Wikipedia

1978 Washington State Cougars football team

The 1978 Washington State Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Washington State University in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. Under new head coach Jim Walden, the Cougars compiled a 4–6–1 record (2–6 in Pac-10, last), and were outscored 296 to 276.[1][2] The six home games were split evenly between Martin Stadium on campus in Pullman and Joe Albi Stadium in Spokane.

1978 Washington State Cougars football
ConferencePacific-10 Conference
Record4–6–1 (2–6 Pac-10)
Head coach
Home stadiumMartin Stadium, Joe Albi Stadium
Seasons
← 1977
1979 →
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 team's statistical leaders included Jack Thompson with 2,333 passing yards, Tali Ena with 728 rushing yards, and Mike Wilson with 451 receiving yards.[3]

This was the first football season in the newly expanded Pac-10; the Cougars met the two new members, Arizona and Arizona State, but did not play the USC Trojans.

Senior quarterback Thompson was ninth in the balloting for the Heisman Trophy, and was the third overall selection of the 1979 NFL draft, taken by the Cincinnati Bengals.[4]

The offensive backs coach in 1977 under Warren Powers, Walden was promoted that December and became the Cougars' fourth head coach in four seasons (Jim Sweeney (1975), Jackie Sherrill (1976), and Powers).[5][6][7] He led the WSU program for nine years.

After this season, the running track in Martin Stadium was removed, the playing field was lowered, and the capacity was expanded with new lower seating.[8][9][10][11]

Schedule edit

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendance
September 9UNLV*
W 34–726,250
September 16Idaho*
W 28–016,950
September 23Arizona State
  • Joe Albi Stadium
  • Spokane, WA
W 51–2633,507
September 30Army*
T 21–2131,612
October 14at No. 14 UCLA
L 31–4540,023
October 21Stanford 
  • Martin Stadium
  • Pullman, WA
L 27–4327,411
October 28at Oregon ^
W 7–3125,000
November 4Oregon State
  • Martin Stadium
  • Pullman, WA
L 31–3220,061
November 11at California
L 14–2228,750
November 18at Arizona
L 24–3149,557
November 25Washington
L 8–3835,187
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
^ Note: The Oregon game was later forfeited to Washington State by order of the Pacific-10 Conference

[12]

Roster edit

1978 Washington State Cougars football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
TE 88 Ron Bull Sr
QB 9 Clete Casper Fr
C 77 Mark Chandless Sr
RB 29 Tali Ena Jr
RB 25 Harold Gillum Sr
QB 18 Steve Grant   Sr
TE 81 Gus Hobus Sr
G 66 Steve Jackson Jr
OT 72 Allan Kennedy So
G 65 Tom Larsen Sr
OT 62 Mike Lemke Sr
QB 11 Samoa Samoa   Jr
QB, RB 10 Brian Sickler So
QB 14 Jack Thompson Sr
TB 26 Mike Washington So
FL 21 Jim Whatley So
RB 31 Ray Williams Jr
SE 86 Mike Wilson So
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
SS 19 Jack Brossman Sr
LB 32 Sam Busch Jr
MG 40 Tom Everson Sr
CB 41 Jeff Files Fr
LB 96 Raleigh Fletcher Sr
MG 61 Brian Flones So
FS 28 Bob Gregor Jr
DT 76 Spud Harris Jr
DE 58 Mark Hicks Sr
LB 35 Jeff Jones Jr
LB 39 Don Nevels Jr
LB 47 Scott Pelluer So
DT 68 Greg Porter So
DE 38 Mel Sanders Jr
CB 17 Randall Simmons Sr
CB 13 Mike Snow Jr
DT 64 Steve Swift Sr
DE 36 Tom Thompson Sr
DT 50 George Yarno Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
P 16 Tim Davey Fr
K 22 Paul Watson Sr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
  • Mike Church – (LB)
  • Gary Gagnon – (RB)
  • Rich Glover – (DL)
  • Lindsay Hughes – (DE)
  • Steve Morton – (TE)
  • Pat Ruel – (OL)
  • Al Sandahl – (QB)
  • Dave Walker – (DL)
  • Jerry Wamsley – (DB)
  • Ken Woody – (WR)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  •   Injured
  •   Redshirt

[13][14][15][16]

Awards edit

  • All-American: QB Jack Thompson (Playboy, Preseason, Sporting News, 1st)
  • All-Pac-10: QB Jack Thompson (1st), C Mark Chandless
  • All-West Coast: Jack Thompson (UPI, 2nd)
  • Frank Butler Award: Jack Thompson
  • J. Fred Bohler Award: Tom Larsen
  • Laurie Niemi Award: Mark Chandless

Source:[12]

NFL Draft edit

One Cougar was selected in the 1979 NFL Draft.

Player Position Round Overall Franchise
Jack Thompson QB 1 3 Cincinnati Bengals

[4]

References edit

  1. ^ "1978 Washington State Cougars Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  2. ^ "2016 Media Guide" (PDF). WSUCougars.com. Washington State Cougars Athletics. p. 76. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 21, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  3. ^ "1978 Washington State Cougars Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
  4. ^ a b "Thompson 3rd in NFL draft". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). May 3, 1979. p. 37.
  5. ^ Killen, John (December 19, 1977). "WSU hires Waldens, who plans to stay". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
  6. ^ Missildine, Harry (December 19, 1977). "Walden's players' choice at WSU". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 19.
  7. ^ Brown, Bruce (December 19, 1977). "WSU makes Walden's dreams come true". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 25.
  8. ^ "Hanson directs stadium drive". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington. October 10, 1978. p. 19.
  9. ^ "Martin Stadium on schedule". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). April 1, 1979. p. C3.
  10. ^ "Construction to start". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). December 21, 1978. p. 27.
  11. ^ "New Martin Stadium". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). (photo). September 7, 1979. p. 1.
  12. ^ a b 2009 Washington State football media guide
  13. ^ "Rebels vs. Cougars: probable starters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). September 9, 1978. p. 17.
  14. ^ Van Sickel, Charlie (September 11, 1978). "Cougar QBs abound". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 21.
  15. ^ "Beavers vs. Cougars: probable starters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). November 4, 1978. p. 19.
  16. ^ "Huskies vs. Cougars: probable starters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). November 25, 1978. p. 21.

External links edit

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