1978 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team
American college football season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1978 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team represented Eastern Illinois University during the 1978 NCAA Division II football season, and completed the 78th season of Panther football. The Panthers played their home games at O'Brien Stadium in Charleston, Illinois. The 1978 team came off a 1–10 record from the previous season.[1] The 1978 team was led by coach Darrell Mudra. The team finished the regular season with a 9–2 record and made the NCAA Division II playoffs. The Panthers defeated Delaware, 10–9, in the National Championship Game en route to the program's first NCAA Division II Football Championship.[2]
Record12–2 (3–2 Mid-Con)
Headcoach
- Darrell Mudra (1st season)
OffensivecoordinatorMike Shanahan (1st season)
| 1978 Eastern Illinois Panthers football | |
|---|---|
NCAA Division II champion | |
NCAA Division II Championship Game, W 10–9 vs. Delaware | |
| Conference | Association of Mid-Continent Universities |
| Record | 12–2 (3–2 Mid-Con) |
| Head coach |
|
| Offensive coordinator | Mike Shanahan (1st season) |
| Defensive coordinator | John Teerlinck (1st season) |
| Home stadium | O'Brien Stadium |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youngstown State $^ | 5 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 10 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Akron | 4 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Eastern Illinois ^ | 3 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 12 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northern Michigan | 1 | – | 3 | – | 1 | 5 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Western Illinois | 1 | – | 3 | – | 1 | 3 | – | 6 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northern Iowa | 0 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 9 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2 | Central State (OH)* | W 41–16 | 7,000 | ||||
| September 9 | at Butler* | W 42–3 | 4,300 | ||||
| September 16 | Northern Iowa |
| W 38–22 | 8,500 | |||
| September 23 | Northeast Missouri State* |
| W 29–12 | 7,000 | |||
| September 30 | at Akron | No. 4 | L 16–17 | 3,278 | |||
| October 7 | at No. 4 Youngstown State | No. 8 |
| L 24–40 | 4,360 | ||
| October 21 | at No. 8 Northern Michigan |
| W 42–34 | 8,602 | |||
| October 28 | at Wayne State (MI)* | No. 8 | Detroit, MI | W 42–34 | 1,800 | ||
| November 4 | Illinois State* | No. 9 |
| W 42–7 | 9,000 | [3] | |
| November 11 | Murray State* | No. 7 |
| W 35–14 | 6,500 | [4] | |
| November 18 | at Western Illinois | No. 5 | W 40–12 | 7,850 | |||
| November 25 | 3:00 p.m. | at No. 4 UC Davis* | No. 5 | W 35–31 | 8,500 | [5][6][7] | |
| December 2 | No. 2 Youngstown State* | No. 5 |
| W 26–22 | |||
| December 9 | vs. No. 3 Delaware* | No. 5 |
| W 10–9 | 5,500 | [8] | |
| |||||||
