1978 Stanford Cardinals football team

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1978
Pacific-10 Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 16
APNo. 17
Record8–4 (4–3 Pac-10)
Head coach
Home stadiumStanford Stadium
Seasons
1978 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 USC $ 6 – 1 – 0 12 – 1 – 0
No. 14 UCLA 6 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 1
Washington 6 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Arizona State 4 – 3 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
No. 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

The 1978 Stanford Cardinals football team represented

Pacific-10 Conference during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by second-year head coach Bill Walsh, the Cardinals were 7–4 in the regular season (4–3 in Pac-10, tied for fourth) and played their home games on campus at Stanford Stadium in Stanford, California. Their four losses were by a combined total of sixteen points.[1]

In the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl on New Year's Eve, Stanford rallied from a 22-point deficit in the second half to defeat #11 Georgia 25–22.[2][3] and finished with an 8–4 record and a top twenty ranking.[4]

Less than two weeks later, Walsh departed for the NFL's San Francisco 49ers,[5] and receivers coach Rod Dowhower was promoted.[6] Walsh won three Super Bowls in ten seasons with the Niners, took three years off, and returned to Stanford as head coach in 1992.

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 9No. 4 Oklahoma*
L 29–3558,883
September 16San Jose State*
  • Stanford Stadium
  • Stanford, CA (rivalry)
W 38–942,500
September 23at Illinois*
W 35–1043,143
September 30Tulane*No. 20
  • Stanford Stadium
  • Stanford, CA
W 17–1440,111[7]
October 7at No. 16 UCLANo. 17
L 26–2754,106
October 14WashingtonNo. 18
  • Stanford Stadium
  • Stanford, CA
L 31–3458,079
October 21at Washington State
W 43–2727,411
October 28Oregon State
  • Stanford Stadium
  • Stanford, CA
W 24–639,214
November 4No. 6 USC
  • Stanford Stadium
  • Stanford, CA (rivalry)
L 7–1384,084
November 11at
Sun Devil Stadium
  • Tempe, AZ
    		• W 21–1451,000
    November 18at California
    		W 30–1077,880
    December 31vs. No. 11 Georgia*
    		MizlouW 25–2234,084[8]
    • *Non-conference game
    • Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game

    Personnel

    1978 Stanford Cardinal football team roster
    Players Coaches
    Offense
    Pos. # Name Class
    RB Billy Anderson
    RB Gordon Banks
    TE Pat Bowe
    RB Jim Brown
    QB Steve Dils
    OL Gene Engle
    FB Phil Francis
    OL Paul Hibler
    OL Brian Holloway
    WR James Lofton
    OL John Macauley
    WR Ken Margerum
    WR Vince Mulroy
    RB Darrin Nelson
    TE Mitch Pleis
    OL Brent Saylor
    QB Turk Schonert
    TE Marty Smith
    OL Jim Stephens
    WR Andre Tyler
    		Defense
    Pos. # Name Class
    LB Kevin Bates
    LB Bo Boxold
    LB Steve Budinger
    DB Keith Burcham
    LB Gordy Ceresino
    DB Robby Chapman
    DL Chuck Evans
    DL Dan Floyd
    DB Steve Foley
    LB Tom Hall
    LB Milt McColl
    DB Rick Parker
    DB John Pigott
    LB Terry Rennaker
    DL Doug Rogers
    DB Kent Stalwick
    DB Savann Thompson
    DL Dean Wilson
    		Special teams
    Pos. # Name Class
    P
    		 Brad Fox
    K Ken Naber
    Head coach
    Coordinators/assistant coaches
    Legend
    • (C) Team captain
    • (S) Suspended
    • (I) Ineligible
    • Injured Injured
    • Redshirt Redshirt

    Awards and honors

    • Sammy Baugh Trophy[9]

    All-conference

    Main article: 1978 All-Pacific-10 Conference football team

    Two sophomores were named to the All-Pac-10 team, halfback Darrin Nelson and wide receiver Ken Margerum, along with senior linebacker Gordy Ceresino.

    NFL draft

    Two Cardinals were selected in the 1979 NFL draft.

    Player Position Round Pick NFL club
    Steve Dils Quarterback
    4
    		 97 Minnesota Vikings
    Phil Francis Running back
    7
    		 166 San Francisco 49ers
    Source:[10]

    References

    1. ^ "Nelson has a big Big game at Cal". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Los Angeles Times. November 19, 1978. p. 4B.
    2. ^ "Dils, Cards catch fire". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 1, 1979. p. 20.
    3. ^ "Georgia tries for a victory, Cards get it". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). UPI. January 1, 1979. p. 1C.
    4. ^ "AP's Top 20". Wilmington Morning Star. (North Carolina). Associated Press. January 4, 1979. p. 1D.
    5. ^ "Walsh gets pact worth $1 million from the 49ers". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). UPI. January 10, 1979. p. 1C.
    6. ^ "Dowhower wants Stanford exciting". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). UPI. January 10, 1979. p. 3C.
    7. Newspapers.com
      .
    8. Newspapers.com
      .
    9. ^ "Touchdown Club Awards". www.touchdownclubofcolumbus.com. Archived from the original on July 17, 2011.
    10. ^ "1978 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 22, 2007.

    External links

    Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=1978_Stanford_Cardinals_football_team&oldid=1189660397"