CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1978 Texas A&M

8–⁠4 (4–⁠4 Southwest Conference), coached by Emory Bellard, then Tom Wilson (interim, final 6 games), finished No. 19 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Texas A&M in 1978, game by game: won at Kansas 37–10; won at Boston College 37–2; won vs. Memphis 58–0; won vs. Texas Tech 38–9; lost at No. 17 Houston 0–33; lost vs. Baylor 6–24; won vs. Rice 38–21; won at SMU 20–17; lost at No. 13 Arkansas 7–26; won vs. TCU 15–7; lost at No. 14 Texas 7–22; won vs. No. 19 Iowa State 28–12+58−33Won 37–10 at Kansas+27KansasWon 37–2 at Boston College+35Boston CollegeWon 58–0 vs. Memphis+58MemphisWon 38–9 vs. Texas Tech+29Texas TechLost 0–33 at No. 17 Houston-33No. 17 HoustonLost 6–24 vs. Baylor-18BaylorWon 38–21 vs. Rice+17RiceWon 20–17 at SMU+3SMULost 7–26 at No. 13 Arkansas-19No. 13 ArkansasWon 15–7 vs. TCU+8TCULost 7–22 at No. 14 Texas-15No. 14 TexasWon 28–12 vs. No. 19 Iowa State+16No. 19 Iowa State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 9atKansasW 37–⁠1060%
Sep 23atBoston CollegeW 37–⁠267%
Sep 30vsMemphisW 58–⁠076%
Oct 7vsTexas TechW 38–⁠974%
Oct 14at17HoustonL 0–⁠3356%
Oct 21vsBaylorL 6–⁠2480%
Oct 28vsRiceW 38–⁠2187%
Nov 4atSMUW 20–⁠1757%
Nov 18at13ArkansasL 7–⁠2632%
Nov 25vsTCUW 15–⁠787%
Dec 2at14TexasL 7–⁠2235%
Dec 20Bowls & playoffvs19Iowa StateHall of Fame ClassicW 28–⁠1246%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Iowa State 28–⁠12 in the Hall of Fame Classic; No. 19 in the final AP poll; 5th in the Southwest Conference.

In program history: The 48th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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
8–⁠4
Conference
4–⁠4 5th in Southwest Conference
AP final
No. 19 peak No. 6
Points
291–⁠183
Coach
Emory Bellard, then Tom Wilson (interim, final 6 games)
Elo
1607 +7 this season
SP+ rating
8.2 No. 45 of 133; offense No. 55, defense No. 43
SRS
14.7 No. 20 of 138 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Tom Wilson
Defensive coordinator
Melvin Robertson
Offense
Wishbone

Drafted in 1979

The 1979 draft
Rd 3Tony Franklin KPhiladelphia Eagles
Rd 7Cody Risien OTCleveland Browns

All-Southwest Conference

4 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

  • Russ MikeskaTEAP-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 Southwest Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Houston7–⁠19–⁠310
Arkansas6–⁠29–⁠2–⁠111
Texas6–⁠29–⁠39
Texas Tech5–⁠37–⁠4
Texas A&M4–⁠48–⁠419
SMU3–⁠54–⁠6–⁠1
Baylor3–⁠53–⁠8
Rice2–⁠62–⁠9
TCU0–⁠82–⁠9

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