1978 Clemson Tigers football team
American college football season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1978 Clemson Tigers football team was an American football team that represented Clemson University in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. In its second season under head coach Charley Pell, the team compiled an 11–1 record (6–0 against conference opponents), won the ACC championship, defeated Ohio State in the 1978 Gator Bowl, was ranked No. 6 in the final AP and Coaches Polls, and outscored opponents by a total of 368 to 131.[1][2] The team played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina.
| 1978 Clemson Tigers football | |
|---|---|
ACC champion Gator Bowl champion | |
| Conference | Atlantic Coast Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 7 |
| AP | No. 6 |
| Record | 11–1 (6–0 ACC) |
| Head coach |
|
| Offensive coordinator | Jimmye Laycock (2nd season) |
| Defensive coordinator | Mickey Andrews (2nd season) |
| Captains |
|
| Home stadium | Memorial Stadium |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 6 Clemson $ | 6 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 11 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 20 Maryland | 5 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Steve Fuller and Randy Scott were the team captains. The team's statistical leaders included Steve Fuller with 1,515 passing yards, Lester Brown with 1,022 rushing yards and 102 points scored, and Jerry Butler with 908 receiving yards.[3]
The Gator Bowl victory became infamous because Ohio State's legendary head coach Woody Hayes punched Clemson player Charlie Bauman during the game on the Buckeyes sideline after a play. The incident was caught on live television, and Hayes resigned as Ohio State head coach the next day before the team even left Jacksonville. Hayes would never coach again.
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 16 | 1:00 p.m. | The Citadel* | W 58–3 | 53,332–54,075 | [4] | ||||
| September 23 | 1:30 p.m. | at Georgia* | L 0–12 | 60,000 | [5] | ||||
| September 30 | 1:00 p.m. | Villanova* |
| W 31–0 | 47,786 | [6] | |||
| October 7 | 1:00 p.m. | Virginia Tech* |
| W 38–7 | 53,054 | [7] | |||
| October 14 | 1:00 p.m. | at Virginia | W 30–14 | 19,243 | [8] | ||||
| October 21 | 1:00 p.m. | Duke |
| W 28–8 | 51,109 | [9] | |||
| October 28 | 1:00 p.m. | at NC State | No. 20 | W 33–10 | 45,000 | [10] | |||
| November 4 | 1:30 p.m. | at Wake Forest | No. 16 | W 51–6 | 30,400 | [11] | |||
| November 11 | 1:00 p.m. | North Carolina | No. 15 |
| W 13–9 | 53,495 | [12] | ||
| November 18 | 1:00 p.m. | at No. 11 Maryland | No. 12 | W 28–24 | 51,376 | [13] | |||
| November 25 | 1:00 p.m. | South Carolina* | No. 10 |
| W 41–23 | 63,050–63,479 | [14] | ||
| December 29 | vs. No. 20 Ohio State* | No. 7 | W 17–15 | 72,011 | [15] | ||||
| |||||||||
Game summaries
Gator Bowl (vs. Ohio State)
| Game information |
|---|
Second quarter
Third quarter
Fourth quarter
Warren Ratchford – 10 rushes, 54 yards
|
Personnel
| 1978 Clemson Tigers football team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
|
Defense
|
Special teams
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
