1978 Utah Utes football team

The 1978 Utah Utes football team was an American football team that represented the University of Utah as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their second season under head coach Wayne Howard, the Utes compiled an overall record of 8–3 with a mark of 4–2 against conference opponents, tying for second place in the WAC. Home games were played on campus at Robert Rice Stadium in Salt Lake City.

1978 Utah Utes football
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Record	8–3 (4–2 WAC)
Head coach	Wayne Howard (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Ron McBride (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Tom Gadd (2nd season)
Home stadium	Robert Rice Stadium
Seasons ← 1977 1979 →

1978 Western Athletic Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
BYU $	5	–	1	–	0			9	–	4	–	0
Utah	4	–	2	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
Wyoming	4	–	2	–	0			5	–	7	–	0
New Mexico	3	–	3	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Colorado State	2	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
San Diego State	2	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
UTEP	1	–	5	–	0			1	–	11	–	0
$ – Conference champion

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 9	7:30 pm	Idaho State*	Robert Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, UT	W 56–0	25,822	[1]
September 23	6:30 pm	at Houston*	Houston Astrodome Houston, TX	L 25–42	30,004	[2]
September 30	7:30 pm	Colorado State	Robert Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, UT	W 30–6	27,821	[3]
October 7	12:00 pm	at Iowa*	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA	W 13–9	51,170	[4]
October 14	7:30 pm	Weber State*	Robert Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, UT	W 30–7	23,458	[5]
October 21	1:30 pm	at Wyoming	War Memorial Stadium Laramie, WY	L 21–34	20,758	[6]
November 4	1:30 pm	New Mexico	Robert Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, UT	L 12–24	24,182	[7]
November 11	7:30 pm	at UTEP	Sun Bowl El Paso, TX	W 38–0	12,300	[8]
November 18	1:30 pm	BYU	Robert Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, UT (rivalry)	W 23–22	29,326	[9]
November 25	1:30 pm	at Utah State*	Romney Stadium Logan, UT (rivalry)	W 23–20	16,509	[10]
December 2	7:00 pm	at San Diego State	San Diego Stadium San Diego, CA	W 20–18	30,899	[11]
*Non-conference game Homecoming All times are in Mountain time

^[12][13][14]

Game summaries

BYU

See also: Holy War (BYU–Utah)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
BYU	10	6	6	0	22
Utah	0	0	7	16	23

Game information

First quarter BYU – Brent Johnson 20-yard field goal. BYU 3–0. BYU – Lloyd Jones 37-yard pass from Jim McMahon (Brent Johnson kick). BYU 10–0. Second quarter BYU – Brent Johnson 52-yard field goal. BYU 13–0. BYU – Brent Johnson 21-yard field goal. BYU 16–0. Third quarter UTAH – James Teahan 25-yard pass from Randy Gomez (Jeff Hucko kick). BYU 16–7. BYU – Dave Francis 20-yard interception return (kick failed). BYU 22–7. Fourth quarter UTAH – Jeff Hucko 37-yard field goal. BYU 22–10. UTAH – Tony Lindsay 42-yard pass from Randy Gomez (Jeff Hucko kick). BYU 22-17. UTAH – Frank Henry 19-yard pass from Randy Gomez (pass failed), 2:15. Utah 23-22. Top passers BYU – Jim McMahon – 15/38, 249 yards, TD UTAH – Randy Gomez – 20/31, 265 yards, 3 TD, 2 INT Top rushers BYU – Lloyd Jones – 1 rush, 32 yards UTAH – Tony Lindsay – 30 rushes, 104 yards Top receivers BYU – Lloyd Jones – 4 receptions, 67 yards UTAH – James Teahan – 5 receptions, 85 yards, TD

BYU Cougars (7–2) at Utah Utes (5–3)

at Robert Rice Stadium, Salt Lake City, Utah

• Date: November 18, 1978
• Game weather: Sunny, 43 °F (6 °C)
• Game attendance: 29,326
• Box Score

External videos
Game highlights

Personnel

1978 Utah Utes football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB Randy Gomez   Frank Henry   Tony Lindsay FB Mike Moseley   James Teahan	Defense Pos. # Name Class   Mike Bailey   Jeff Griffin   Jeff Lyall   Guy Morrell   Tony Reed   Derek Washington   James Wilson	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K Jeff Hucko	Head coach Wayne Howard Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

NFL draft

One Utah player was selected in the 1979 NFL draft.

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL team
Rick Partridge	Punter	8	208	Green Bay Packers

References

1. "Utes cruise past Bengals". The Daily Herald. September 10, 1978. Retrieved September 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Houston captures 42–25 win". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. September 24, 1978. Retrieved October 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Utes blast Rams, 30–6". The Daily Herald. October 1, 1978. Retrieved October 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Lightly regarded Ute QB stings Iowa". The Sioux City Journal. October 8, 1978. Retrieved October 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Utah swamps Weber State". Arizona Daily Sun. October 15, 1978. Retrieved September 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Wyoming Cowboys defeat Utes 34–21". Casper Star-Tribune. October 22, 1978. p. 32. Retrieved September 9, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Lobos stop Utah". The Salt Lake Tribune. November 5, 1978. Retrieved October 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Utes blitz Miners, 38–0". The Daily Herald. November 12, 1978. Retrieved October 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Gomez leads Utes past Cougars, 23–22". The Daily Herald. November 19, 1978. Retrieved October 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Utah scores late, defeats Utah State". Great Falls Tribune. November 26, 1978. Retrieved October 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Home-field edge fails Aztecs, 20–18". The Los Angeles Times. December 3, 1978. Retrieved October 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "1979 Utah Football Media Guide". University of Utah Athletic Department. Archived from the original on December 10, 2012. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
13. "Ute Record Book" (PDF). University of Utah. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 13, 2011. Retrieved October 21, 2009.
14. "1978 Utah Utes Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 19, 2024.