1978 Navy Midshipmen football team

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]

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
1978 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW 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
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

Schedule
DateTimeOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 16at Virginia
W 32–028,472
September 23at Connecticut
W 30–0
September 30at Boston College
W 19–824,082[3]
October 7at Air Force
W 37–830,482
October 14Duke
W 31–821,431
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[4]
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

Personnel
1978 Navy Midshipmen football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
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.#NameClass
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.#NameClass
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

    Season summary

    At Virginia

    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
    • Attendance: 30,482
    • Navy scored on six of its first seven possessions, gained over 400 yards of total offense and held Air Force to 75 yards through three quarters
    • Navy's best start since 1960
    • NAVY: Tata 47 FG
    • NAVY: McConkey 19 run (Tata kick)
    • NAVY: Tata 39 FG
    • NAVY: McConkey 36 pass from Leszczynski (Tata kick)
    • NAVY: Tata 43 FG
    • NAVY: Gainer 17 run (Tata kick)
    • AFA: Fortson 11 run (pass good)
    • NAVY: Callahan 39 run (Tata kick)

    [5]


    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 video
    video icon Game broadcast (part 1)
    video icon Game broadcast (part 2)
    video icon Game broadcast (part 3)
    video icon Game broadcast (part 4)
    TeamCategoryPlayerStatistics
    Navy PassingBob Leszczynski10/20, 188 Yds, INT
    RushingKevin Tolbert5 Rush, 27 Yds
    ReceivingSandy Jones2 Rec, 51 Yds
    Florida St PassingJimmy Jordan15/27, 280 Yds, 4 TD
    RushingGreg Ramsey5 Rush, 51 Yds, TD
    ReceivingSam Platt6 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
    • [6]

    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. "Defense lifts Navy past B.C." The Baltimore Sun. October 1, 1978. p. C1, C15 – via Newspapers.com.
    4. 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.
    5. Palm Beach Post. 1978 Oct 08.
    6. Eugene Register-Guard. 1978 Dec 03. Retrieved 2019-Jan-21.


    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.