1978 Navy Midshipmen football team

1978 Navy Midshipmen football
Holiday Bowl champion
Holiday Bowl, W 23–16 vs. BYU
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 17
Record	9–3
Head coach	George Welsh (6th season)
Captains	Nick Mygas Phil McConkey
Home stadium	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
Seasons ←  1977 1979  →

1978 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

v t e	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
Tennessee 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

The 1978 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy (USNA) as an independent during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was led by sixth-year head coach George Welsh. ^[1]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 16	at Virginia		Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	W 32–0	28,472	[2]
September 23	at Connecticut		Memorial Stadium Storrs, CT	W 30–0	6,804	[3]
September 30	at Boston College		Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	W 19–8	24,082	[4]
October 7	at Air Force		Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)	W 37–8	30,482	[5]
October 14	Duke		Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	W 31–8	21,431	[6]
October 21	William & Mary	No. 17	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	W 9–0	20,193	[7]
October 28	No. 15 Pittsburgh	No. 18	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	W 21–11	32,909	[8]
November 4	vs. No. 15 Notre Dame	No. 11	Municipal Stadium Cleveland, OH (rivalry)	L 7–27	63,780	[9]
November 11	at Syracuse	No. 18	Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY	L 17–20	26,429	[10]
November 18	at Florida State		Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	L 6–38	45,795	[11]
December 2	vs. Army		John F. Kennedy Stadium Philadelphia, PA (Army–Navy Game)	W 28–0	79,026	[12]
December 22	vs. BYU		San Diego Stadium San Diego, CA (Holiday Bowl)	W 23–16	52,500	[13]
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[14]

Game summaries

At Air Force

	1	2	3	4	Total
Navy (3–0)	10	13	7	7	37
Air Force (2–2)	0	0	0	8	8

• Attendance: 30,482
• Navy scored on six of its first seven possessions, gained over 400 yards of total offense and held Air Force to 75 yards through three quarters
• Navy's best start since 1960
• NAVY: Tata 47 FG
• NAVY: McConkey 19 run (Tata kick)
• NAVY: Tata 39 FG
• NAVY: McConkey 36 pass from Leszczynski (Tata kick)
• NAVY: Tata 43 FG
• NAVY: Gainer 17 run (Tata kick)
• AFA: Fortson 11 run (pass good)
• NAVY: Callahan 39 run (Tata kick)

^[15]

At Florida State

Navy Midshipmen (7–2) at Florida State Seminoles (6–3)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Navy	3	3	0	0	6
Florida St	0	7	17	14	38

at Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, Florida

• Date: November 18, 1978
• Game time: 12:50 p.m. EDT
• Game weather: Partly cloudy, 76 °F (24 °C)
• Game attendance: 45,795
• Referee: W.T. Miller
• TV: ABC
• Box Score

• Navy accepted bid to Holiday Bowl

External videos
Game broadcast (part 1)
Game broadcast (part 2)
Game broadcast (part 3)
Game broadcast (part 4)

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Navy	Passing	Bob Leszczynski	10/20, 188 Yds, INT
	Rushing	Kevin Tolbert	5 Rush, 27 Yds
	Receiving	Sandy Jones	2 Rec, 51 Yds
Florida St	Passing	Jimmy Jordan	15/27, 280 Yds, 4 TD
	Rushing	Greg Ramsey	5 Rush, 51 Yds, TD
	Receiving	Sam Platt	6 Rec, 145 Yds, 3 TD

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP NAVY FSU 1 0:48 4 35 Navy 43-yard field goal by Bob Tata 3 0 2 4:10 3 60 Florida St Greg Ramsey 12-yard touchdown run, Dave Cappelen kick good 3 7 2 2:28 6 77 Navy 46-yard field goal by Bob Tata 6 7 3 11:58 4 28 Florida St 38-yard field goal by Dave Cappelen 6 10 3 9:38 3 11 Florida St Sam Platt 4-yard touchdown reception from Jimmy Jordan, Dave Cappelen kick good 6 17 3 6:55 4 56 Florida St Sam Platt 36-yard touchdown reception from Jimmy Jordan, Dave Cappelen kick good 6 24 4 13:50 5 90 Florida St Sam Platt 51-yard touchdown reception from Jimmy Jordan, Dave Cappelen kick good 6 31 4 9:00 7 53 Florida St Grady King 23-yard touchdown reception from Jimmy Jordan, Dave Cappelen kick good 6 38 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 6 38

vs Army

Army Cadets vs. Navy Midshipmen

Quarter	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
• ^[16]

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

Roster

1978 Navy Midshipmen football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class OL Rick Bott RB Steve Callahan WR Mike Chapon RB Dwayne Dennis OL Tom Feldman RB Duane Flowers TE Curt Gainer TE Carl Hendershot WR Sandy Jones FB 33 Larry Klawinski Jr RB Chris Klein OL Steve Kremer QB 15 Bob Leszczynski Sr OL Frank McCallister WR Phil McConkey  (C) TE Matt McLaughlin QB Kevin McTavish RB Eddie Meyers TE Greg Papajohn QB Bob Powers RB 23 Mike Sherlock So OL John Taylor RB Kevin Tolbert RB Dave Walker	Defense Pos. # Name Class DL Steve Chambers DL John Merrill LB Gregg Milo LB Nick Mygas (C) LB Tom Paulk DB Fred Reitzel DL Mark Stephens DL Charlie Thornton DB Bob Wilson DB Chuck Zingler	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P Lex Lauletta P Art Ohanian K Bob Tata	Head coach George Welsh Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

References

1. "Football History" (PDF). United States Naval Academy. p. 194. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
2. "Navy torpedoes UVa, Cavaliers yet to score". The Danville Register. September 17, 1978. Retrieved January 27, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Navy, 30–0". The Tampa Tribune-Times. September 24, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Defense lifts Navy past B.C." The Baltimore Sun. October 1, 1978. p. C1, C15 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Middies remain perfect". The Pensacola News-Journal. October 8, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Unbeaten Navy drops Duke, 31–8". Asheville Citizen-Times. October 15, 1978. Retrieved January 27, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Navy escapes upset bid, 9–0". The Miami Herald. October 22, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Navy impressive in defeating Pitt, 21–11". The Hartford Courant. October 29, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Notre Dame sinks Navy, 27–7". The Plain Dealer. November 5, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
10. Searing, Robert (November 12, 2021). "SU football fans rush the field at the last game ever played at Archbold Stadium". The Post-Standard . Retrieved November 25, 2021.
11. "FSU rolls but Navy bowls". The Orlando Sentinel Star. November 19, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Leszcznski leads attack as Navy scuttles Army 28–0". The Sacramento Bee. December 3, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
13. "Navy rallies to down Cougars, 23 to 16". The Baltimore Sun. December 23, 1978. Retrieved October 19, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
14. "1978 Navy Midshipmen Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
15. Palm Beach Post. 1978 Oct 08.
16. Eugene Register-Guard. 1978 Dec 03. Retrieved 2019-Jan-21.