1978 Navy Midshipmen football team

The 1978 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy (USNA) during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. Navy competed as an independent with no conference affiliation. The team was led by sixth-year head coach George Welsh.[1][2]

1978 Navy Midshipmen football
Holiday Bowl champion
Holiday Bowl, W 23–16 vs. BYU
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 17
1978 record	9–3
Head coach	George Welsh (6th season)
Home stadium	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium

1978 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 4 Penn State		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
North Texas State		–		–				9	–	2	–	0
East Carolina		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Navy		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
No. 7 Notre Dame		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Rutgers		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Florida State		–		–				8	–	3	–	0
Temple		–		–				7	–	3	–	1
Pittsburgh		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
Holy Cross		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Louisville		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
UNLV		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Southern Miss		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Northeast Louisiana		–		–				6	–	4	–	1
Georgia Tech		–		–				7	–	5	–	0
Hawaii		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Miami (FL)		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
South Carolina		–		–				5	–	5	–	1
William & Mary		–		–				5	–	5	–	1
Cincinnati		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Villanova		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Army		–		–				4	–	6	–	1
Memphis State		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Tulane		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Air Force		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Colgate		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Richmond		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Syracuse		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Illinois State		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
West Virginia		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Boston College		–		–				0	–	11	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
September 16	at Virginia		Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	W 32–0
September 23	at Connecticut		Memorial Stadium Storrs, CT	W 30–0
September 30	at Boston College		Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	W 19–8
October 7	at Air Force		Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)	W 37–8
October 14	Duke		Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	W 31–8
October 21	William & Mary	No. 17	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	W 9–0
October 28	Pittsburgh	No. 18	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	W 21–11	32,909
November 4	vs. Notre Dame	No. 11	Municipal Stadium Cleveland, OH (rivalry)	L 7–27	63,780
November 11	at Syracuse	No. 18	Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY	L 17–20
November 18	at Florida State		Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	L 6–38	45,795
December 2	vs. Army		JFK Stadium Philadelphia, PA (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy/Army–Navy Game)	W 28–0	79,026
December 22	vs. BYU		San Diego Stadium San Diego, CA (Holiday Bowl)	W 23–16	52,500
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel

1978 Navy Midshipmen football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB Steve Callahan FB 33 Larry Klawinski Jr QB 15 Bob Leszczynski Sr WR Phil McConkey TE Greg Papajohn RB 23 Mike Sherlock So	Defense Pos. # Name Class	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K Bob Tata	Head coach George Welsh Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Game summaries

Army

Army Cadets vs. Navy Midshipmen

	1	2	3	4	Total
Army	0	0	0	0	0
Navy	14	7	7	0	28

at JFK Stadium • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

• Date: December 2
• Game attendance: 79,026
• [3]

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP ARMY NAVY 1 Navy Bob Leszczynski 3-yard touchdown run, Bob Tata kick good 0 7 1 Navy Steve Callahan 1-yard touchdown run, Bob Tata kick good 0 14 2 Navy Bob Leszczynski 1-yard touchdown run, Bob Tata kick good 0 21 3 Navy Steve Callahan 18-yard touchdown reception from Bob Leszczynski, Bob Tata kick good 0 28 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 0 28

References

1. "Football History" (PDF). United States Naval Academy. p. 194. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
2. "Navy Yearly Results (1975-1979)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
3. Eugene Register-Guard. 1978 Dec 03. Retrieved 2019-Jan-21.