The 1978 Arizona State Sun Devils football team was an American football team that represented Arizona State University in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their 21st season under head coach Frank Kush, the Sun Devils compiled a 9–3 record (4–3 against Pac-10 opponents), finished in a tie for fourth place in the Pac-10, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 347 to 236.[1][2]
The team's statistical leaders included Mark Malone with 1,305 passing yards and 705 rushing yards and Chris DeFrance with 617 receiving yards.[3]
Schedule
Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
---|
September 9 | Pacific (CA)* | | | W 42–7 | 69,527 | [4] |
September 16 | BYU* | | - Sun Devil Stadium
- Tempe, AZ
| W 24–17 | 70,311 | [5] |
September 23 | at Washington State | | | L 26–51 | 33,507 | [6] |
September 30 | UTEP* | | - Sun Devil Stadium
- Tempe, AZ
| W 27–0 | 69,497 | [7] |
October 7 | Northwestern* | | | W 56–14 | 17,009 | [8] |
October 14 | No. 2 USC | | - Sun Devil Stadium
- Tempe, AZ
| W 20–7 | 70,138 | [9] |
October 28 | Washington | No. 12 | | L 7–41 | 54,866 | [10] |
November 4 | California | | - Sun Devil Stadium
- Tempe, AZ
| W 35–21 | 70,876 | [11] |
November 11 | Stanford | | - Sun Devil Stadium
- Tempe, AZ
| L 14–21 | 51,000 | [12] |
November 18 | at Oregon State | | | W 44–22 | 23,500 | [13] |
November 25 | Arizona | | | W 18–17 | 58,090 | [14] |
December 16 | vs. Rutgers* | | | W 34–18 | 33,402 | [15] |
- *Non-conference game
- Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
|
[16]
Game summaries
USC
Team |
1 |
2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
USC |
0 |
0 | 0 | 7 |
7 |
• Arizona St |
0 |
3 | 14 | 3 |
20 |
- Date: October 14
- Location: Sun Devil Stadium
- Game attendance: 71,138
Scoring summary |
Q2 | | ASU | Hicks 40 yard field goal | ASU 3–0 |
|
Q3 | | ASU | Malone 1 yard run (Hicks kick) | ASU 10–0 |
|
Q3 | | ASU | Mistler 16 yard pass from Malone (Hicks kick) | ASU 17–0 |
|
Q4 | | ASU | Hicks 28 yard field goal | ASU 20–0 |
|
Q4 | | USC | Garcia 31 yard pass from McDonald (Jordan kick) | ASU 20–7 |
[17]
Arizona
Mark Malone threw a pair of touchdown passes and Bill Zivic's 45-yard field goal attempt missed wide left in the final seconds to secure the Sun Devil victory.[18]
Garden State Bowl
MVP: John Mistler
Scoring summary
|
Quarter
|
Time
|
Drive
|
Team
|
Scoring information
|
Score
|
Plays
|
Yards
|
TOP
|
ASU
|
RU
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
Rutgers
|
Dorn 47-yard touchdown run, Startzell kick good
|
0
|
7
|
1
|
|
|
|
|
Rutgers
|
46-yard field goal by Startzell
|
0
|
10
|
2
|
|
|
|
|
Arizona St
|
Weathers 14-yard touchdown reception from Malone, Hicks kick good
|
7
|
10
|
3
|
|
|
|
|
Arizona St
|
Mistler 26-yard touchdown reception from Malone, Hicks kick good
|
14
|
10
|
3
|
|
|
|
|
Arizona St
|
DeFrance 53-yard touchdown reception from Malone, Hicks kick good
|
21
|
10
|
4
|
|
|
|
|
Arizona St
|
Malone 1-yard touchdown run, Hicks kick good
|
28
|
10
|
4
|
|
|
|
|
Rutgers
|
Blackwell 5-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass good
|
28
|
18
|
4
|
|
|
|
|
Arizona St
|
Malone 4-yard touchdown run, kick no good
|
34
|
18
|
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.
|
34
|
18
|
|
Personnel
1978 Arizona State Sun Devils football team roster
|
Players
|
Coaches
|
Offense
|
Defense
|
Special teams
|
- Head coach
- Coordinators/assistant coaches
- Legend
- (C) Team captain
- (S) Suspended
- (I) Ineligible
|
References
- ^ "1978 Arizona State Sun Devils Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
- ^ "2016 ASU Football Media Guide". Arizona State University. 2016. p. 123. Archived from the original on October 25, 2016. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
- ^ "1978 Arizona State Sun Devils Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
- ^ "Malone spearheads ASU". The Oregonian. September 10, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Sun Devils stop BYU". The Salt Lake Tribune. September 17, 1978. Retrieved October 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Throwin' Samoan drills Devils, 51–26". The Arizona Republic. September 24, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "A-State blanks Miners". The Arizona Daily Star. October 1, 1978. Retrieved October 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Sun Devils hammer winless Northwestern". The Sioux City Journal. October 8, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Arizona State shocks USC, 20–7". The Blade-Tribune. October 15, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Tyler scores 2 TDs as tough Huskie defense buries Wildcats". The Fresno Bee. October 29, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Arizona State stymies Bears". The Modesto Bee. November 5, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Nelson injured as Cards beat ASU". Oakland Tribune. November 12, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Devils bury Beavers 44–22". The Spokesman-Review. November 19, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Arizona St. nips Arizona". The Patriot-News. November 26, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Arizona State stymies Rutgers". The Star-Ledger. December 17, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "1978 Arizona State Sun Devils Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
- ^ "Devils' first Pacific-10 win shocks USC." Eugene Register-Guard. 1978 Oct 15. Retrieved 2017-Oct-09.
- ^ 10 Memorable Sun Devil Performances in the Territorial Cup Rivalry. Retrieved 2018-Dec-25.
External links
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