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1978 NCAA Division I-A football season

1978 NCAA Division I-A season
Number of teams 138
Duration September 1, 1978 - January 1, 1979
Preseason AP #1 Alabama Crimson Tide
Post-season
Duration December 16, 1978 – January 1, 1979
Bowl games 15
AP Poll #1 Alabama Crimson Tide
Coaches Poll #1 USC Trojans
Heisman Trophy Billy Sims, Oklahoma RB
Winner Alabama Crimson Tide (AP)
USC Trojans (Coaches)
Division I-A football seasons
«1977
1979 →
1978 ACC football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#6 Clemson $ 6 0 0     11 1 0
#20 Maryland 5 1 0     9 3 0
#18 NC State 4 2 0     9 3 0
North Carolina 3 3 0     5 6 0
Duke 2 4 0     4 7 0
Wake Forest 1 5 0     1 10 0
Virginia 0 6 0     2 9 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1978 Big 8 football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#3 Oklahoma + 6 1 0     11 1 0
#8 Nebraska + 6 1 0     9 3 0
Iowa State 4 3 0     8 4 0
#15 Missouri 4 3 0     8 4 0
Kansas State 3 4 0     4 7 0
Oklahoma State 3 4 0     3 8 0
Colorado 2 5 0     6 5 0
Kansas 0 7 0     1 10 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll
1978 Big Ten football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#5 Michigan + 7 1 0     10 2 0
#12 Michigan State + 7 1 0     8 3 0
#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
1978 Ivy League football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
Dartmouth $ 6 1 0     6 3 0
Brown 5 2 0     6 3 0
Yale 4 1 2     5 2 2
Cornell 3 3 1     5 3 1
Harvard 2 4 1     4 4 1
Columbia 2 4 1     3 5 1
Princeton 1 4 2     2 5 2
Pennsylvania 1 5 1     2 6 1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1978 Mid-American Conference football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
Ball State $ 8 0 0     10 1 0
Central Michigan 8 1 0     9 2 0
Miami 5 2 0     8 2 1
Western Michigan 5 4 0     7 4 0
Bowling Green 3 5 0     4 7 0
Ohio 3 5 0     3 8 0
Northern Illinois 2 4 0     5 6 0
Kent State 2 6 0     4 7 0
Toledo 2 7 0     2 9 0
Eastern Michigan 1 5 0     3 7 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1978 Missouri Valley Conference football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
New Mexico State $ 5 1 0     6 5 0
Tulsa 4 1 0     9 2 0
Southern Illinois 3 2 0     7 4 0
Drake 3 3 0     4 7 0
Indiana State 2 3 0     3 8 0
Wichita State 2 4 0     4 7 0
West Texas State 1 5 0     3 8 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1978 Pacific Coast Athletic Association football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
San Jose State + 4 1 0     7 5 0
Utah State + 3 1 0     7 4 0
Pacific (CA) 3 2 0     4 8 0
Cal State Fullerton 2 2 0     5 7 0
Long Beach State 1 4 0     5 6 0
Fresno State 1 4 0     3 8 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll
1978 Pacific-10 football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#2 USC $ 6 1 0     12 1 0
#14 UCLA 6 2 0     8 3 1
Washington 6 2 0     7 4 0
Arizona State 4 3 0     9 3 0
#17 Stanford 4 3 0     8 4 0
California 3 4 0     6 5 0
Arizona 3 4 0     5 6 0
Oregon 2 5 0     2 9 0
Oregon State 2 6 0     3 7 1
Washington State 1 7 0     3 7 1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1978 SEC football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#1 Alabama $ 6 0 0     11 1 0
#16 Georgia 5 0 1     9 2 1
Auburn 3 2 1     6 4 1
LSU 3 3 0     8 4 0
Tennessee 3 3 0     5 5 1
Florida 3 3 0     4 7 0
Mississippi State 2 4 0     6 5 0
Ole Miss 2 4 0     5 6 0
Kentucky 2 4 0     4 6 1
Vanderbilt 0 6 0     2 9 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season was the first season of Division I-A football; Division I-A was created in 1978 when Division I was subdivided into Division I-A and I-AA for football only. The season came down to a rare #1 vs. #2 post-season meeting as #1 Penn State and #2 Alabama met in the New Year's Day Sugar Bowl. The game is most remembered for Alabama's goal line stand with four minutes left in the game. On fourth down and a foot, Alabama managed to keep Penn State out of the end zone and went on to win 14-7. Keith Jackson, who did the play by play for ABC, called it the greatest game he'd ever seen. 76,824 people packed the Louisiana Superdome, which was tremendously loud.

Alabama's only loss that year was 24-14 in Birmingham to Southern California. Both schools claim this year as a national title year. Alabama claimed the national title because it defeated top-ranked Penn State on the field. USC claimed the title because it defeated Alabama in the regular season and also finished with only one loss. The AP Poll and most other voting outlets (including the Football Writers Association of America and the National Football Foundation crowned Alabama as national champion, while the UPI Coaches' Poll selected USC.

This season all seven teams from the Southwestern Athletic Conference played in Division I-AA in the Southwestern Athletic Conference but all other Division I conference teams and independent teams from the previous season played in Division I-A.

The pre-season ranking of the top 5 were 1. Alabama, 2. Arkansas, 3. Penn State, 4. Oklahoma, and 5. Notre Dame.

On September 2, Alabama avenged its only loss from the prior season when they topped #10 Nebraska, 20-3. #2 Arkansas would not start its season for another two weeks. #3 Penn State struggled in beating Temple 10-7 and dropped to 5th, #4 Oklahoma was idle, as was #5 Notre Dame. 1. Alabama, 2. Arkansas, 3. Oklahoma, 4. Notre Dame, 5. Penn State

On September 9, #1 Alabama and #2 Arkansas were not scheduled, while #3 Oklahoma opened its season with a 35-29 win at Stanford. #4 Notre Dame was stunned at Missouri, 3-0, while #5 Penn State beat Rutgers, 26-10. #6 Michigan, who had yet to begin their season, replaced Notre Dame in the top 5. 1. Alabama, 2. Arkansas, 3. Oklahoma, 4. Michigan, 5. Penn State.


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