1978 Ball State Cardinals football team

American college football season

1978 Ball State Cardinals football

MAC champion

Conference| Mid-American Conference
Record| 10–1 (8–0 MAC)
Head coach|

* Dwight Wallace (1st season)

Captain| Ken Kremer, Rick Morrison, Bill Stahl
Home stadium| Ball State Stadium

Seasons

<- 1977

1979 ->

1978 Mid-American Conference football standings

* v
* t
* e

| Conf |  |  | Overall

|
|
|
|

Team | W |  | L |  | T |  |  | W |  | L |  | T
Ball State $  | 8  | - | 0  | - | 0 |  |  | 10  | - | 1  | - | 0
Central Michigan | 8  | - | 1  | - | 0 |  |  | 9  | - | 2  | - | 0
Miami (OH) | 5  | - | 2  | - | 0 |  |  | 8  | - | 2  | - | 1
Western Michigan | 5  | - | 4  | - | 0 |  |  | 7  | - | 4  | - | 0
Bowling Green | 3  | - | 5  | - | 0 |  |  | 4  | - | 7  | - | 0
Ohio | 3  | - | 5  | - | 0 |  |  | 3  | - | 8  | - | 0
Northern Illinois | 2  | - | 4  | - | 0 |  |  | 5  | - | 6  | - | 0
Kent State | 2  | - | 6  | - | 0 |  |  | 4  | - | 7  | - | 0
Toledo | 2  | - | 7  | - | 0 |  |  | 2  | - | 9  | - | 0
Eastern Michigan | 1  | - | 5  | - | 0 |  |  | 3  | - | 7  | - | 0

* $ - Conference champion

The 1978 Ball State Cardinals football team was an American football team that represented Ball State University in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. In its first season under head coach Dwight Wallace, the team compiled a 10–1 record (8–0 against conference opponents) and won the MAC championship. Ball state did not have another 10-win season until 2008, when they started the season at 12-0 before losing their conference championship game and their bowl game.[1][2] The team played its home games at Ball State Stadium in Muncie, Indiana.

The team's statistical leaders included Dave Wilson with 1,037 passing yards, Archie Currin with 735 rushing yards, Ray Hinton with 417 receiving yards, and Mark O'Connell with 60 points scored.[3] Brady Hoke was a member of the team.

## Schedule

[edit]

Date| Opponent| Site| Result| Attendance| Source

|
|
|
|
|

September 9| Miami (OH)|

* Ball State Stadium
* Muncie, IN

| W 38–14| 17,875| [4]
September 16| Kent State|

* Ball State Stadium
* Muncie, IN

| W 27–3| 15,225| [5]
September 23| Toledo|

* Ball State Stadium
* Muncie, IN

| W 20–0| 15,630| [6]
September 30| at Central Michigan|

* Perry Shorts Stadium
* Mount Pleasant, MI

| W 27–0| 20,216| [7]
October 7| Indiana State*|

* Ball State Stadium
* Muncie, IN (Blue Key Victory Bell)

| W 7–0| 18,323| [8]
October 14| at Louisiana Tech*|

* Joe Aillet Stadium
* Ruston, LA

| L 7–17| 12,526| [9]
October 21| at Illinois State*|

* Hancock Stadium
* Normal, IL

| W 14–7| 8,500| [10]
October 28| at Eastern Michigan|

* Rynearson Stadium
* Ypsilanti, MI

| W 21–0| 5,505| [11]
November 4| at Bowling Green|

* Doyt Perry Stadium
* Bowling Green, OH

| W 39–14| 15,069| [12]
November 11| Western Michigan|

* Ball State Stadium
* Muncie, IN

| W 20–14| 17,110| [13]
November 18| at Northern Illinois|

* Huskie Stadium
* DeKalb, IL (rivalry)

| W 31–13| 8,041| [14]

* *Non-conference game

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "2007 Ball State Football Media Guide". Ball State University. 2007. p. 98. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
2. ^ "1978 Ball State Cardinals Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sport Reference LLC. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
3. ^ "1978 Ball State Cardinals Statistics". SR/College Football. Sport Reference LLC. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
4. ^ "Ball State overwhelms Miami, 38–14". Chronicle Tribune. September 10, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
5. ^ "Kent dilemma continues". The Akron Beacon Journal. September 17, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ "Wilson's aerials give Ball State 11th straight win". Palladium-Item. September 24, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
7. ^ "Ball State gives Central a 27–0 whippin' in MAC". The Flint Journal. October 1, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
8. ^ "Cards survive ISU, 7–0, for 13th straight". The Star Press. October 8, 1978. Retrieved February 8, 2022 - via Newspapers.com.
9. ^ "Louisiana Tech scoots past BSU". The Star Press. October 15, 1978. Retrieved July 1, 2021 - via Newspapers.com.
10. ^ "Ball State holds on for 14–7 win". Chronicle Tribune. October 22, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
11. ^ "Abney grabs TD pass for Cardinals". The Kokomo Tribune. October 29, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
12. ^ "Ball State 39, B. Green 14". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. November 5, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
13. ^ "Wilson-to-Hinton TD saves BSU". The Star Press. November 12, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
14. ^ "NIU loses chance at finishing .500". Chicago Tribune. November 19, 1978. Retrieved October 23, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.

* v
* t
* e

Ball State Cardinals football

Venues|

* Ball State Field (1924–1967)
* Scheumann Stadium (1967–present)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Bowl games
* Indiana State (Blue Key Victory Bell)
* Northern Illinois (Bronze Stalk Trophy)

Culture & lore|

* Charlie Cardinal
* The Pride of Mid-America Marching Band

People|

* Head coaches
* NFL draftees
* Statistical leaders

Seasons|

* 1924
* 1925
* 1926
* 1927
* 1928
* 1929
* 1930
* 1931
* 1932
* 1933
* 1934
* 1935
* 1936
* 1937
* 1938
* 1939
* 1940
* 1941
* 1942
* 1943
* 1944
* 1945
* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949
* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024

* v
* t
* e

Mid-American Conference football champions

* Cincinnati (1947)
* Miami (OH) (1948)
* Cincinnati (1949)
* Miami (OH) (1950)
* Cincinnati (1951)
* Cincinnati (1952)
* Ohio (1953)
* Miami (OH) (1954)
* Miami (OH) (1955)
* Bowling Green (1956)
* Miami (OH) (1957)
* Miami (OH) (1958)
* Bowling Green (1959)
* Ohio (1960)
* Bowling Green (1961)
* Bowling Green (1962)
* Ohio (1963)
* Bowling Green (1964)
* Bowling Green & Miami (OH) (1965)
* Miami (OH) & Western Michigan (1966)
* Ohio & Toledo (1967)
* Ohio (1968)
* Toledo (1969)
* Toledo (1970)
* Toledo (1971)
* Kent State (1972)
* Miami (OH) (1973)
* Miami (OH) (1974)
* Miami (OH) (1975)
* Ball State (1976)
* Miami (OH) (1977)
* Ball State (1978)
* Central Michigan (1979)
* Central Michigan (1980)
* Toledo (1981)
* Bowling Green (1982)
* Northern Illinois (1983)
* Toledo (1984)
* Bowling Green (1985)
* Miami (OH) (1986)
* Eastern Michigan (1987)
* Western Michigan (1988)
* Ball State (1989)
* Central Michigan & Toledo (1990)
* Bowling Green (1991)
* Bowling Green (1992)
* Ball State (1993)
* Central Michigan (1994)
* Toledo (1995)
* Ball State (1996)
* Marshall (1997)
* Marshall (1998)
* Marshall (1999)
* Marshall (2000)
* Toledo (2001)
* Marshall (2002)
* Miami (OH) (2003)
* Toledo (2004)
* Akron (2005)
* Central Michigan (2006)
* Central Michigan (2007)
* Buffalo (2008)
* Central Michigan (2009)
* Miami (OH) (2010)
* Northern Illinois (2011)
* Northern Illinois (2012)
* Bowling Green (2013)
* Northern Illinois (2014)
* Bowling Green (2015)
* Western Michigan (2016)
* Toledo (2017)
* Northern Illinois (2018)
* Miami (OH) (2019)
* Ball State (2020)
* Northern Illinois (2021)
* Toledo (2022)
* Miami (OH) (2023)
* Ohio (2024)

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties