1978 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team

The 1978 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team represented the University of Tulsa as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their second year under head coach John Cooper, the Golden Hurricane compiled an overall record of 9–2 record with a mark of 4–1 in conference play, placing second in the MVC.^[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 (21–13) and MVC champion New Mexico State (23–20).^[2]

1978 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	9–2 (4–1 MVC)
Head coach	John Cooper (2nd season)
Home stadium	Skelly Stadium
Seasons ← 1977 1979 →

1978 Missouri Valley Conference football standings

v t e	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
$ – Conference champion

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	Attendance	Source
September 2	Arkansas State*	Skelly Stadium Tulsa, OK	W 21–20	20,900	[4]
September 9	at Virginia Tech*	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	W 35–33	26,000	[5]
September 16	Southwestern Louisiana*	Skelly Stadium Tulsa, OK	W 10–3	21,500	[6]
September 23	Kansas State*	Skelly Stadium Tulsa, OK	W 24–14	22,000	[7]
September 30	at No. 2 Arkansas*	Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR	L 13–21	45,435	[8]
October 7	Louisville[n 1]	Skelly Stadium Tulsa, OK	W 24–7	20,500	[9]
October 14	at New Mexico State	Aggie Memorial Stadium Las Cruces, NM	L 20–23	12,337	[10]
October 21	at Cincinnati*	Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, OH	W 27–26	11,521	[11]
October 28	Drake	Skelly Stadium Tulsa, OK	W 44–20	17,500	[12]
November 4	West Texas State	Skelly Stadium Tulsa, OK	W 44–23	18,250	[13]
November 11	at Wichita State	Cessna Stadium Wichita, KS	W 27–13	6,519	[14]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[2][15]

Notes

1. Designated conference game

After the season

1979 NFL draft

The following Golden Hurricane players were selected in the 1979 NFL draft following the season.^[16][17]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL club
2	39	Rickey Watts	Wide receiver	Chicago Bears
4	106	Eddie Hare	Punter	New England Patriots
8	202	Doug Panfil	Guard	New Orleans Saints
11	295	David Rader	Quarterback	San Diego Chargers