American college football season
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 42–769,527 [ 4]
September 16 BYU * Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ W 24–1770,311 [ 5]
September 23 at Washington State L 26–5133,507 [ 6]
September 30 UTEP * Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ W 27–069,497 [ 7]
October 7 Northwestern * W 56–1417,009 [ 8]
October 14 No. 2 USC Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ W 20–770,138 [ 9]
October 28 Washington No. 12 L 7–4154,866 [ 10]
November 4 California Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ W 35–2170,876 [ 11]
November 11 Stanford Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ L 14–2151,000 [ 12]
November 18 at Oregon State W 44–2223,500 [ 13]
November 25 Arizona W 18–1758,090 [ 14]
December 16 vs. Rutgers * W 34–1833,402 [ 15]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
[ 16]
Game summaries
USC
1
2 3 4 Total
USC
0
0 0 7
7
• Arizona St
0
3 14 3
20
Date: October 14Location: Sun Devil StadiumGame attendance: 71,138
[ 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
Injured
Redshirt
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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