1978 Clemson Tigers football team

1978 Clemson Tigers football
ACC champion
Gator Bowl champion
Gator Bowl, W 17–15 vs. Ohio State
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 7
APNo. 6
Record11–1 (6–0 ACC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorJimmye Laycock (2nd season)
Defensive coordinatorMickey Andrews (2nd season)
Captains
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
1978 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 6 $ 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
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

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.

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

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 161:00 p.m.The Citadel*
W 58–353,332–54,075[4]
September 231:30 p.m.at Georgia*
L 0–1260,000[5]
September 301:00 p.m.Villanova*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Clemson, SC
W 31–047,786[6]
October 71:00 p.m.Virginia Tech*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Clemson, SC
W 38–753,054[7]
October 141:00 p.m.at Virginia
W 30–1419,243[8]
October 211:00 p.m.Duke
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Clemson, SC
W 28–851,109[9]
October 281:00 p.m.at NC StateNo. 20
W 33–1045,000[10]
November 41:30 p.m.at Wake ForestNo. 16
W 51–630,400[11]
November 111:00 p.m.North CarolinaNo. 15
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Clemson, SC
W 13–953,495[12]
November 181:00 p.m.at No. 11 MarylandNo. 12
W 28–2451,376[13]
November 251:00 p.m.South Carolina*No. 10
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Clemson, SC (rivalry)
W 41–2363,050–63,479[14]
December 29vs. No. 20 Ohio State*No. 7
W 17–1572,011[15]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

[16][17]

Game summaries

Gator Bowl (vs. Ohio State)

Main article: 1978 Gator Bowl
See also: 1978 Ohio State Buckeyes football team
Gator Bowl: #7 Clemson Tigers (10–1) vs. #20 Ohio State Buckeyes (7–3–1)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Ohio St 0 9 0615
Clemson 0 10 7017

at Gator Bowl, Jacksonville, Florida

  • Date: December 29, 1978
  • Game time: 9:00 p.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 72,011
  • Referee: Jim Artley
  • TV: ABC
  • Box Score
Game information

Personnel

1978 Clemson Tigers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
TE 82 Ed Abreu Fr
RB 7 Cliff Austin Fr
RB 40 Rick Basich Jr
OL 55 Jeff Bostic Jr
OL 71 Joe Bostic Sr
TE 86 Cliff Bray Sr
RB 44 Lester Brown Jr
WR 15 Jerry Butler Sr
WR 30 Dwight Clark Sr
TE 87 Mark Clifford Jr
OL 50 Chris Dulce Jr
QB 4 Steve Fuller Sr
WR 41 Jerry Gaillard Fr
QB 11 Mike Gasque So
RB 32 Harold Goggins Sr
WR 14 JD Haglan Sr
OL 74 Bill Hudson Sr
OL 53 Steve Kenney Sr
TE 88 Anthony King Sr
QB 8 Billy Lott Jr
OL 65 Lee Nanney Fr
RB 46 Tracy Perry Jr
RB 2 Warren Ratchford Sr
RB 31 Marvin Sims Jr
OL 64 Mark Thornton Jr
WR 22 Perry Tuttle Fr
RB 23 Paul Williams Fr
WR 27 Eric Young Jr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DL 58 Charlie Bauman So
DL 84 Jonathan Brooks Sr
LB 47 Bubba Brown Jr
DB 12 Jack Cain So
DL 66 Steve Durham So
DB 49 Eddie Geathers So
DL 80 Steve Gibbs Sr
DB 5 Willie Jordan Sr
DB 3 Al Latimer Sr
DL 90 David Reed So
DB 17 Bubba Rollins Sr
DB 26 Steve Ryan Sr
LB 35 Randy Scott Sr
DL 83 Jim Stuckey Jr
DL 51 Rich Tuten Sr
DB 13 Rex Varn Jr
DL 76 Toney Williams Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K 1 Obed Ariri Jr
P 39 David Sims So
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt

Roster

References

  1. ^ "2016 Media Guide" (PDF). clemsontigers.com. Clemson Athletics. 2016. pp. 200–208. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
  2. ^ "1978 Clemson Tigers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 3, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "1978 Clemson Tigers Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 4, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Tigers play 'errorless' game, rout Citadel 58–3". The News and Observer. September 17, 1978. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Bulldogs shutout Tigers". Florence Morning News. September 24, 1978. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Villanova loses, 31–0, to Clemson". The Philadelphia Inquirer. October 1, 1978. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Tigers feast on Gobblers". The Charlotte Observer. October 8, 1978. Retrieved December 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Tigers (4–1) wear down Virginia". Winston-Salem Journal. October 15, 1978. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Clemson defense forced turnovers; Offense took advantage of them". Florence Morning News. October 22, 1978. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Tigers' Brown excels". The Daily Progress. October 29, 1978. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Clemson buries Wake, 51–6". The Danville Register. November 5, 1978. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Brown, Clemson edge Tar Heels". The Sun-News. November 12, 1978. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Tigers claim ACC crown". The Charlotte Observer. November 19, 1978. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Kerry Capps (November 26, 1978). "Tigers defeat Gamecocks". The Greenville News. p. 1C – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Woody adds punch to Gator Bowl". The Miami News. December 30, 1978. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Clemson Football Media Guide - 1978". Clemson University. 1978. p. 1. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  17. ^ "Clemson Football Media Guide - 1979". Clemson University. 1979. pp. 86–91. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
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