1978 Navy Midshipmen football team

American college football season

1978 Navy Midshipmen football
Holiday Bowl champion
Holiday Bowl, W 23–16 vs. BYU
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 17
Record	9–3
Head coach	George Welsh (6th season)
Captain	Nick Mygas, Phil McConkey
Home stadium	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
Seasons ← 1977 1979 →

1978 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
v t e	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 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy (USNA) as an independent during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was led by sixth-year head coach George Welsh.^[1]^[2]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 16		at Virginia		Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	W 32–0	28,472	^[3]
September 23		at Connecticut		Memorial Stadium Storrs, CT	W 30–0
September 30		at Boston College		Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	W 19–8	24,082	^[4]
October 7		at Air Force		Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)	W 37–8	30,482
October 14		Duke		Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	W 31–8	21,431	^[5]
October 21		William & Mary	No. 17	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	W 9–0
October 28		Pittsburgh	No. 18	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	W 21–11	32,909
November 4	1:50 p.m.	vs. No. 15 Notre Dame	No. 11	Municipal Stadium Cleveland, OH (rivalry)	L 7–27	63,780
November 11		at Syracuse	No. 18	Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY	L 17–20	26,429	^[6]
November 18	12:50 p.m.	at Florida State		Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	L 6–38	45,795
December 2		vs. Army		John F. Kennedy Stadium Philadelphia, PA (Army–Navy Game)	W 28–0	79,026
December 22		vs. BYU		San Diego Stadium San Diego, CA (Holiday Bowl)	W 23–16	52,500
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Game summaries

At Virginia

At Connecticut

At Boston College

At Air Force

	1	2	3	4	Total
Navy (3–0)	10	13	7	7	37
Air Force (2–2)	0	0	0	8	8

Attendance: 30,482
Navy scored on six of its first seven possessions, gained over 400 yards of total offense and held Air Force to 75 yards through three quarters
Navy's best start since 1960
NAVY: Tata 47 FG
NAVY: McConkey 19 run (Tata kick)
NAVY: Tata 39 FG
NAVY: McConkey 36 pass from Leszczynski (Tata kick)
NAVY: Tata 43 FG
NAVY: Gainer 17 run (Tata kick)
AFA: Fortson 11 run (pass good)
NAVY: Callahan 39 run (Tata kick)

^[7]

Duke

William & Mary

Pittsburgh

vs Notre Dame

At Syracuse

At Florida State

Navy Midshipmen (7–2) at Florida State Seminoles (6–3)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Navy	3	3	0	0	6
Florida St	0	7	17	14	38

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

Navy accepted bid to Holiday Bowl

External videos
Game broadcast (part 1)
Game broadcast (part 2)
Game broadcast (part 3)
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

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	NAVY	FSU
1	0:48	4	35		Navy	43-yard field goal by Bob Tata	3	0
2	4:10	3	60		Florida St	Greg Ramsey 12-yard touchdown run, Dave Cappelen kick good	3	7
2	2:28	6	77		Navy	46-yard field goal by Bob Tata	6	7
3	11:58	4	28		Florida St	38-yard field goal by Dave Cappelen	6	10
3	9:38	3	11		Florida St	Sam Platt 4-yard touchdown reception from Jimmy Jordan, Dave Cappelen kick good	6	17
3	6:55	4	56		Florida St	Sam Platt 36-yard touchdown reception from Jimmy Jordan, Dave Cappelen kick good	6	24
4	13:50	5	90		Florida St	Sam Platt 51-yard touchdown reception from Jimmy Jordan, Dave Cappelen kick good	6	31
4	9:00	7	53		Florida St	Grady King 23-yard touchdown reception from Jimmy Jordan, Dave Cappelen kick good	6	38
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							6	38

vs Army

Army Cadets vs. Navy Midshipmen

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Army	0	0	0	0	0
Navy	14	7	7	0	28

at JFK Stadium • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Date: December 2
Game attendance: 79,026
^[8]

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	ARMY	NAVY
1					Navy	Bob Leszczynski 3-yard touchdown run, Bob Tata kick good	0	7
1					Navy	Steve Callahan 1-yard touchdown run, Bob Tata kick good	0	14
2					Navy	Bob Leszczynski 1-yard touchdown run, Bob Tata kick good	0	21
3					Navy	Steve Callahan 18-yard touchdown reception from Bob Leszczynski, Bob Tata kick good	0	28
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							0	28

Holiday Bowl (vs BYU)

Personnel

1978 Navy Midshipmen football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
OL		Rick Bott
RB		Steve Callahan
WR		Mike Chapon
RB		Dwayne Dennis
OL		Tom Feldman
RB		Duane Flowers
TE		Curt Gainer
TE		Carl Hendershot
WR		Sandy Jones
FB	`33`	Larry Klawinski	Jr
RB		Chris Klein
OL		Steve Kremer
QB	`15`	Bob Leszczynski	Sr
OL		Frank McCallister
WR		Phil McConkey (C)
TE		Matt McLaughlin
QB		Kevin McTavish
RB		Eddie Meyers
TE		Greg Papajohn
QB		Bob Powers
RB	`23`	Mike Sherlock	So
OL		John Taylor
RB		Kevin Tolbert
RB		Dave Walker

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DL		Steve Chambers
DL		John Merrill
LB		Gregg Milo
LB		Nick Mygas (C)
LB		Tom Paulk
DB		Fred Reitzel
DL		Mark Stephens
DL		Charlie Thornton
DB		Bob Wilson
DB		Chuck Zingler

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
P		Lex Lauletta
P		Art Ohanian
K		Bob Tata

Head coach

George Welsh

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

References

^ "Football History" (PDF). United States Naval Academy. p. 194. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2015.
^ "Navy Yearly Results (1975-1979)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on July 15, 2015. Retrieved July 14, 2015.
^ "Navy torpedoes UVa, Cavaliers yet to score". The Danville Register. September 17, 1978. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Defense lifts Navy past B.C." The Baltimore Sun. October 1, 1978. p. C1, C15 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Unbeaten Navy drops Duke, 31–8". Asheville Citizen-Times. October 15, 1978. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Searing, Robert (November 12, 2021). "SU football fans rush the field at the last game ever played at Archbold Stadium". The Post-Standard. Retrieved November 25, 2021.
^ Palm Beach Post. 1978 Oct 08.
^ Eugene Register-Guard. 1978 Dec 03. Retrieved 2019-Jan-21.

v t e Navy Midshipmen football
Venues	Worden Field (1890–1923) Thompson Stadium (1924–1958) Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (1959–present) Memorial Stadium (alternate)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Army: Army–Navy Game (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy) Air Force: Commander-in-Chief's Trophy: Johns Hopkins Maryland: Crab Bowl Classic Notre Dame SMU: Gansz Trophy
Culture & lore	Bill the Goat "Anchors Aweigh" "I believe that we will win!" Marching band "Navy ends the drought" 2007 North Texas game Salute That Navy Spirit Navy Blue and Gold
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders NFL draftees
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National championship seasons in bold