1978 Navy Midshipmen football
Holiday Bowl champion
Holiday Bowl, W 23–16 vs. BYU
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 17
Record9–3
Head coach
CaptainNick Mygas, Phil McConkey
Home stadiumNavy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
Seasons
← 1977
1979 →
1978 NCAA 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
Tennessee 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 (FL)   –   –   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) as an independent during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was led by sixth-year head coach George Welsh.[1][2]

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 16at Virginia
W 32–028,472[3]
September 23at Connecticut
W 30–0
September 30at Boston College
W 19–824,082[4]
October 7at Air Force
W 37–830,482
October 14Duke
W 31–821,431[5]
October 21William & MaryNo. 17
  • Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
  • Annapolis, MD
W 9–0
October 28PittsburghdaggerNo. 18
  • Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
  • Annapolis, MD
W 21–1132,909
November 41:50 p.m.vs. No. 15 Notre DameNo. 11
L 7–2763,780
November 11at SyracuseNo. 18
L 17–2026,429[6]
November 1812:50 p.m.at Florida State
L 6–3845,795
December 2vs. Army
W 28–079,026
December 22vs. BYU
W 23–1652,500

Game summaries

At Virginia

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (January 2023)

At Connecticut

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (January 2023)

At Boston College

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (January 2023)

At Air Force

1 2 3 4 Total
Navy (3–0) 10 13 7 7 37
Air Force (2–2) 0 0 0 8 8

[7]


Duke

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (January 2023)

William & Mary

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (January 2023)

Pittsburgh

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (January 2023)

vs Notre Dame

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (January 2023)

At Syracuse

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (January 2023)

At Florida State

Navy Midshipmen (7–2) at Florida State Seminoles (6–3)
Period 1 2 34Total
Navy 3 3 006
Florida St 0 7 171438

at Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, Florida

  • Date: November 18, 1978
  • Game time: 12:50 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: Partly cloudy, 76 °F (24 °C)
  • Game attendance: 45,795
  • Referee: W.T. Miller
  • TV: ABC
  • Box Score
External videos
video icon Game broadcast (part 1)
video icon Game broadcast (part 2)
video icon Game broadcast (part 3)
video icon Game broadcast (part 4)
Team Category Player Statistics
Navy Passing Bob Leszczynski 10/20, 188 Yds, INT
Rushing Kevin Tolbert 5 Rush, 27 Yds
Receiving Sandy Jones 2 Rec, 51 Yds
Florida St Passing Jimmy Jordan 15/27, 280 Yds, 4 TD
Rushing Greg Ramsey 5 Rush, 51 Yds, TD
Receiving Sam Platt 6 Rec, 145 Yds, 3 TD

vs Army

Army Cadets vs. Navy Midshipmen
Period 1 2 34Total
Army 0 0 000
Navy 14 7 7028

at JFK Stadium • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

  • Date: December 2
  • Game attendance: 79,026
  • [8]

Holiday Bowl (vs BYU)

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (January 2023)

Personnel

1978 Navy Midshipmen football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
OL Rick Bott
RB Steve Callahan
WR Mike Chapon
RB Dwayne Dennis
OL Tom Feldman
RB Duane Flowers
TE Curt Gainer
TE Carl Hendershot
WR Sandy Jones
FB 33 Larry Klawinski Jr
RB Chris Klein
OL Steve Kremer
QB 15 Bob Leszczynski Sr
OL Frank McCallister
WR Phil McConkey (C)
TE Matt McLaughlin
QB Kevin McTavish
RB Eddie Meyers
TE Greg Papajohn
QB Bob Powers
RB 23 Mike Sherlock So
OL John Taylor
RB Kevin Tolbert
RB Dave Walker
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DL Steve Chambers
DL John Merrill
LB Gregg Milo
LB Nick Mygas (C)
LB Tom Paulk
DB Fred Reitzel
DL Mark Stephens
DL Charlie Thornton
DB Bob Wilson
DB Chuck Zingler
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
P Lex Lauletta
P Art Ohanian
K Bob Tata
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

References

  1. ^ "Football History" (PDF). United States Naval Academy. p. 194. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
  2. ^ "Navy Yearly Results (1975-1979)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on July 15, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
  3. ^ "Navy torpedoes UVa, Cavaliers yet to score". The Danville Register. September 17, 1978. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Defense lifts Navy past B.C." The Baltimore Sun. October 1, 1978. p. C1, C15 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Unbeaten Navy drops Duke, 31–8". Asheville Citizen-Times. October 15, 1978. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Searing, Robert (November 12, 2021). "SU football fans rush the field at the last game ever played at Archbold Stadium". The Post-Standard. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
  7. ^ Palm Beach Post. 1978 Oct 08.
  8. ^ Eugene Register-Guard. 1978 Dec 03. Retrieved 2019-Jan-21.


Categories