American college football season
| 1978 Arizona State Sun Devils football |
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Garden State Bowl champion |
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Garden State Bowl, W 34–18 vs. Rutgers |
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| Conference | Pacific-10 Conference |
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| Ranking |
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| Coaches | No. 19 |
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| Record | 9–3 (4–3 Pac-10) |
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| Head coach | |
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| Defensive coordinator | Larry Kentera (8th season) |
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| Home stadium | Sun Devil Stadium |
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Seasons |
1978 Pacific-10 Conference football standings | Conf | | | Overall |
| Team | W | | L | | T | | | W | | L | | T |
| No. 2 USC $ | 6 | – | 1 | – | 0 | | | 12 | – | 1 | – | 0 |
| No. 14 UCLA | 6 | – | 2 | – | 0 | | | 8 | – | 3 | – | 1 |
| Washington | 6 | – | 2 | – | 0 | | | 7 | – | 4 | – | 0 |
| Arizona State | 4 | – | 3 | – | 0 | | | 9 | – | 3 | – | 0 |
| No. 17 Stanford | 4 | – | 3 | – | 0 | | | 8 | – | 4 | – | 0 |
| California | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | | | 6 | – | 5 | – | 0 |
| Arizona | 3 | – | 4 | – | 0 | | | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 |
| Oregon | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | | | 2 | – | 9 | – | 0 |
| Oregon State | 2 | – | 6 | – | 0 | | | 3 | – | 7 | – | 1 |
| Washington State | 1 | – | 7 | – | 0 | | | 3 | – | 7 | – | 1 |
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| Rankings from AP Poll |
The 1978 Arizona State Sun Devils football team was an American football team that represented Arizona State University in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their 21st season under head coach Frank Kush, the Sun Devils compiled a 9–3 record (4–3 against Pac-10 opponents), finished in a tie for fourth place in the Pac-10, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 347 to 236.[1][2]
The team's statistical leaders included Mark Malone with 1,305 passing yards and 705 rushing yards and Chris DeFrance with 617 receiving yards.[3]
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance |
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| September 9 | Pacific (CA)* | | | W 42–7 | |
| September 16 | BYU* | | - Sun Devil Stadium
- Tempe, AZ
| W 24–17 | 70,311 |
| September 23 | at Washington State | | | L 26–51 | 33,507 |
| September 30 | UTEP* | | - Sun Devil Stadium
- Tempe, AZ
| W 27–0 | 69,497 |
| October 7 | Northwestern* | | | W 56–14 | |
| October 14 | No. 2 USC | | - Sun Devil Stadium
- Tempe, AZ
| W 20–7 | 70,138 |
| October 28 | Washington | No. 12 | | L 7–41 | 54,866 |
| November 4 | California | | - Sun Devil Stadium
- Tempe, AZ
| W 35–21 | |
| November 11 | Stanford | | - Sun Devil Stadium
- Tempe, AZ
| L 14–21 | 51,000 |
| November 18 | at Oregon State | | | W 44–22 | 23,500 |
| November 25 | Arizona | | | W 18–17 | 58,090 |
| December 16 | vs. Rutgers* | | | W 34–18 | 33,402 |
- *Non-conference game
- Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
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[4]
Personnel
| 1978 Arizona State Sun Devils football team roster |
| Players | Coaches |
| Offense | Defense | Special teams | - Head coach
- Coordinators/assistant coaches
- Legend
- (C) Team captain
- (S) Suspended
- (I) Ineligible
 Injured Redshirt
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Season summary
USC
| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | | USC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | | • Arizona St | 0 | 3 | 14 | 3 | 20 | - Date: October 14
- Location: Sun Devil Stadium
- Game attendance: 71,138
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| Scoring summary |
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| | Q2 | | ASU | Hicks 40 yard field goal | ASU 3–0 | | | Q3 | | ASU | Malone 1 yard run (Hicks kick) | ASU 10–0 | | | Q3 | | ASU | Mistler 16 yard pass from Malone (Hicks kick) | ASU 17–0 | | | Q4 | | ASU | Hicks 28 yard field goal | ASU 20–0 | | | Q4 | | USC | Garcia 31 yard pass from McDonald (Jordan kick) | ASU 20–7 |
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[5]
Arizona
Mark Malone threw a pair of touchdown passes and Bill Zivic's 45-yard field goal attempt missed wide left in the final seconds to secure the Sun Devil victory.[6]
Garden State Bowl
Garden State Bowl: Arizona State Sun Devils vs. Rutgers Scarlet Knights
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Arizona St | 0 | 7 | 14 | 13 | 34 |
| Rutgers | 10 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 18 |
at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
- Date: December 16
- Game attendance: 33,402
- 2018 Arizona State football media guide
MVP: John Mistler
| Scoring summary |
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | | Plays | Yards | TOP | ASU | RU | | 1 | | | | | Rutgers | Dorn 47-yard touchdown run, Startzell kick good | 0 | 7 | | 1 | | | | | Rutgers | 46-yard field goal by Startzell | 0 | 10 | | 2 | | | | | Arizona St | Weathers 14-yard touchdown reception from Malone, Hicks kick good | 7 | 10 | | 3 | | | | | Arizona St | Mistler 26-yard touchdown reception from Malone, Hicks kick good | 14 | 10 | | 3 | | | | | Arizona St | DeFrance 53-yard touchdown reception from Malone, Hicks kick good | 21 | 10 | | 4 | | | | | Arizona St | Malone 1-yard touchdown run, Hicks kick good | 28 | 10 | | 4 | | | | | Rutgers | Blackwell 5-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass good | 28 | 18 | | 4 | | | | | Arizona St | Malone 4-yard touchdown run, kick no good | 34 | 18 | | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 34 | 18 | |
References
- ^ "1978 Arizona State Sun Devils Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
- ^ "2016 ASU Football Media Guide". Arizona State University. 2016. p. 123. Archived from the original on October 25, 2016. Retrieved October 27, 2016.
- ^ "1978 Arizona State Sun Devils Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
- ^ College Football @ Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved October 9, 2017
- ^ "Devils' first Pacific-10 win shocks USC." Eugene Register-Guard. 1978 Oct 15. Retrieved 2017-Oct-09.
- ^ 10 Memorable Sun Devil Performances in the Territorial Cup Rivalry. Retrieved 2018-Dec-25.
External links
- Game program: Arizona State vs. Washington State at Spokane – September 23, 1978
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