1978 Washington Huskies football team

The 1978 Washington Huskies football team was an American football team that represented the University of Washington during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. Under fourth-year head coach Don James, the team compiled a 7–4 record, tied for second in the Pacific-10 Conference, and outscored its opponents 270 to 155.[1] Linebacker Michael Jackson was selected as the team's most valuable player. The team captains were Jackson, Nesby Glasgow, Scott Greenwood, and Jeff Toews.

1978 Washington Huskies football
Conference	Pacific-10
1978 record	7–4 (6–2 Pac-10)
Head coach	Don James (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Dick Scesniak (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	Jim Lambright (1st season)
MVP	Michael Jackson (LB)
Captains	Michael Jackson (LB) Nesby Glasgow (DB) Jeff Toews (OL) Scott Greenwood (TE)
Home stadium	Husky Stadium

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
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

In the newly-expanded Pac-10, the defending champion Huskies returned eighteen starters, but not at quarterback.[2] Washington defeated the two new members, Arizona and Arizona State, and did not play California. The two losses were to UCLA and USC, and the Huskies defeated Washington State in the Apple Cup for the fifth consecutive year.[3][4][5]

An unexpected non-conference loss at unranked Indiana in September likely kept Washington out of a bowl game.[6][7]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
September 9	No. 12 UCLA	No. 11	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	L 7–10	55,780
September 16	Kansas*	No. 18	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	W 31–2	49,624
September 23	at Indiana*	No. 15	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	L 7–14	40,244
September 30	at Oregon State		Parker Stadium Corvallis, OR	W 34–0	30,000
October 7	No. 8 Alabama*		Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	L 17–20	60,975
October 14	at No. 18 Stanford		Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA	W 34–31	58,079
October 21	Oregon		Husky Stadium Seattle, WA (rivalry)	W 20–14	49,602
October 28	Arizona State		Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	W 41–7	54,866
November 4	Arizona	No. 20	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	W 31–21	47,587
November 11	at No. 5 USC	No. 19	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	L 10–28	54,071
November 25	vs. Washington State		Joe Albi Stadium Spokane, WA (Apple Cup)	W 38–8	35,187
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll

Roster

1978 Washington Huskies football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 7 Tom Porras Jr QB 12 Tom Flick So RB 20 Kyle Stevens So FL 22 Keith Richardson Fr RB 24 Joe Steele Jr FB 42 Ron Gipson Jr RB 45 Toussaint Tyler So C 56 Tom Turnure Jr G 62 Phil Foreman Jr T 63 Jeff Toews (C) Sr G 68 Dan Chavira Jr T 70 Roger Westlund Sr T 78 Curt Marsh So T 79 Randy Van Divier So TE 80 Randy Moraga Jr TE 86 Scott Greenwood (C) Sr WR 93 Spider Gaines Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 5 Michael Jackson (C) Sr CB 10 Lance Theoudele Jr CB 19 Mark Lee Jr CB 23 Nesby Glasgow (C) Sr LB 34 John Kerley Sr SS 46 Greg Grimes Jr LB 48 Antowaine Richardson Jr LB 55 Bruce Harrell Jr NG 58 Stafford Mays Jr DT 61 Chris Linnin Jr DE 73 Doug Martin Jr FS 96 Kyle Heinrich Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class PK 1 Mike Lansford Jr KR 20 Kyle Stevens So PR 23 Nesby Glasgow Sr KR 24 Joe Steele Jr P 27 Aaron Wilson Sr	Head coach Don James (4th year) Coordinators/assistant coaches Dick Scesniak – (OC) Jim Lambright – (DC) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Source:[8][9][10][11]

NFL Draft selections

Five University of Washington Huskies were selected in the 1979 NFL Draft, which lasted twelve rounds with 330 selections.

= Husky Hall of Fame[12]

Player	Position	Round	Overall	Franchise
Jeff Toews	Tackle	2nd	53	Miami Dolphins
Michael Jackson	Linebacker	3rd	57	Seattle Seahawks
Spider Gaines	Wide receiver	6th	140	Kansas City Chiefs
Roger Westlund	Tackle	7th	186	Atlanta Falcons
Nesby Glasgow	Defensive back	8th	207	Baltimore Colts

References

1. "Washington Yearly Results (1975-1979)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Retrieved December 14, 2015.
2. Withers, Bud (October 21, 1978). "Brooks trying to probe Ducks' 'inner game'". Eugene register-Guard. (Oregon). p. 1C.
3. Missildine, Harry (November 26, 1978). "Steele: Shades of McElhenny". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. C1.
4. Drosendahl, Glenn (November 26, 1978). "Joe Steeles Jack's show - UW romps". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
5. Van Sickel, Charlie (November 27, 1978). "Huskies blitz Cougars in one-sided debacle". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 21.
6. "Hoosiers ambush UW 14-7". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). September 24, 1978. p. F1.
7. "Huskies find way to lose to Indiana". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. September 24, 1978. p. 4C.
8. "The lineups". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). September 30, 1978. p. 2C.
9. "The lineups". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). October 21, 1978. p. 2C.
10. Missildine, Harry (November 25, 1978). "Stakes are sufficient". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 21.
11. Killen, John (November 25, 1978). "Cougs vs. Huskies". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
12. "The Husky Hall of Fame". gohuskies.com. Retrieved 2019-10-08.

External links

• Official game program: Washington vs. Washington State at Spokane – November 25, 1978