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1978 Georgia

9–⁠2–⁠1 (5–⁠0–⁠1 Southeastern Conference), coached by Vince Dooley, finished No. 16 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Georgia in 1978, game by game: won vs. Baylor 16–14; won vs. Clemson 12–0; lost at South Carolina 10–27; won vs. Ole Miss 42–3; won at No. 11 LSU 24–17; won vs. Vanderbilt 31–10; won at Kentucky 17–16; won vs. VMI 41–3; won vs. Florida 24–22; tied at Auburn 22–22; won vs. Georgia Tech 29–28; lost vs. Stanford 22–25+39−17Won 16–14 vs. Baylor+2BaylorWon 12–0 vs. Clemson+12ClemsonLost 10–27 at South Carolina-17South CarolinaWon 42–3 vs. Ole Miss+39Ole MissWon 24–17 at No. 11 LSU+7No. 11 LSUWon 31–10 vs. Vanderbilt+21VanderbiltWon 17–16 at Kentucky+1KentuckyWon 41–3 vs. VMI+38VMIWon 24–22 vs. Florida+2FloridaTied 22–22 at Auburn0AuburnWon 29–28 vs. Georgia Tech+1Georgia TechLost 22–25 vs. Stanford-3Stanford
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 16vsBaylorW 16–⁠1459%
Sep 23vsClemsonW 12–⁠053%
Sep 30atSouth CarolinaL 10–⁠2751%
Oct 7vsOle MissW 42–⁠360%
Oct 14at11LSUW 24–⁠1734%
Oct 21vsVanderbiltW 31–⁠1085%
Oct 28atKentuckyW 17–⁠1643%
Nov 4vsVMIW 41–⁠381%
Nov 11vsFloridaW 24–⁠2259%
Nov 18atAuburnT 22–⁠2253%
Dec 2vsGeorgia TechW 29–⁠2864%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvsStanfordAstro-Bluebonnet BowlL 22–⁠2545%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Stanford 25–⁠22 in the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl; No. 16 in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 67th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 4: 19
  2. Wk 7: 18
  3. Wk 8: 16
  4. Wk 9: 13
  5. Wk 10: 11
  6. Wk 11: 8
  7. Wk 12: 12
  8. Wk 13: 11
  9. Wk 14: 11
  10. Final: 16

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1978.

Record
9–⁠2–⁠1
Conference
5–⁠0–⁠1 2nd in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 16 peak No. 8
Points
290–⁠187
Coach
Vince Dooley
Elo
1608 +90 this season
SP+ rating
14.0 No. 28 of 133; offense No. 33, defense No. 22
SRS
13.6 No. 22 of 138 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Erk Russell
Defense
4–⁠4

Drafted in 1979

The 1979 draft
Rd 3Willie McClendon RBChicago Bears
Rd 4Ulysses Norris TEDetroit Lions

All-SEC

5 first team

First team

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

1978 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Alabama6–⁠011–⁠11
Georgia5–⁠0–⁠19–⁠2–⁠116
Auburn3–⁠2–⁠16–⁠4–⁠1
LSU3–⁠38–⁠4
Tennessee3–⁠35–⁠5–⁠1
Florida3–⁠34–⁠7
Mississippi State2–⁠46–⁠5
Ole Miss2–⁠45–⁠6
Kentucky2–⁠44–⁠6–⁠1
Vanderbilt0–⁠62–⁠9

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