CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1978 California

6–⁠5 (3–⁠4 Pac-10), coached by Roger Theder.

Schedule and results

California in 1978, game by game: lost at No. 10 Nebraska 26–36; won at Georgia Tech 34–22; won vs. Pacific 24–6; won at West Virginia 28–21; won vs. Oregon 21–18; won at Arizona 33–20; lost vs. No. 10 UCLA 0–45; lost at No. 6 USC 17–42; lost at Arizona State 21–35; won vs. Washington State 22–14; lost vs. Stanford 10–30+18−45Lost 26–36 at No. 10 Nebraska-10No. 10 NebraskaWon 34–22 at Georgia Tech+12Georgia TechWon 24–6 vs. Pacific+18PacificWon 28–21 at West Virginia+7West VirginiaWon 21–18 vs. Oregon+3OregonWon 33–20 at Arizona+13ArizonaLost 0–45 vs. No. 10 UCLA-45No. 10 UCLALost 17–42 at No. 6 USC-25No. 6 USCLost 21–35 at Arizona State-14Arizona StateWon 22–14 vs. Washington State+8Washington StateLost 10–30 vs. Stanford-20Stanford
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 9at10NebraskaL 26–⁠3632%
Sep 16atGeorgia TechW 34–⁠2246%
Sep 23vsPacificW 24–⁠679%
Sep 30atWest VirginiaW 28–⁠2157%
Oct 7vsOregonW 21–⁠1885%
Oct 14atArizonaW 33–⁠2053%
Oct 21vs10UCLAL 0–⁠4553%
Oct 28at6USCL 17–⁠4228%
Nov 4atArizona StateL 21–⁠3537%
Nov 11vsWashington StateW 22–⁠1469%
Nov 18vsStanfordL 10–⁠3047%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Stanford 30–⁠10; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Pac-10.

In program history: The 47th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 112 on file).

Record
6–⁠5
Conference
3–⁠4 tied for 6th in Pac-10
AP final
Unranked
Points
236–⁠289
Coach
Roger Theder
Elo
1519 −22 this season
SP+ rating
7.9 No. 46 of 133; offense No. 26, defense No. 83
SRS
6.2 No. 45 of 138 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—

Drafted in 1979

The 1979 draft
Rd 4Ralph DeLoach DEDallas Cowboys

All-Pac-10

2 second team

Second team

  • Duke LefflerOGCoaches-2
  • Dan MelvillePCoaches-2

From Wikipedia’s 1978 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1978 Pac-10 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
USC6–⁠112–⁠12
UCLA6–⁠28–⁠3–⁠114
Washington6–⁠27–⁠4
Arizona State4–⁠39–⁠3
Stanford4–⁠38–⁠417
California3–⁠46–⁠5
Arizona3–⁠45–⁠6
Oregon2–⁠52–⁠9
Oregon State2–⁠63–⁠7–⁠1
Washington State1–⁠73–⁠7–⁠1

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.