1978 Lehigh Engineers football team

1978 Lehigh Engineers football
Conference	Independent
Ranking
AP	No. 9
Record	8–3
Head coach	John Whitehead (3rd season)
Captains	Bill Bradley Pete DeLuca
Home stadium	Taylor Stadium
Seasons ←  1977 1979  →

1978 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Nevada ^			–					11	–	1	–	0
No. 9 Lehigh			–					8	–	3	–	0
Northeastern			–					6	–	5	–	0
Bucknell			–					5	–	5	–	0
Northwestern State			–					5	–	6	–	0
Portland State			–					5	–	6	–	0
Lafayette			–					4	–	7	–	0
^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from Associated Press poll

The 1978 Lehigh Engineers football team was an American football team that represented Lehigh University as an independent during the 1978 NCAA Division I-AA football season.

In their third year under head coach John Whitehead, the Engineers compiled an 8–3 record. ^[1] Bill Bradley and Pete DeLuca were the team captains. ^[2]

Lehigh had won the NCAA Division II Football Championship in 1977, and in 1978 the Engineers moved up to the newly formed Division I-AA, later to be renamed the Football Championship Subdivision. Also moving up from Division II, and competing as I-AA independents, were in-state rivals Bucknell and Lafayette. The Engineers' 1978 schedule included opponents from Division I-A, Division I-AA, Division II and Division III.

Lehigh played its home games at Taylor Stadium on the university's main campus in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 9	West Chester		Taylor Stadium Bethlehem, PA	W 23–20	11,900	[3]
September 16	at Slippery Rock		N. Kerr Thompson Stadium Slippery Rock, PA	W 17–0		[1]
September 23	Colgate	No. 1	Taylor Stadium Bethlehem, PA	W 38–7	13,500	[4]
September 29	at Penn	No. 1	Franklin Field Philadelphia, PA	L 13–21	14,158	[5]
October 7	Delaware	No. 6	Taylor Stadium Bethlehem, PA (rivalry)	W 27–17	14,000	[6]
October 14	Davidson^	No. 6	Taylor Stadium Bethlehem, PA	W 27–21	9,000	[7]
October 21	at VMI	No. 5	Alumni Memorial Field Lexington, VA	W 14–10	8,400	[8]
October 28	Bucknell	No. 3	Taylor Stadium Bethlehem, PA	L 6–13	11,000	[9]
November 4	C. W. Post	No. 8	Taylor Stadium Bethlehem, PA	W 24–22	9,000	[10]
November 11	at Maine	No. 6	Alumni Field Orono, ME	L 18–21	3,000	[11]
November 18	at Lafayette		Fisher Field Easton, PA (The Rivalry)	W 25–15	17,000	[12]
^ Parents Day Rankings from Associated Press Poll released prior to the game

Rankings

See also: 1978 NCAA Division I-AA football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend:██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked

	Week
Poll	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Final
AP	1	1	6	6	5	3	8	6	—	9

References

1. "Year-by-Year Results". Lehigh Football Record Book (PDF). Bethlehem, Pa.: Lehigh University. p. 22. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
2. "Lehigh Football Captains". Lehigh Football Record Book (PDF). Bethlehem, Pa.: Lehigh University. p. 12. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
3. Larimer, Terry (September 10, 1978). "Lehigh Fights for 23-20 Win". Sunday Call-Chronicle . Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Lehigh Humbles Colgaters, 38-6". Press & Sun-Bulletin . Binghamton, N.Y. September 24, 1978. p. 4B – via Newspapers.com.
5. Lewis, Allen (September 30, 1978). "Quaker Sub Quarterback Sciolla Leads Halt of Lehigh Streak at 11". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Philadelphia, Pa. p. 1-C – via Newspapers.com.
6. Simmons, Bill (October 8, 1978). "Lehigh Tops Error-Prone Delaware". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Philadelphia, Pa. p. 1-F – via Newspapers.com.
7. Larimer, Terry (October 15, 1978). "Lehigh Hangs On to Turn Back Davidson, 27-21". Sunday Call-Chronicle . Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Larimer, Terry (October 22, 1978). "Lehigh's Defense Gets Credit for 14-10 Decision". Sunday Call-Chronicle . Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Bucknell 13, Lehigh 6". Sunday News Journal . Wilmington, Del. October 29, 1978. p. B-6 – via Newspapers.com.
10. Larimer, Terry (November 5, 1978). "Lehigh Wins Another the 'Hard Way' 24-22". Sunday Call-Chronicle . Allentown, Pa. p. C2 – via Newspapers.com.
11. Warner, Bill (November 13, 1978). "Bears Stun Lambert Cup Leaders". Bangor Daily News . Bangor, Maine. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.
12. McKee, Don (November 19, 1978). "Lafayette Is Downed by Lehigh". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Philadelphia, Pa. p. 8-F – via Newspapers.com.