1978 Pittsburgh Panthers football
Tangerine Bowl, L 17–30 vs. NC State
Conference	Independent
Record	8–4
Head coach	Jackie Sherrill (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Don Boyce (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Split backs
Defensive coordinator	Jimmy Johnson (2nd season)
Base defense	5–2
Home stadium	Pitt Stadium
Seasons ← 1977 1979 →

1978 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
v t e	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 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Panthers competed in the 1978 Tangerine Bowl.

Coach Jackie Sherrill stated in the pre-season that he expected to have "another outstanding football team".^[1]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 16	8:30 p.m.	at Tulane	No. 14	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA		W 24–6	32,658	^[2]
September 23	1:30 p.m.	Temple	No. 11	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA		W 20–12	43,445
September 30	1:30 p.m.	North Carolina	No. 9	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA	ABC	W 20–16	50,439	^[3]
October 7	1:30 p.m.	at Boston College	No. 9	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA		W 32–15	21,673	^[4]
October 14	12:30 p.m.	at Notre Dame	No. 9	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	ABC	L 17–26	59,075
October 21	1:30 p.m.	Florida State	No. 15	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA		W 7–3	55,104
October 28	2:00 p.m.	at 18 Navy	No. 15	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD		L 11–21	32,909
November 4	1:00 p.m.	at Syracuse	No. 19	Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY (rivalry)		W 18–17	26,039
November 11	1:30 p.m.	West Virginia	No. 20	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (Backyard Brawl)		W 52–7	53,074	^[5]
November 18	1:30 p.m.	Army	No. 18	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA		W 35–17	45,297
November 25	1:30 p.m.	at 1 Penn State	No. 15	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	ABC	L 10–17	77,465
December 23	8:00 p.m.	vs. NC State	No. 16	Orlando Stadium Orlando, FL (Tangerine Bowl)	Mizlou	L 17–30	31,356	^[6]
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Coaching staff

1978 Pittsburgh Panthers football staff

	Coaching staff Jackie Sherrill – Head coach Jimmy Johnson – Assistant head coach/defensive coordinator Don Boyce – Offensive coordinator/offensive line Foge Fazio – Linebackers Larry Holton – Defensive backs Pat Jones – Defensive Front Joe Moore – Offensive backs Joe Pendry – Quarterbacks Dave Wannstedt – Receivers			Support staff Alex Kramer – Executive Assistant Bob Matey – Scouting coordinator Kevin Dickey – Graduate assistant Gary Davis – Graduate assistant Tony Wise – Graduate assistant			Strength and conditioning staff Bob Matey – Weight Program

^[7]

Team players drafted into the NFL

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Gordon Jones	Wide receiver	2	34	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Walt Brown	Center	5	131	Detroit Lions
Jeff Delaney	Defensive back	7	190	Los Angeles Rams
Al Chesley	Linebacker	11	296	Philadelphia Eagles
David Logan	Nose Tackle	12	307	Tampa Bay Buccaneers

^[8]

References

^ Pitt Strong Again; Lions Up in Air, web: The Sacramento Bee, 1978, retrieved March 13, 2023
^ "Panthers rough up Tulane, 24–6". The Pittsburgh Press. September 17, 1978. Retrieved October 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Jacobs, Trocano rally Pitt 20–16". The Palm Beach Post. October 1, 1978. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Pitt Thumps Boston College, 32–15". The Pittsburgh Press. October 8, 1978. pp. D1, D2 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Pitt attack finally erupts, crushes West Va., 52–7". The Pittsburgh Press. November 12, 1978. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Wolfpack rips Panthers, in Tangerine Bowl upset". The Tampa Tribune. December 24, 1978. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Coaches Biographies". 1978 Pitt Football. University of Pittsburgh Department of Athletics. 1978. pp. 19–24. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
^ "1979 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.

v t e Pittsburgh Panthers football
Venues	Recreation Park (1898–1899) Exposition Park (1900) Schenley Park (1901) Coliseum (1902–1903) Exposition Park (1904–1908) Forbes Field (1909–1924) Pitt Stadium (1925–1999) Three Rivers Stadium (2000) Acrisure Stadium (2001–present) UPMC Rooney Sports Complex (practice)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Notre Dame Old Ironsides Penn State Syracuse West Virginia: Backyard Brawl
Culture & lore	Panthers "Hail to Pitt" "Pitt Victory Song" Marching band 1921 Backyard Brawl 2007 Backyard Brawl Highest-scoring game
People	Head coaches All-Americans NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold