1978 UMass Minutemen football team

The 1978 UMass Minutemen football team represented the University of Massachusetts Amherst in the 1978 NCAA Division I-AA football season as a member of the Yankee Conference. The team was coached by Bob Pickett and played its home games at Alumni Stadium in Hadley, Massachusetts. The 1978 season was the first after the NCAA split Division I football into two subdivisions, and the first that featured a postseason playoff for Division I-AA. The Minutemen reached this inaugural championship game, losing to Florida A&M, 35–28. UMass finished the season with a record of 9–4 overall and 5–0 in conference play.

1978 UMass Minutemen football
Yankee Conference champion
Lambert Cup winner
ConferenceYankee Conference
Ranking
APNo. T–4
Record9–4 (5–0 Yankee)
Head coach
Defensive coordinatorJim Reid (1st season)
Home stadiumAlumni Stadium (17,000)
1978 Yankee Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. T–4 UMass $^ 5 –0 –09 –4 –0
No. 7 Rhode Island 3 –2 –07 –3 –0
Connecticut 3 –2 –04 –7 –0
Boston University 2 –3 –06 –4 –0
New Hampshire 1 –3 –16 –4 –1
Maine 0 –4 –13 –7 –1
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from Associated Press poll

Schedule
DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 15Villanova*
L 21–258,800
September 23at Maine
W 40–67,200
September 30at Harvard*
L 0–1012,200[1]
October 7Morgan State*
  • Alumni Stadium
  • Hadley, MA
W 38–66,700
October 14at No. 5 Boston University
W 31–73,570
October 21at No. 8 Rhode IslandNo. 10
W 19–177,995
October 28ConnecticutNo. 6
W 17–1014,200
November 4Rutgers*No. 4
  • Alumni Stadium
  • Hadley, MA
L 11–219,800
November 11at Holy Cross*
W 33–820,614[2]
November 18New HampshireNo. 9
W 34–711,300
November 25Boston College*No. T–4
W 27–07,950[3]
December 9at No. 1 Nevada*No. T–4
W 44–2114,026
December 16vs. No. 3 Florida A&M*No. T–4
ABCL 28–3513,604[4][5][6]

References
  1. Roberts, Ernie (October 1, 1978). "Harvard Beats UMass at Own Game, 10-0". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 50 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. Concannon, Joe (November 12, 1978). "UMass' Tailback Attack Slaps Holy Cross". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 50 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Massachusetts 27, Boston College 0". Palm Beach Post-Times. November 26, 1978. p. E2 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Cooper, Barry (December 17, 1978). "FAMU captures a national title". Tallahassee Democrat. Tallahassee, Florida. p. 1A. Retrieved May 13, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  5. Cooper, Barry (December 17, 1978). "FAMU (cont'd)". Tallahassee Democrat. Tallahassee, Florida. p. 7A. Retrieved May 13, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  6. "Division I Championship" (PDF). NCAA. 2013. p. 14. Retrieved May 11, 2019 – via ncaa.org.


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