1978 Eastern Illinois Panthers football
NCAA Division II champion
ConferenceAssociation of Mid-Continent Universities
Record12–2 (3–2 Mid-Con)
Head coach
Home stadiumO'Brien Stadium
Seasons
← 1977
1979 →
1978 Association of Mid-Continent Universities football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Youngstown State $^ 5 – 0 – 0 10 – 2 – 0
Akron 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Eastern Illinois ^ 3 – 2 – 0 12 – 2 – 0
Northern Michigan 1 – 3 – 1 5 – 4 – 1
Western Illinois 1 – 3 – 1 3 – 6 – 1
Northern Iowa 0 – 5 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant

The 1978 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team represented Eastern Illinois University during the 1978 NCAA Division II football season, and completed the 78th season of Panther football. The Panthers played their home games at O'Brien Stadium in Charleston, Illinois. The 1978 team came off a 1–10 record from the previous season.[1] The 1978 team was led by coach Darrell Mudra. The team finished the regular season with a 9–2 record and made the NCAA Division II playoffs. The Panthers defeated Delaware, 10–9, in the National Championship Game en route to the program's first NCAA Division II Football Championship.[2]

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 2Central State (OH)*
W 41–167,000
September 9at Butler*
W 42–34,300
September 16Northern Iowa
  • O'Brien Stadium
  • Charleston, IL
W 38–228,500
September 23Northeast Missouri State*
  • O'Brien Stadium
  • Charleston, IL
W 29–127,000
September 30at AkronNo. 4
L 16–173,278
October 7at No. 4 Youngstown StateNo. 8
L 24–404,360
October 21at No. 8 Northern Michigan
W 42–348,602
October 28at Wayne State (MI)*No. 8Detroit, MIW 42–341,800
November 4at Illinois State*No. 9
  • O'Brien Stadium
  • Charleston, IL (rivalry)
W 42–79,000
November 11Murray State*No. 7
  • O'Brien Stadium
  • Charleston, IL
W 35–146,500
November 18at Western IllinoisNo. 5
W 40–127,850
November 2511:00 a.m.at No. 4 UC DavisNo. 5
W 35–318,500[3][4][5]
December 2No. 2 Youngstown StateNo. 5
  • O'Brien Stadium
  • Charleston, IL (NCAA Division II Semifinal)
W 26–22
December 9vs. No. 3 Delaware*No. 5
W 10–95,500[6]

[7][8]

References

  1. ^ "Eastern Illinois Panthers - College Football (NCAA)". College-football-results.com. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
  2. ^ DeLassus, David (2016). "Eastern Illinois Yearly Results". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on August 27, 2016. Retrieved June 10, 2016.
  3. ^ Dunning, Bob (November 20, 1978). "Aggies, E. Illinois Meet In Playoffs". The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, California. p. C2. Retrieved May 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  4. ^ Dunning, Bob (November 26, 1978). "Ags Fall Short To EIU, 35-31". The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, California. p. D1. Retrieved May 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  5. ^ Dunning, Bob (November 26, 1978). "Aggies (continued)". The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, California. p. D6. Retrieved May 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  6. ^ "Late kick off mark, Eastern wins title". The Pantagraph. December 10, 1978. Retrieved November 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Final 1978 Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved June 4, 2022.
  8. ^ "EIU Football Online Guide, 2019" (PDF). Eastern Illinois athletics. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
Categories