1978 Florida State Seminoles football team

1978 Florida State Seminoles football
ConferenceIndependent
Record8–3
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorGeorge Haffner (3rd season)
Offensive schemeMultiple
Defensive coordinatorJack Stanton (3rd season)
Base defense4–3
Home stadiumDoak Campbell Stadium
Seasons
← 1977
1979 →
1978 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 4 Penn State   –   –   11 – 1 – 0
North Texas State   –   –   9 – 2 – 0
East Carolina   –   –   9 – 3 – 0
Navy   –   –   9 – 3 – 0
No. 7 Notre Dame   –   –   9 – 3 – 0
Rutgers   –   –   9 – 3 – 0
Florida State   –   –   8 – 3 – 0
Tennessee State   –   –   8 – 3 – 0
Temple   –   –   7 – 3 – 1
Pittsburgh   –   –   8 – 4 – 0
Holy Cross   –   –   7 – 4 – 0
Louisville   –   –   7 – 4 – 0
UNLV   –   –   7 – 4 – 0
Southern Miss   –   –   7 – 4 – 0
Northeast Louisiana   –   –   6 – 4 – 1
Georgia Tech   –   –   7 – 5 – 0
Hawaii   –   –   6 – 5 – 0
Miami (FL)   –   –   6 – 5 – 0
South Carolina   –   –   5 – 5 – 1
William & Mary   –   –   5 – 5 – 1
Cincinnati   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
Villanova   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
Army   –   –   4 – 6 – 1
Memphis State   –   –   4 – 7 – 0
Tulane   –   –   4 – 7 – 0
Virginia Tech   –   –   4 – 7 – 0
Air Force   –   –   3 – 8 – 0
Colgate   –   –   3 – 8 – 0
Richmond   –   –   3 – 8 – 0
Syracuse   –   –   3 – 8 – 0
Illinois State   –   –   2 – 9 – 0
West Virginia   –   –   2 – 9 – 0
Boston College   –   –   0 – 11 – 0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1978 Florida State Seminoles football team represented Florida State University as an independent during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by third-year head coach Bobby Bowden, the Seminoles compiled a record of 8–3. Florida State played home games at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida.

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 9at SyracuseNo. 17
W 28–024,272[1]
September 16Oklahoma StateNo. 16
W 38–2040,338[2]
September 23at Miami (FL)No. 13
ABCW 31–2125,002[3]
September 30HoustonNo. 10
  • Doak Campbell Stadium
  • Tallahassee, FL
L 21–2741,142[4]
October 7CincinnatiNo. 18
  • Doak Campbell Stadium
  • Tallahassee, FL
W 26–2139,599[5]
October 14at Mississippi StateNo. 15
L 27–5536,000[6]
October 21at No. 16 Pittsburgh
L 3–755,104[7]
October 28at Southern Miss
W 38–1623,248[8]
November 11Virginia Tech
  • Doak Campbell Stadium
  • Tallahassee, FL
W 24–1438,654[9]
November 18Navydagger
  • Doak Campbell Stadium
  • Tallahassee, FL
ABCW 38–645,795[10]
November 25Florida
  • Doak Campbell Stadium
  • Tallahassee, FL (rivalry)
W 38–2148,432[11]
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[12]

Personnel

1978 Florida State Seminoles football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
OL Lee Adams
OL Brent Brock
RB Gator Cherry
TE Sam Childers
WR Jackie Flowers
OL Greg Futch
OL Mike Good
OL Nate Henderson
RB Homes Johnson
QB Jimmy Jordan
TE Bill Keck
RB Keith Kennedy
TE Grady King
OL Ken Lanier
RB Mark Lyles
RB Sam Platt
RB Greg Ramsey
WR Milton Raysor
RB Ernie Sims
WR Lawrence Strainge
WR Kurt Unglaub
RB Wade Wallace
OL Gil Wesley
RB Michael Whiting
WR Phil Williams
QB Wally Woodham
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DB Monk Bonasorte
DB Bobby Butler
DL Walter Carter
DL Jarvis Coursey
LB David Hanks
DB Ozzie Harrell
DB Gary Henry
LB Reggie Herring
DB Keith Jones
DL Willie Jones
DB Mike Kincaid
DL Mark Macek
DL Jeremy Mindin
LB Paul Piurowski
DL Ed Richardson
DL Arthur Scott
DL Ron Simmons
DB Mike Smith
DL Scott Warren
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K Bill Capece
K Dave Cappelen
P Rohn Stark
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Game summaries

At Syracuse

Oklahoma State

At Miami (FL)

#13 Florida State Seminoles (2–0) at Miami (FL) Hurricanes (0–1)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Florida St 0 14 71031
Miami (FL) 7 7 0721

at Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida

  • Date: September 23, 1978
  • Game weather: Cloudy, 83 °F (28 °C)
  • Game attendance: 25,003
  • Box Score
Team Category Player Statistics
Florida St Passing Jimmy Jordan 8/12, 83 Yds, TD, INT
Rushing Homes Johnson 23 Rush, 90 Yds
Receiving Mark Lyles 5 Rec, 58 Yds, TD
Miami (FL) Passing Mark Richt 5/11, 74 Yds, TD, 3 INT
Rushing Ottis Anderson 15 Rush, 137 Yds, TD
Receiving Mark Cooper 3 Rec, 48 Yds

Houston

Cincinnati

At Mississippi State

At Pittsburgh

At Southern Mississippi

Virginia Tech

Navy Midshipmen (7–2) at Florida State Seminoles (6–3)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Navy 3 3 006
Florida St 0 7 171438

at Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, Florida

  • Date: November 18, 1978
  • Game time: 12:50 p.m. EDT
  • Game weather: Partly cloudy, 76 °F (24 °C)
  • Game attendance: 45,795
  • Referee: W.T. Miller
  • TV: ABC
  • Box Score
  • ABC Players of the Game: Jimmy Jordan & Sam Platt (off), Ron Simmons (def) 10 tackles, FR, FF
External videos
video icon Game broadcast (part 1)
video icon Game broadcast (part 2)
video icon Game broadcast (part 3)
video icon Game broadcast (part 4)
Team Category Player Statistics
Navy Passing Bob Leszczynski 10/20, 188 Yds, INT
Rushing Kevin Tolbert 5 Rush, 27 Yds
Receiving Sandy Jones 2 Rec, 51 Yds
Florida St Passing Jimmy Jordan 15/27, 280 Yds, 4 TD
Rushing Greg Ramsey 5 Rush, 51 Yds, TD
Receiving Sam Platt 6 Rec, 145 Yds, 3 TD

Florida

References

  1. ^ "Seminoles smother Syracuse, 28–0". The Pensacola News-Journal. September 10, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Seminoles bury Cowboys, 38–20". Fort Lauderdale News. September 17, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Florida St. rolls over Miami, 31–21". Staten Island Advance. September 24, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Houston strikes early, upends Florida State". The Sunday Oregonian. October 1, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Florida State comes from behind for 26–21 win over Cincinnati". The Marion Star. October 8, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Ill wins, defense doom Florida State". The Palm Beach Post-Times. October 15, 1978. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Jacobs' jaunt jolts Seminoles for Pitt". Daily Press. October 22, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Woodham's passing hurls Seminoles past surprised Southern Miss., 38–16". The Miami Herald. October 29, 1978. Retrieved March 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Seminoles rally past VPI, 24–14". The Miami Herald. November 12, 1978. Retrieved December 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "FSU rolls but Navy bowls". The Orlando Sentinel Star. November 19, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Gators muff Dickey's sendoff". St. Petersburg Times. December 3, 1978. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "1978 Florida State Seminoles Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 22, 2024.


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