CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1978 Missouri

8–⁠4 (4–⁠3 Big Eight), coached by Warren Powers, finished No. 15 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Missouri in 1978, game by game: won at No. 5 Notre Dame 3–0; lost vs. No. 1 Alabama 20–38; won vs. Ole Miss 45–14; lost at No. 1 Oklahoma 23–45; won vs. Illinois 45–3; won vs. No. 20 Iowa State 26–13; won at Kansas State 56–14; lost vs. Colorado 27–28; lost at Oklahoma State 20–35; won vs. Kansas 48–0; won at No. 2 Nebraska 35–31; won vs. LSU 20–15+48−22Won 3–0 at No. 5 Notre Dame+3No. 5 Notre DameLost 20–38 vs. No. 1 Alabama-18No. 1 AlabamaWon 45–14 vs. Ole Miss+31Ole MissLost 23–45 at No. 1 Oklahoma-22No. 1 OklahomaWon 45–3 vs. Illinois+42IllinoisWon 26–13 vs. No. 20 Iowa State+13No. 20 Iowa StateWon 56–14 at Kansas State+42Kansas StateLost 27–28 vs. Colorado-1ColoradoLost 20–35 at Oklahoma State-15Oklahoma StateWon 48–0 vs. Kansas+48KansasWon 35–31 at No. 2 Nebraska+4No. 2 NebraskaWon 20–15 vs. LSU+5LSU
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 9at5Notre DameW 3–⁠023%
Sep 16vs1AlabamaL 20–⁠3835%
Sep 23vsOle MissW 45–⁠1460%
Sep 30at1OklahomaL 23–⁠4526%
Oct 7vsIllinoisW 45–⁠375%
Oct 14vs20Iowa StateW 26–⁠1356%
Oct 21atKansas StateW 56–⁠1472%
Oct 28vsColoradoL 27–⁠2863%
Nov 4atOklahoma StateL 20–⁠3563%
Nov 11vsKansasW 48–⁠082%
Nov 18at2NebraskaW 35–⁠3120%
Dec 23Bowls & playoffvsLSULiberty BowlW 20–⁠1546%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat LSU 20–⁠15 in the Liberty Bowl; No. 15 in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Big Eight.

In program history: The 23rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 129 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 2: 11
  2. Wk 3: 17
  3. Wk 4: 14
  4. Wk 6: 19
  5. Wk 7: 13
  6. Wk 8: 13
  7. Wk 12: 19
  8. Wk 13: 18
  9. Wk 14: 18
  10. Final: 15

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.

Consensus All-AmericanKellen Winslow, TE

Walter Camp Coach of the YearWarren Powers, coach

Record
8–⁠4
Conference
4–⁠3 tied for 3rd in Big Eight
AP final
No. 15 peak No. 11
Points
368–⁠236
Coach
Warren Powers
Elo
1626 +91 this season
SP+ rating
18.9 No. 16 of 133; offense No. 7, defense No. 57
SRS
18.3 No. 14 of 138 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Carl Reese

Drafted in 1979

The 1979 draft
Rd 1Kellen Winslow TESan Diego Chargers
Rd 5Earl Gant RBKansas City Chiefs

All-Big Eight

4 first team, 1 second team

First team

  • Phil BradleyQBAP-2; UPI-1
  • Kellen WinslowTEAP-2; UPI-1
  • Peter AllardCAP-1; UPI-1
  • Russ CalabreseDBAP-2; UPI-1

Second team

  • Chris GarlichLBAP-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 Big Eight standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Oklahoma6–⁠111–⁠13
Nebraska6–⁠19–⁠38
Iowa State4–⁠38–⁠4
Missouri4–⁠38–⁠415
Kansas State3–⁠44–⁠7
Oklahoma State3–⁠43–⁠8
Colorado2–⁠56–⁠5
Kansas0–⁠71–⁠10

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