CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1978 Minnesota

5–⁠6 (4–⁠4 Big Ten), coached by Cal Stoll.

Schedule and results

Minnesota in 1978, game by game: won vs. Toledo 38–12; lost vs. No. 16 Ohio State 10–27; lost at No. 18 UCLA 3–17; lost vs. Oregon State 14–17; won vs. Iowa 22–20; won at Northwestern 38–14; lost at No. 8 Michigan 10–42; won vs. Indiana 32–31; lost at No. 17 Michigan State 9–33; won vs. Illinois 24–6; lost at Wisconsin 10–48+26−38Won 38–12 vs. Toledo+26ToledoLost 10–27 vs. No. 16 Ohio State-17No. 16 Ohio StateLost 3–17 at No. 18 UCLA-14No. 18 UCLALost 14–17 vs. Oregon State-3Oregon StateWon 22–20 vs. Iowa+2IowaWon 38–14 at Northwestern+24NorthwesternLost 10–42 at No. 8 Michigan-32No. 8 MichiganWon 32–31 vs. Indiana+1IndianaLost 9–33 at No. 17 Michigan State-24No. 17 Michigan StateWon 24–6 vs. Illinois+18IllinoisLost 10–48 at Wisconsin-38Wisconsin
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 16vsToledoW 38–⁠1281%
Sep 23vs16Ohio StateL 10–⁠2745%
Sep 30at18UCLAL 3–⁠1727%
Oct 7vsOregon StateL 14–⁠1776%
Oct 14vsIowaW 22–⁠2066%
Oct 21atNorthwesternW 38–⁠1468%
Oct 28at8MichiganL 10–⁠4217%
Nov 4vsIndianaW 32–⁠3159%
Nov 11at17Michigan StateL 9–⁠3324%
Nov 18vsIllinoisW 24–⁠674%
Nov 25atWisconsinL 10–⁠4852%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Wisconsin 48–⁠10; unranked in the final AP poll; 5th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 111th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

Record
5–⁠6
Conference
4–⁠4 5th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
210–⁠267
Coach
Cal Stoll
Elo
1441 −67 this season
SP+ rating
-14.6 No. 113 of 133; offense No. 99, defense No. 116
SRS
−3.7 No. 82 of 138 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Captain
Stan Systma
Most valuable player
Marion Barber Jr.

Drafted in 1979

The 1979 draft
Rd 6Jim Ronan DTCleveland Browns
Rd 7Stan Sytsma LBNew Orleans Saints
Rd 7Keith Brown DBNew York Jets

All-Big Ten

5 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second 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 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan7–⁠110–⁠25
Michigan State7–⁠18–⁠312
Purdue6–⁠1–⁠19–⁠2–⁠113
Ohio State6–⁠27–⁠4–⁠1
Minnesota4–⁠45–⁠6
Wisconsin3–⁠4–⁠25–⁠4–⁠2
Indiana3–⁠54–⁠7
Iowa2–⁠62–⁠9
Illinois0–⁠6–⁠21–⁠8–⁠2
Northwestern0–⁠8–⁠10–⁠10–⁠1

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