1978 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team
The 1978 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team represented the University of Tulsa during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their second year under head coach John Cooper, the Golden Hurricane compiled a 9–2 record (3-1 against conference opponents) and finished in second place in the Missouri Valley Conference.[1] The team defeated Virginia Tech (35-33), Kansas State (24-14), Louisville (24-7), Cincinnati (27-26), and Wichita State (27-13), but lost to No. 2 ranked Arkansas (13-21) and to Missouri Valley Conference champion New Mexico State (20-23).[2]
| 1978 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Missouri Valley Conference |
| 1978 record | 9–2 (3–1 MVC) |
| Head coach | John Cooper (2nd season) |
| Home stadium | Skelly Stadium Capacity: (40,385) |
| 1978 Missouri Valley Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New Mexico State $ | 5 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tulsa | 4 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Southern Illinois | 3 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Drake | 3 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana State | 2 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wichita State | 2 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| West Texas State | 1 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The team's statistical leaders included quarterback David Rader with 1,683 passing yards, Sherman Johnson with 826 rushing yards, and Rickey Watts with 730 receiving yards.[3] Head coach John Cooper was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Site | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| September 2 | Arkansas State* |
| W 21–20 |
| September 9 | at Virginia Tech* | W 35–33 | |
| September 16 | Southwestern Louisiana |
| W 10–3 |
| September 23 | Kansas State* |
| W 24–14 |
| September 30 | at No. 2 Arkansas* | L 13–21 | |
| October 7 | Louisville* |
| W 24–7 |
| October 14 | at New Mexico State | L 20–23 | |
| October 21 | at Cincinnati* | W 27–26 | |
| October 28 | Drake |
| W 44–20 |
| November 4 | West Texas State |
| W 44–23 |
| November 11 | at Wichita State | W 27–13 | |
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References
- "1978 Missouri Valley Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
- "1978 Tulsa Golden Hurricane Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
- "1978 Tulsa Golden Hurricane Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 27, 2016.