted by players on each team as part of the voting process to determine the winner of the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy; trophy winner in bold[2]

Regular season

September 16

On September 16, 1978, the Big Ten football teams opened the season with three conference games and four non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in two wins and two losses.

September 23

On September 23, 1978, the Big Ten teams played two conference games and six non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in four wins and two losses, giving the Big Ten a 6–4 non-conference record to that point in the season.

September 29–30

On September 29 and 30, 1978, the Big Ten teams played 10 non-conference games, resulting in four wins and six losses, giving the Big Ten a 10–10 non-conference record to that point in the season.

October 7

On October 7, 1978, the Big Ten teams played one conference game and eight non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in three wins and five losses, giving the Big Ten a 13–15 non-conference record during the regular season.

October 14

On October 14, 1978, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.

October 21

On October 21, 1978, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.

October 28

On October 28, 1978, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.

November 4

On November 4, 1978, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.

November 11

On November 11, 1978, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.

November 18

On November 18, 1978, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.

November 25

On November 25, 1978, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.

Bowl games

1979 Rose Bowl

Main article: 1979 Rose Bowl

On January 1, 1979, Michigan (ranked No. 5 in the AP Poll) lost to USC (ranked No. 3), 17–10, before a crowd of 105,629 in the 1979 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The game was marked by the so-called "Phantom Touchdown" scored by USC's Charles White in the second quarter. Replays showed that White fumbled the ball before crossing the goal line. One official marked the ball down at the one-yard line, but another ruled that White had scored. The officials ultimately ruled that White had scored, giving USC its margin of victory.[3][4] In the final UPI coaches poll, USC jumped to No. 1 after beating Michigan.

1978 Gator Bowl

Main article: 1978 Gator Bowl

On December 29, 1978, Ohio State (ranked No. 20 in the AP Poll) lost to Clemson (ranked No. 7), 17–15, before a crowd of 72,011 in the 1978 Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Florida. This game was Woody Hayes' last as Ohio State's head coach. With just over two minutes left in the game, Ohio State quarterback Art Schlichter threw a pass that was intercepted by Clemson's Charlie Bauman. Bauman ran towards the OSU sideline avoiding tackles and was finally shoved out of bounds, where he was punched through his face mask by coach Hayes. The next day, Ohio State fired Hayes after 28 seasons as the school's head football coach.[5]

1978 Peach Bowl

Main article: 1978 Peach Bowl

On December 25, 1978, Purdue (ranked No. 17 in the UPI Poll) defeated Georgia Tech (ranked No. 19 in the UPI Poll), 41–21, before a crowd of 20,277 in the 1978 Peach Bowl held at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta. Purdue quarterback Mark Herrmann completed 12 of 24 passes for 166 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.[6]

Statistical leaders

Awards and honors

All-Big Ten honors

For the complete All-Big Ten selections, see 1978 All-Big Ten Conference football team.

The following players were picked by the Associated Press (AP) and/or the United Press International (UPI) as first-team players on the 1978 All-Big Ten Conference football team.[7][8]

Offense

Position Name Team Selectors
Quarterback Rick Leach Michigan AP, UPI
Running back Marion Barber, Jr. Minnesota AP, UPI [tailback]
Running back Russell Davis Michigan AP, UPI [fullback]
Receiver Kirk Gibson Michigan State AP [flanker], UPI [wingback]
Receiver Eugene Byrd Michigan State AP [wide receiver], UPI [split end]
Tight end Mark Brammer Michigan State AP, UPI
Center Mark Heidel Indiana AP, UPI
Guard Ken Fritz Ohio State AP, UPI
Guard John Arbeznik Michigan UPI
Tackle Jon Giesler Michigan AP [guard], UPI
Tackle Jim Hinsley Michigan State AP, UPI
Tackle Joe Robinson Ohio State AP

Defense

Position Name Team Selectors
Defensive line Curtis Greer Michigan AP, UPI
Defensive line Melvin Land Michigan State AP, UPI
Defensive line Ken Loushin Purdue AP, UPI
Defensive line Keena Turner Purdue AP, UPI
Defensive line Kelton Dansler Ohio State AP
Defensive line Stan Sytsma Minnesota UPI
Linebacker Tom Cousineau Ohio State AP, UPI
Linebacker Joe Norman Indiana AP, UPI
Linebacker Ron Simpkins Michigan AP
Defensive back Mike Jolly Michigan AP, UPI
Defensive back Tom Graves Michigan State AP
Defensive back Vince Skillings Ohio State AP
Defensive back Keith Brown Minnesota UPI
Defensive back Mike Guess Ohio State UPI
Defensive back Mike Harden Michigan UPI

All-American honors

For the complete All-America selections, see 1978 College Football All-America Team.

At the end of the 1978 season, only one Big Ten player was a consensus first-team pick for the 1978 College Football All-America Team.[9] The Big Ten's consensus All-Americans were:

Position Name Team Selectors
Linebacker Tom Cousineau Ohio State AP, UPI, NEA, WCFF, AFCA, TSN

Other Big Ten players who were named first-team All-Americans by at least one selector were:

Position Name Team Selectors
Receiver Kirk Gibson Michigan State UPI, NEA, TSN
Defensive back Lawrence Johnson Wisconsin NEA, TSN
Tight end Mark Brammer Michigan State FWAA
Quarterback Rick Leach Michigan AFCA [tie]

Other awards

1979 NFL Draft

The 1979 NFL Draft was held in New York on May 3–4, 1979.[11] The following players were among the first 100 picks:[12]

Name Position Team Round Overall pick
Tom Cousineau Linebacker Ohio State 1 1
Jon Giesler Offensive tackle Michigan 1 24
Lawrence Johnson Defensive back Wisconsin 2 40
Joe Norman Linebacker Indiana 2 45
Mel Land Linebacker Michigan State 3 63
Russell Davis Running back Michigan 4 86
Derwin Tucker Defensive Back Illinois 4 99

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "1978 Big Ten Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  2. ^ Roy Damer (December 25, 1978). "Michigan's Leach wins Tribune Silver Football". Chicago Tribune. p. 5-3.
  3. ^ Mal Florence (January 2, 1979). "USC Wins Rose Bowl but the Replay's a tie: White Scored (or Did He?) as Trojans Beat Michigan 17-10". Los Angeles Times. p. III-1.
  4. ^ Tom Henderson (January 2, 1979). "Phantom TD helps Southern Cal -- Michigan's roses wilt again, 17-10". Detroit Free Press. p. 1D.
  5. ^ "Buckeye humiliation: Woody fired after scene". Green Bay Press-Gazette (AP story). December 30, 1978. p. 17.
  6. ^ Dick Ham (December 26, 1978). "A Peachy Christmas: Boilermakers dish up tasty 41-21 victory". Journal and Courier (Lafayette, Indiana). p. B5.
  7. ^ "Leach leads All-Big Ten: Michigan, MSU dominate team". The Kokomo Tribune. December 7, 1978. p. 26.
  8. ^ "Co-champs dominate all-Big Ten selections". The Pantagraph (Bloomington, IL). November 30, 1978. p. B3.
  9. ^ "2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2014. pp. 5–6. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 22, 2014. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  10. ^ "1978 Heisman Trophy Voting". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  11. ^ "NFL Draft Locations". FootballGeography.com. October 2, 2014. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2014.
  12. ^ "1979 NFL Draft: Full Draft". NFL.com. National Football League. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
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