The 1978 San Diego State Aztecs football team represented San Diego State University during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). This was the Aztecs' first season in the WAC.

The team was led by head coach Claude Gilbert, in his sixth year, and played home games at San Diego Stadium^{[note 1]} in San Diego, California. They finished with a record of four wins and seven losses (4–7, 2–4 WAC).

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 16	at No. 19 Iowa State*	Cyclone Stadium Ames, IA	L 13–14	46,450	[1]
September 23	at UTEP	Sun Bowl TX	L 24–31	14,100	[2]
October 7	Fresno State*	San Diego Stadium San Diego, CA (rivalry)	W 31–14	42,424	[3]
October 14	at Wyoming	War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY	L 22–31	21,471	[4]
October 21	Pacific (CA)*	San Diego Stadium San Diego, CA	W 31–28	37,219	[5]
October 28	at Long Beach State*	Anaheim Stadium Anaheim, CA	L 25–27	11,216	[6]
November 4	Colorado State	San Diego Stadium San Diego, CA	W 34–31	38,494	[7]
November 11	at BYU	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT	L 3–21	22,682	[8]
November 18	at Miami (FL)*	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL	L 14–16	17,468	[9]
November 25	New Mexico	San Diego Stadium San Diego, CA	W 27–24	30,011	[10]
December 2	Utah	San Diego Stadium San Diego, CA	L 18–20	30,899	[11]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[12][13]

Team players in the NFL

The following were selected in the 1979 NFL Draft.^[14]

The following finished their college career in 1978, were not drafted, but played in the NFL.^[15]

Team awards

^[13]