1978 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

The 1978 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the 1978 Big Ten Conference football season. In their seventh and final year under head coach Cal Stoll, the Golden Gophers compiled a 7–5 record but were outscored by their opponents by a combined total of 267 to 210.^[1]

1978 Minnesota Golden Gophers football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	5–6 (4–4 Big Ten)
Head coach	Cal Stoll (7th season)
MVP	Marion Barber Jr.
Captain	Stan Systma
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons ← 1977 1979 →

1978 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 5 Michigan +	7	–	1	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 12 Michigan State +	7	–	1	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
No. 13 Purdue	6	–	1	–	1			9	–	2	–	1
Ohio State	6	–	2	–	0			7	–	4	–	1
Minnesota	4	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Wisconsin	3	–	4	–	2			5	–	4	–	2
Indiana	3	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Iowa	2	–	6	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Illinois	0	–	6	–	2			1	–	8	–	2
Northwestern	0	–	8	–	1			0	–	10	–	1
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

Tailback Marion Barber Jr. received the team's Most Valuable Player award. Barber Jr., kicker Paul Rogind, defensive back Keith Brown and defensive end Stan Sytsma were named All-Big Ten first team. Nose guard Doug Friberg and defensive tackle Jim Ronan were named All-Big Ten second team. Sytsma was named Academic All-Big Ten.^[2]

Total attendance for the season was 238,072, which averaged to 39,678. The season high for attendance was against Ohio State.^[3]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 16	Toledo*	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	W 38–12	31,223	[4]
September 23	No. 16 Ohio State	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	L 10–27	55,200	[5]
September 30	at No. 18 UCLA*	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	L 3–17	40,369	[6]
October 7	Oregon State*	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	L 14–17	35,083	[7]
October 14	Iowa	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)	W 22–20	51,381	[8]
October 21	at Northwestern	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	W 38–14	16,452	[9]
October 28	at No. 8 Michigan	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (Little Brown Jug)	L 10–42	105,308	[10][11]
November 4	Indiana	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	W 32–31	39,797	[12]
November 11	at No. 17 Michigan State	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	L 9–33	72,122	[13]
November 18	Illinois	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	W 24–6	25,388	[14]
November 25	at Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI (rivalry)	L 10–48	61,000	[15]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References

1. "1978 Minnesota Golden Gophers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
2. Keiser, Jeff (2007), 2007 Media Guide (PDF), pp. 179–182^{[permanent dead link]}
3. Keiser, Jeff (2007), 2007 Media Guide (PDF), p. 160^{[permanent dead link]}
4. "Gophers defuse Toledo, 38–12". Journal and Courier. September 17, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Ohio State 'rushes' to victory". Sunday News. September 24, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Bruins down stubborn Gophers". Tri-City Herald. October 1, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Oregon State stuns Gophers". The Sioux City Journal. October 8, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Gophers beat Iowa, 22–20". The Pantagraph. October 15, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Gamble pays off as Gophers romp". Wisconsin State Journal. October 22, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
10. Tom Henderson (October 29, 1978). "Leach bring Brown Jug back, 42–10". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1E, 9E. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
11. Paul Campbell (October 29, 1978). "Homecoming Victory, 42–10: Wolverines dig Gophers' hole; 'Brown Jug' returns". The Michigan Daily. pp. 1, 9 – via Bentley Historical Library.
12. "Last-chance kick caps Gopher rally". The Des Moines Register. November 5, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Michigan State rolls past Minnesota 33–9". The Decatur Daily Review. November 12, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Soph Barber tops 1,000 as Minnesota hammers Illinois". The Rock Island Argus. November 19, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
15. "Badgers recover blast Gophers 48–10". The Courier. November 26, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.