1978 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team

American college football season

1978 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football

Garden State Bowl, L 18–34 vs. Arizona State

Conference| Independent
Record| 9–3
Head coach|

* Frank R. Burns (6th season)

Offensive coordinator| Bill Speranza (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator| Bob Naso (11th season)
Home stadium| Rutgers Stadium
Giants Stadium

Seasons

<- 1977

1979 ->

1978 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

* v
* t
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| Conf. |  |  | Overall

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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 Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team represented Rutgers University in the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their sixth season under head coach Frank R. Burns, the Scarlet Knights compiled a 9–3 record while competing as an independent. The team outscored its opponents 284 to 165 and finished the season with a 34–18 loss to Arizona State in the Garden State Bowl.[1][2] The team's statistical leaders included Bob Hering with 1,193 passing yards, Glen Kehler with 883 rushing yards, and David Dorn with 535 receiving yards.[3] It was the Scarlet Knights' first major bowl appearance.

## Schedule

[edit]

Date| Time| Opponent| Site| Result| Attendance| Source

|
|
|
|
|
|

September 9| 1:30 p.m.| at No. 3 Penn State|

* Beaver Stadium
* University Park, PA

| L 17–20| 77,154| [4]
September 23| 1:30 p.m.| at Bucknell|

* Memorial Stadium
* Lewisburg, PA

| W 27–13| 9,500| [5]
September 30| 1:30 p.m.| Princeton|

* Giants Stadium
* East Rutherford, NJ (rivalry)

| W 24–0| 25,307| [6]
October 7| 1:30 p.m.| at Yale|

* Yale Bowl
* New Haven, CT

| W 28–27| 21,000| [7]
October 14| 1:30 p.m.| Connecticut|

* Rutgers Stadium
* Piscataway, NJ

| W 10–0| 13,500| [8]
October 21| 1:30 p.m.| Villanova|

* Rutgers Stadium
* Piscataway, NJ

| W 24–9| 18,500| [9]
October 28| 1:30 p.m.| Columbia|

* Giants Stadium
* East Rutherford, NJ

| W 69–0| 7,665| [10]
November 4| 1:00 p.m.| at UMass|

* Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium
* Hadley, MA

| W 21–11| 9,800| [11]
November 11| 1:00 p.m.| Temple|

* Rutgers Stadium
* Piscataway, NJ

| W 13–10| 22,000| [12]
November 18| 1:30 p.m.| at Holy Cross|

* Fitton Field
* Worcester, MA

| W 31–21| 14,829| [13]
November 25| 1:00 p.m.| Colgate|

* Rutgers Stadium
* Piscataway, NJ

| L 9–14| 17,300| [14]
December 16| | vs. Arizona State|

* Giants Stadium
* East Rutherford, NJ (Garden State Bowl)

| L 18–34| 33,402| [15]

* Homecoming
* Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
* All times are in Eastern time

[16][17][18]

## Coaching staff

[edit]

* Head coach: Frank R. Burns
* Offensive coordinator: Bill Speranza
* Offensive line coach: James Taigia
* Wide receivers coach: Dick Curl
* Defensive coordinator: Bob Naso
* Defensive backs coach: Pete Savino
* Defensive line coach: Ted Cottrell
* Graduate assistant: Greg Gigantino

[19]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "1978 Rutgers Scarlet Knights Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
2. ^ "Rutgers Yearly Results (1975-1979)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on March 26, 2016. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
3. ^ "1978 Rutgers Scarlet Knights Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 12, 2016.
4. ^ "Nittany Lions crush outmanned Rutgers". The Hartford Courant. September 10, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
5. ^ O'Brien, Ken (September 24, 1978). "Rutgers Easily Conquers Bucknell". The Home News Sunday. New Brunswick, N.J. p. B1 - via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ Ronberg, Gary (October 1, 1978). "Rutgers' 2d Half Stuns Princeton". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pa. p. 7-E - via Newspapers.com.
7. ^ Eisenberg, Harry (October 8, 1978). "Yale Misses, Rutgers Wins, 28–27". Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 82 - via Newspapers.com.
8. ^ "Rutgers holds off Connecticut, 10–0". Asbury Park Press. October 15, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
9. ^ "1st-half outburst keys Rutgers over Villanova". Staten Island Advance. October 22, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
10. ^ O'Brien, Ken (October 29, 1978). "Knights Roar over Lions". The Home News Sunday. New Brunswick, N.J. p. B1 - via Newspapers.com.
11. ^ "Dorn scores twice to lead Rutgers past Massachusetts". Asbury Park Press. November 5, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
12. ^ "Mistakes crack Temple". Daily Record. November 12, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
13. ^ O'Brien, Ken (November 19, 1978). "Victorious Rutgers Gets Bowl Bid". The Home News Sunday. New Brunswick, N.J. p. A1 - via Newspapers.com.
14. ^ White, Gordon S. Jr. (November 26, 1978). "Bowl-Bound Rutgers Is Upset by Colgate". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S8.
15. ^ "Arizona State stymies Rutgers". The Star-Ledger. December 17, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
16. ^ "Scarlet Schedules" (PDF), Rutgers Scarlet Knights Football 1978, Rutgers University, p. 0, 1978, archived from the original (PDF) on December 26, 2016, retrieved December 25, 2016
17. ^ "1978 Record" (PDF), Rutgers Football 1979, Rutgers University, p. 62, 1979, archived from the original (PDF) on December 26, 2016, retrieved December 25, 2016
18. ^ National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). "Bowl/All-Star Game Records" (PDF). 2011 NCAA Division I Football Records. NCAA. p. 37. Retrieved December 25, 2016.
19. ^ "Scarlet Coaching Staff" (PDF), Rutgers Scarlet Knights Football 1978, Rutgers University, pp. 6–7, 1978, archived from the original (PDF) on December 26, 2016, retrieved December 25, 20166-7&rft.date=1978&rft_id=http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/rutu/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/1978--21/prospectus/prospectus.pdf&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:1978+Rutgers+Scarlet+Knights+football+team" class="Z3988">

* v
* t
* e

Rutgers Scarlet Knights football

Venues|

* College Field (1869–1890)
* Neilson Field (1891–1938)
* Old Rutgers Stadium (1938–1992)
* Giants Stadium (alternate, 1976–1992, 1994-96; primary, 1993)
* SHI Stadium (1994–present)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Bowl games
* Princeton

Culture & lore|

* Marching band
* First American football game (painting)

People|

* Head coaches
* NFL draftees
* Statistical leaders

Seasons|

* 1869
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*[v]: View this template
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*[Conf.]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[No.]: Number