1978 Northwestern Wildcats football team

The 1978 Northwestern Wildcats team represented Northwestern University during the 1978 Big Ten Conference football season. In their first year under head coach Rick Venturi, the Wildcats compiled a 0–10–1 record (0–8–1 against Big Ten Conference opponents) and finished in last place in the Big Ten Conference.^[2]

1978 Northwestern Wildcats football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	0–10–1 (0–8–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	Rick Venturi (1st season)
Captains	Pat Geegan[1] Mike Kranz
Home stadium	Dyche 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

The team's offensive leaders were quarterback Kevin Strasser with 1,526 passing yards, Mike Cammon with 322 rushing yards, and Steve Bogan with 353 receiving yards.^[3]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 9	at Illinois	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)	T 0–0	40,091	[4]
September 16	at Iowa	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	L 3–20	56,840	[5]
September 23	Wisconsin	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	L 7–28	23,960	[6]
September 30	at No. 16 Colorado*	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	L 7–55	44,709	[7]
October 7	Arizona State*	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	L 14–56	17,009	[8]
October 14	at Indiana	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	L 10–38	36,456	[9]
October 21	Minnesota	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	L 14–38	16,452	[10]
October 28	at Ohio State	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	L 20–63	87,296	[11]
November 4	at No. 14 Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	L 0–31	64,232	[12]
November 11	No. 7 Michigan	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL (rivalry)	L 14–59	27,013	[13]
November 18	No. 16 Michigan State	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	L 3–52	14,157	[14]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References

1. "Year-by-Year Results" (PDF). 2007. p. 148. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 16, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
2. "1978 Northwestern Wildcats Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
3. "1978 Northwestern Wildcats Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
4. "Illinois, Northwestern play to scoreless tie". The Decatur Daily Review. September 10, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Tricky Hawkeyes rip Northwestern". The Pantagraph. September 17, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Badgers run over Wildcats 28–7". Green Bay Press-Gazette. September 24, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Colorado wins easily". The Pantagraph. October 1, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Sun Devils hammer winless Northwestern". The Sioux City Journal. October 8, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "IU capitalizes on Wildcat mistakes for 38–10 victory". The Kokomo Tribune. October 15, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Gamble pays off as Gophers romp". Wisconsin State Journal. October 22, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Ohio State offense rolls". Journal and Courier. October 29, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Purdue romps, 31–0". Dayton Daily News. November 5, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
13. Joe Lapointe (November 12, 1978). "Leach leads Wolverines' romp, 59–14". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1E, 9E – via Newspapers.com.
14. "MSU routs Wildcats". The Post-Crescent. November 19, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.