CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1978 Washington

7–⁠4 (6–⁠2 Pac-10), coached by Don James.

Schedule and results

Washington in 1978, game by game: lost vs. No. 12 UCLA 7–10; won vs. Kansas 31–2; lost at Indiana 7–14; won at Oregon State 34–0; lost vs. No. 8 Alabama 17–20; won at No. 18 Stanford 34–31; won vs. Oregon 20–14; won vs. No. 12 Arizona State 41–7; won vs. Arizona 31–21; lost at No. 5 USC 10–28; won at Washington State 38–8+34−18Lost 7–10 vs. No. 12 UCLA-3No. 12 UCLAWon 31–2 vs. Kansas+29KansasLost 7–14 at Indiana-7IndianaWon 34–0 at Oregon State+34Oregon StateLost 17–20 vs. No. 8 Alabama-3No. 8 AlabamaWon 34–31 at No. 18 Stanford+3No. 18 StanfordWon 20–14 vs. Oregon+6OregonWon 41–7 vs. No. 12 Arizona State+34No. 12 Arizona StateWon 31–21 vs. Arizona+10ArizonaLost 10–28 at No. 5 USC-18No. 5 USCWon 38–8 at Washington State+30Washington State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 9vs12UCLAL 7–⁠1060%
Sep 16vsKansasW 31–⁠276%
Sep 23atIndianaL 7–⁠1461%
Sep 30atOregon StateW 34–⁠073%
Oct 7vs8AlabamaL 17–⁠2042%
Oct 14at18StanfordW 34–⁠3141%
Oct 21vsOregonW 20–⁠1487%
Oct 28vs12Arizona StateW 41–⁠756%
Nov 4vsArizonaW 31–⁠2178%
Nov 11at5USCL 10–⁠2833%
Nov 25atWashington StateW 38–⁠871%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Washington State 38–⁠8; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Pac-10.

In program history: The 27th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 112 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 11
  2. Wk 2: 18
  3. Wk 3: 15
  4. Wk 9: 20
  5. Wk 10: 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
7–⁠4
Conference
6–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Pac-10
AP final
Unranked peak No. 11
Points
270–⁠155
Coach
Don James
Elo
1651 +40 this season
SP+ rating
20.4 No. 12 of 133; offense No. 25, defense No. 8
SRS
20.5 No. 11 of 138 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Dick Scesniak
Defensive coordinator
Jim Lambright
Captains
Michael Jackson, Nesby Glasgow, Jeff Toews and Scott Greenwood
Most valuable player
Michael Jackson

Drafted in 1979

The 1979 draft
Rd 2Jeff Toews OTMiami Dolphins
Rd 3Michael Jackson LBSeattle Seahawks
Rd 6Robert Gaines WRKansas City Chiefs
Rd 7Roger Westlund OTAtlanta Falcons

All-Pac-10

5 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

  • Joe SteeleRBCoaches-2
  • Spider GainesWRCoaches-2
  • Antowaine RichardsonLBCoaches-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.