CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1978 Stanford

8–⁠4 (4–⁠3 Pac-10), coached by Bill Walsh, finished No. 17 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Stanford in 1978, game by game: lost vs. No. 4 Oklahoma 29–35; won vs. San José State 38–9; won at Illinois 35–10; won vs. Tulane 17–14; lost at No. 16 UCLA 26–27; lost vs. Washington 31–34; won at Washington State 43–27; won vs. Oregon State 24–6; lost vs. No. 6 USC 7–13; won at Arizona State 21–14; won at California 30–10; won vs. No. 11 Georgia 25–22+29−6Lost 29–35 vs. No. 4 Oklahoma-6No. 4 OklahomaWon 38–9 vs. San José State+29San José StateWon 35–10 at Illinois+25IllinoisWon 17–14 vs. Tulane+3TulaneLost 26–27 at No. 16 UCLA-1No. 16 UCLALost 31–34 vs. Washington-3WashingtonWon 43–27 at Washington State+16Washington StateWon 24–6 vs. Oregon State+18Oregon StateLost 7–13 vs. No. 6 USC-6No. 6 USCWon 21–14 at Arizona State+7Arizona StateWon 30–10 at California+20CaliforniaWon 25–22 vs. No. 11 Georgia+3No. 11 Georgia
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 9vs4OklahomaL 29–⁠3546%
Sep 16vsSan José StateW 38–⁠968%
Sep 23atIllinoisW 35–⁠1067%
Sep 30vsTulaneW 17–⁠1483%
Oct 7at16UCLAL 26–⁠2739%
Oct 14vsWashingtonL 31–⁠3459%
Oct 21atWashington StateW 43–⁠2749%
Oct 28vsOregon StateW 24–⁠686%
Nov 4vs6USCL 7–⁠1346%
Nov 11atArizona StateW 21–⁠1440%
Nov 18atCaliforniaW 30–⁠1053%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvs11GeorgiaAstro-Bluebonnet BowlW 25–⁠2255%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Georgia 25–⁠22 in the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl; No. 17 in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Pac-10.

In program history: The 16th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 109 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 4: 20
  2. Wk 5: 17
  3. Wk 6: 18
  4. Final: 17

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.

Led the nationSteve Dils: passing touchdowns (22 TD)

Record
8–⁠4
Conference
4–⁠3 tied for 4th in Pac-10
AP final
No. 17 peak No. 17
Points
326–⁠221
Coach
Bill Walsh
Elo
1665 +90 this season
SP+ rating
20.4 No. 12 of 133; offense No. 11, defense No. 29
SRS
18.1 No. 15 of 138 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offense
West Coast

Drafted in 1979

The 1979 draft
Rd 4Steve Dils QBMinnesota Vikings
Rd 7Phil Francis RBSan Francisco 49ers

All-Pac-10

3 first team, 5 second team

First team

Second team

  • Steve DilsQBCoaches-2
  • Gene EngleOTCoaches-2
  • Jim StephensOGCoaches-2
  • John MacaulayCCoaches-2
  • Robby ChapmanDBCoaches-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.