1978 North Texas State Mean Green football team

The 1978 North Texas State Mean Green football team represented North Texas State University—now known as the University of North Texas—during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. In its sixth and final season under head coach Hayden Fry, the team compiled a 9–2 record. The team primarily played its home games at Fouts Field in Denton, Texas, and three other games at Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas.

1978 North Texas State Mean Green football
Conference	Independent
Record	9–2
Head coach	Hayden Fry (6th season)
Home stadium	Fouts Field (c. 20,000) Texas Stadium (c. 65,000)
Seasons ← 1977 1979 →

1978 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

v t e	Conf							Overall
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

This would mark the final season North Texas State played more than two games, home or neutral, at Texas Stadium (the home of the Dallas Cowboys at the time) after SMU gained full-time access to the venue in 1979.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 2	UTEP	Fouts Field Denton, TX	W 49–0	17,200	[1]
September 9	Mississippi State	Texas Stadium Irving, TX	L 5–17	21,000	[2]
September 16	vs. Texas–Arlington	Texas Stadium Irving, TX	W 28–23	16,821	[3]
September 23	at New Mexico State	Aggie Memorial Stadium Las Cruces, NM	W 22–21	13,196	[4]
September 30	Oklahoma State	Texas Stadium Irving, TX	W 12–7	21,800	[5]
October 7	at West Texas State	Kimbrough Memorial Stadium Canyon, TX	W 35–0	17,660	[6]
October 14	at No. 12 Texas	Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, TX	L 16–26	63,000	[7]
October 28	at Louisiana Tech	State Fair Stadium Shreveport, LA	W 16–14	6,510	[8]
November 4	Southern Miss	Fouts Field Denton, TX	W 25–12	18,400	[9]
November 11	Northeast Louisiana	Fouts Field Denton, TX	W 28–6	14,400	[10]
November 18	at Memphis State	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN	W 41–24	13,300	[11]
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

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Game summaries

Mississippi State

See also: 1978 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team

Oklahoma State

See also: 1978 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team

At Texas

North Texas State at Texas

1 2 3 4 Total Mean Green 7 2 7 0 16 • No. 12 Longhorns 0 16 7 3 26 Date: October 14 Location: Texas Memorial Stadium, Austin, Texas Game start: 7:01 pm CDT Elapsed time: 2:33 Game attendance: 63,000 Game weather: 71 °F (22 °C), Clear, Wind N 5 mph (8.0 km/h)

Scoring summary 1 6:13 UNT Murray 38-yard pass from Case (Hamm kick) UNT 7–0 2 13:32 UNT Safety (Erxleben fumbled out of end zone) UNT 9–0 2 1:48 TEX Jam Jones 1-yard run (Erxleben kick) UNT 9–7 2 1:06 TEX Safety (Snap out of end zone) Tied 9–9 2 0:17 TEX Lam Jones 41-yard pass from McEachern (Erxleben kick) Texas 16–9 3 8:31 TEX Studdard 13-yard pass from McEachern (Erxleben kick) Texas 23–9 3 3:10 UNT Jackson 2-yard run (Hamm kick) Texas 23–16 4 2:37 TEX Erxleben 47-yard field goal Texas 26–16

See also: 1978 Texas Longhorns football team

Roster

1978 North Texas Mean Green football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 8 Jordan Case Jr RB   Bernard Jackson Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DL   Reginald Lewis Sr LB   Burks Washington Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Hayden Fry Coordinators/assistant coaches Bill Brashier Bill Snyder Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Team players in the 1979 NFL draft

Main article: 1979 NFL draft

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Reginald Lewis	DE	3	78	Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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References

1. "NT punishes UTEP as Case shines". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. September 3, 1978. Retrieved October 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Bulldogs top N. Texas State". The Tampa Tribune-Times. September 10, 1978. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "N. Texas rips UTA". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. September 17, 1978. p. 1B. Retrieved March 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "North Texas State escapes, 22–21". The Des Moines Register. September 24, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "N. Texas State 12, Oklahoma State 7". Omaha World-Herald. October 1, 1978. Retrieved October 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "An easy victory for North Texas". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. October 8, 1978. Retrieved April 30, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Longhorns gore NTSU". The Kilgore News Herald. October 15, 1978. Retrieved October 20, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Eagles flutter by La. Tech 16–14". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. October 29, 1978. Retrieved July 1, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Sub Stevenson in star's role as NTSU rolls". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. November 5, 1978. Retrieved March 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "NT postseason hopes alive after 28–6 win over NE La". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. November 11, 1978. p. 4B. Retrieved March 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Tigers' second half surge falls short against Eagles". The Commercial Appeal. November 19, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "1978 North Texas Mean Green Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
13. "2018 North Texas Football Fact Book" (PDF). University of North Texas Athletic Department. Retrieved August 18, 2019.
14. "1979 NFL Draft". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 18, 2019.