1978 Washington Huskies football team

1978 Washington Huskies football
Conference	Pacific-10 Conference
Record	7–4 (6–2 Pac-10)
Head coach	Don James (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Dick Scesniak (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	Jim Lambright (1st season)
MVP	Michael Jackson
Captains	Michael Jackson Nesby Glasgow Jeff Toews Scott Greenwood
Home stadium	Husky Stadium
Seasons ←  1977 1979  →

1978 Pacific-10 Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 2 USC $	6	–	1	–	0			12	–	1	–	0
No. 14 UCLA	6	–	2	–	0			8	–	3	–	1
Washington	6	–	2	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Arizona State	4	–	3	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
No. 17 Stanford	4	–	3	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
California	3	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Arizona	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Oregon	2	–	5	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Oregon State	2	–	6	–	0			3	–	7	–	1
Washington State	1	–	7	–	0			3	–	7	–	1
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1978 Washington Huskies football team was an American football team that represented the University of Washington during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. Under fourth-year head coach Don James, the team compiled a 7–4 record, tied for second in the Pacific-10 Conference, and outscored its opponents 270 to 155. Linebacker Michael Jackson was selected as the team's most valuable player. The team captains were Jackson, Nesby Glasgow, Scott Greenwood, and Jeff Toews.

In the newly-expanded Pac-10, the defending champion Huskies returned eighteen starters, but not at quarterback. ^[1] Washington defeated the two new members, Arizona and Arizona State, and did not play California. The two losses were to UCLA and USC, and the Huskies defeated Washington State in the Apple Cup for the fifth consecutive year. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

An unexpected non-conference loss at unranked Indiana in September likely kept Washington out of a bowl game. ^{[5] [6] [7]}

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 9	No. 12 UCLA	No. 11	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	L 7–10	55,780	[8]
September 16	Kansas *	No. 18	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	W 31–2	49,450	[9]
September 23	at Indiana *	No. 15	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	L 7–14	40,244	[10]
September 30	at Oregon State		Parker Stadium Corvallis, OR	W 34–0	30,000	[11]
October 7	No. 8 Alabama *		Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	L 17–20	60,975	[12]
October 14	at No. 18 Stanford		Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA	W 34–31	58,079	[13]
October 21	Oregon		Husky Stadium Seattle, WA (rivalry)	W 20–14	49,602	[14]
October 28	Arizona State		Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	W 41–7	54,866	[15]
November 4	Arizona	No. 20	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	W 31–21	47,587	[16]
November 11	at No. 5 USC	No. 19	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	L 10–28	54,071	[17]
November 25	vs. Washington State		Joe Albi Stadium Spokane, WA (Apple Cup)	W 38–8	35,187	[18]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game Source: [19]

Roster

1978 Washington Huskies football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR Ron Blacken WR Gary Briggs G 68 Dan Chavira Jr RB Vince Coby QB 12 Tom Flick So G 62 Phil Foreman Jr WR 93 Spider Gaines Sr FB 42 Ron Gipson Jr TE 86 Scott Greenwood (C) Sr OT 78 Curt Marsh So TE 80 Randy Moraga Jr QB 7 Tom Porras Jr WR 22 Keith Richardson Fr RB Rob Smith OL Joe Stanford RB 24 Joe Steele Jr RB 20 Kyle Stevens So OT 63 Jeff Toews  (C) Sr RB 45 Toussaint Tyler So C 56 Tom Turnure Jr OT 79 Randy Van Divier So OT 70 Roger Westlund Sr TE R Wold	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB Bret Gagliardi LB Willy Galoia CB 23 Nesby Glasgow  (C) Sr S 46 Greg Grimes Jr LB 55 Bruce Harrell Jr S 96 Kyle Heinrich Sr LB 5 Michael Jackson  (C) Sr LB 34 John Kerley Sr CB 19 Mark Lee Jr DT 61 Chris Linnin Jr DE 73 Doug Martin Jr NG 58 Stafford Mays Jr LB 48 Antowaine Richardson Jr CB 10 Lance Theoudele Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 1 Mike Lansford Jr P 27 Aaron Wilson Sr	Head coach Don James (4th year) Coordinators/assistant coaches Dick Scesniak – (OC) Jim Lambright – (DC) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

^{[20] [21] [22] [23]}

NFL draft selections

Five University of Washington Huskies were selected in the 1979 NFL draft, which lasted 12 rounds with 330 selections.

= Husky Hall of Fame [24]

Player	Position	Round	Overall	Franchise
Jeff Toews	Tackle	2nd	53	Miami Dolphins
Michael Jackson	Linebacker	3rd	57	Seattle Seahawks
Spider Gaines	Wide receiver	6th	140	Kansas City Chiefs
Roger Westlund	Tackle	7th	186	Atlanta Falcons
Nesby Glasgow	Defensive back	8th	207	Baltimore Colts

References

1. Withers, Bud (October 21, 1978). "Brooks trying to probe Ducks' 'inner game'". Eugene register-Guard. Oregon. p. 1C.
2. Missildine, Harry (November 26, 1978). "Steele: Shades of McElhenny". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. C1.
3. Drosendahl, Glenn (November 26, 1978). "Joe Steeles Jack's show - UW romps". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 1B.
4. Van Sickel, Charlie (November 27, 1978). "Huskies blitz Cougars in one-sided debacle". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. p. 21.
5. "Hoosiers ambush UW 14-7". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. September 24, 1978. p. F1.
6. "Huskies find way to lose to Indiana". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. wire services. September 24, 1978. p. 4C.
7. "Huskies get bowl spots". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. UPI. November 28, 1978. p. 18.
8. "Blocked punt helps UCLA by Washington". The Tampa Tribune-Times. September 10, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Steele powers Husky win". The Spokesman-Review. September 17, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Hoosiers upset No. 15 Huskies". The Rock Island Argus. September 24, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Huskies blank OSU". Great Falls Tribune. October 1, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Nerves of Steele fail Huskies 20–17". The News Tribune. October 8, 1978. Retrieved October 29, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
13. "Washington comes alive". Statesman Journal. October 15, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
14. "Unknown stars as UW slips by plucky Ducks 20–14". The Sunday Oregonian. October 22, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
15. "Tyler scores 2 TDs as tough Huskie defense buries Wildcats". The Fresno Bee. October 29, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
16. "UW's Porras does it all". Tri-City Herald. November 5, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
17. "USC has to win and does". The Los Angeles Times. November 12, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
18. "One for the record book: Huskies 38–8". Tri-City Herald. November 26, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
19. "1978 Washington Huskies Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
20. "The lineups". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. September 30, 1978. p. 2C.
21. "The lineups". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. October 21, 1978. p. 2C.
22. Missildine, Harry (November 25, 1978). "Stakes are sufficient". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. p. 21.
23. Killen, John (November 25, 1978). "Cougs vs. Huskies". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 1B.
24. "The Husky Hall of Fame". gohuskies.com. Retrieved October 8, 2019.

External links

• Official game program: Washington vs. Washington State at Spokane – November 25, 1978