1978 Purdue Boilermakers football team

The 1978 Purdue Boilermakers football team represented Purdue University in the 1978 Big Ten Conference football season. Led by second-year head coach Jim Young, the Boilermakers compiled an overall record of 9–2–1 with a mark of 6–1–1 in conference play, placing third in the Big Ten. Purdue was invited to the Peach Bowl, where the Boilermakers defeated Georgia Tech. The team played home games at Ross–Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.

1978 Purdue Boilermakers football
Peach Bowl champion
Peach Bowl, W 41–21 vs. Georgia Tech
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 13
APNo. 13
Record9–2–1 (6–1–1 Big Ten)
Head coach
Defensive coordinatorLeon Burtnett (2nd season)
MVPKeena Turner
CaptainTim Eubank, Willie Harris
Home stadiumRoss–Ade Stadium
Seasons
← 1977
1979 →
1978 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 5 Michigan + 7 1 0 10 2 0
No. 12 Michigan State + 7 1 0 8 3 0
No. 13 Purdue 6 1 1 9 2 1
Ohio State 6 2 0 7 4 1
Minnesota 4 4 0 5 6 0
Wisconsin 3 4 2 5 4 2
Indiana 3 5 0 4 7 0
Iowa 2 6 0 2 9 0
Illinois 0 6 2 1 8 2
Northwestern 0 8 1 0 10 1
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

edit
DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 16Michigan StateW 21–1460,355[1]
September 23Ohio*
  • Ross–Ade Stadium
  • West Lafayette, IN
W 24–055,172[2]
September 30at Notre Dame*L 6–1059,075[3]
October 7Wake Forest*
  • Ross–Ade Stadium
  • West Lafayette, IN
W 14–754,362[4]
October 14No. 16 Ohio State
  • Ross–Ade Stadium
  • West Lafayette, IN
W 27–1669,465[5]
October 21at IllinoisNo. 19W 13–050,918[6]
October 28at IowaNo. 17W 34–757,640[7]
November 4Northwestern No. 14
  • Ross–Ade Stadium
  • West Lafayette, IN
W 31–064,232[8]
November 11at WisconsinNo. 12T 24–2478,986[9]
November 18at No. 7 MichiganNo. 15L 6–24106,410[10][11]
November 25IndianaNo. 18
  • Ross–Ade Stadium
  • West Lafayette, IN
W 20–769,918[12]
December 25vs. Georgia TechNo. 17CBSW 41–2120,277[13]
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[14][15]

Game summaries

edit

Michigan State

edit
1 234Total
Michigan State 14 000 14
Purdue 0 0147 21

[16]

  • John Macon 19 rushes, 120 yards

Ohio

edit

At Notre Dame

edit

Wake Forest

edit

Ohio State

edit
1 234Total
Ohio St 0 736 16
• Purdue 3 01410 27

[17]

At Illinois

edit
  • John Macon 32 rushes, 126 yards
  • Russell Pope 25 rushes, 118 yards

At Iowa

edit
1 234Total
• Purdue 10 7017 34
Iowa 0 070 7

[18]

Northwestern

edit

At Wisconsin

edit
  • John Macon 32 rushes, 117 yards

At Michigan

edit

Indiana

edit
  • Mike Augustyniak 23 rushes, 135 yards

Peach Bowl (vs. Georgia Tech)

edit

Personnel

edit
1978 Purdue Boilermakers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
RB Mike Augustyniak
QB Steve Barr
WR Bart Burrell
RB Frank Doria
TE Tim Eubank
OT Henry Fiel
WR Tony Gallivan
RB Labraunt Harris
WR Mike Harris
G John LeFeber
QB 9 Mark Herrmann So
RB Wally Jones
RB Ron Keith
TE Neil Lucklanow
FB John Macon
RB Don McAfee
RB Ben McCall
OT Steve McKenzie
RB Jim Meyer
QB Chuck Oliver
RB Russell Pope
RB Robert Pruitt
C Pete Quinn
RB Dwight Robinson
G Dale Schwan
WR Ray Smith
RB Robert Williams
TE Dave Young
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DT Calvin Clark
DE Ruben Floyd
S Willie Harris
DT Marcus Jackson
LB Mark Johnason
MG Ken Loushin
LB Mike Marks
CB Rick Moss
LB Kevin Motts
CB Wayne Smith
S Rock Supan
DE Keena Turner
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
P Dave Eagin
P Joe Linville
K Scott Sovereen
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  •   Injured
  •   Redshirt

Awards

edit

All-Big Ten

  • Ken Loushin (1st)
  • Keena Turner (1st)
  • Mark Herrmann (2nd)
  • Marcus Jackson (2nd)
  • John LeFeber (2nd)
  • John Macon (2nd)
  • Steve McKenzie (2nd)
  • Dale Schwan (2nd)
  • Scott Sovereen (2nd)

Big Ten Coach of the Year: Jim Young

Statistics

edit

Passing

edit
Player Comp Att Yards TD INT
Herrmann 152 274 1,904 14 12

References

edit
  1. ^ "Purdue rallies to beat Spartans". Wisconsin State Journal. September 17, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Purdue's 24–0 win doesn't excite Young". The Courier-Journal. September 24, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Irish need rally to stop Purdue". Quad-City Times. October 1, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Late Purdue rally clips Wake Forest". The Kokomo Tribune. October 8, 1978. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Dream comes truw: Purdue trips Ohio State". Chicago Tribune. October 15, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Purdue's Macon and Pope run Illinois aground 13–0". The Courier-Journal. October 22, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Purdue shows Iowa why it leads Big 10". Argus-Leader. October 29, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Purdue romps, 31–0". Dayton Daily News. November 5, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Wisconsin ties Purdue, 24–24". Lansing State Journal. November 12, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Tom Henderson (November 19, 1978). "U-M stays on Rose Bowl path, 24-6: Wolverines cut Purdue down to size". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1E, 8E – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Rick Maddock (November 19, 1978). "Bring on the Bucks! Wolverines crush Purdue hopes, 24-6". The Michigan Daily. pp. 1, 8 – via Bentley Historical Library.
  12. ^ "Boilermakers claim Bucket". The Pharos-Tribune. November 26, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Boilers rip Ga. Tech 41–21". The Times-Mail. December 26, 1978. Retrieved July 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "1978 Purdue Boilermakers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  15. ^ "2022 Purdue Football Record Book" (PDF). Purdue University Athletics. p. 90. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
  16. ^ "Macon's Run Lifts Purdue Over Spartans." Palm Beach Post. 1978 Sept 17.
  17. ^ Eugene Register-Guard. 1978 Oct 15.
  18. ^ "Purdue cuts down Iowa again." Milwaukee Journal. 1978 Oct 29.
edit