1978 Washington State Cougars football team

The 1978 Washington State Cougars football team was an American football team that represented Washington State University in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. Under new head coach Jim Walden, the Cougars compiled a 4–6–1 record (2–6 in Pac-10, last), and were outscored 296 to 276.^[1][2] The six home games were split evenly between Martin Stadium on campus in Pullman and Joe Albi Stadium in Spokane.

1978 Washington State Cougars football
Conference	Pacific-10 Conference
Record	4–6–1 (2–6 Pac-10)
Head coach	Jim Walden (1st season)
Home stadium	Martin Stadium, Joe Albi Stadium
Seasons ← 1977 1979 →

1978 Pacific-10 Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 2 USC $	6	–	1	–	0			12	–	1	–	0
No. 14 UCLA	6	–	2	–	0			8	–	3	–	1
Washington	6	–	2	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Arizona State	4	–	3	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
No. 17 Stanford	4	–	3	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
California	3	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Arizona	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Oregon	2	–	5	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Oregon State	2	–	6	–	0			3	–	7	–	1
Washington State	1	–	7	–	0			3	–	7	–	1
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The team's statistical leaders included Jack Thompson with 2,333 passing yards, Tali Ena with 728 rushing yards, and Mike Wilson with 451 receiving yards.^[3]

This was the first football season in the newly expanded Pac-10; the Cougars met the two new members, Arizona and Arizona State, but did not play the USC Trojans.

Senior quarterback Thompson was ninth in the balloting for the Heisman Trophy, and was the third overall selection of the 1979 NFL draft, taken by the Cincinnati Bengals.^[4]

The offensive backs coach in 1977 under Warren Powers, Walden was promoted that December and became the Cougars' fourth head coach in four seasons (Jim Sweeney (1975), Jackie Sherrill (1976), and Powers).^[5][6][7] He led the WSU program for nine years.

After this season, the running track in Martin Stadium was removed, the playing field was lowered, and the capacity was expanded with new lower seating.^{[8][9][10][11]}

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 9	UNLV*	Joe Albi Stadium Spokane, WA	W 34–7	26,250	[12]
September 16	Idaho*	Martin Stadium Pullman, WA (rivalry)	W 28–0	16,950	[13]
September 23	Arizona State	Joe Albi Stadium Spokane, WA	W 51–26	33,507	[14]
September 30	Army*	Michie Stadium West Point, NY	T 21–21	31,612	[15]
October 14	at No. 14 UCLA	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA	L 31–45	40,023	[16]
October 21	Stanford	Martin Stadium Pullman, WA	L 27–43	27,411	[17]
October 28	at Oregon ^	Autzen Stadium Eugene, OR	W 7–31	25,000	[18]
November 4	Oregon State	Martin Stadium Pullman, WA	L 31–32	20,061	[19]
November 11	at California	California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	L 14–22	28,750	[20]
November 18	at Arizona	Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ	L 24–31	49,557	[21]
November 25	Washington	Joe Albi Stadium Spokane, WA (Apple Cup)	L 8–38	35,187	[22]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^ Note: The Oregon game was later forfeited to Washington State by order of the Pacific-10 Conference

^[23]

Roster

1978 Washington State Cougars football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class TE 88 Ron Bull Sr QB 9 Clete Casper Fr C 77 Mark Chandless Sr RB 29 Tali Ena Jr RB 25 Harold Gillum Sr QB 18 Steve Grant  Sr TE 81 Gus Hobus Sr G 66 Steve Jackson Jr OT 72 Allan Kennedy So G 65 Tom Larsen Sr OT 62 Mike Lemke Sr QB 11 Samoa Samoa  Jr QB, RB 10 Brian Sickler So QB 14 Jack Thompson Sr TB 26 Mike Washington So FL 21 Jim Whatley So RB 31 Ray Williams Jr SE 86 Mike Wilson So	Defense Pos. # Name Class SS 19 Jack Brossman Sr LB 32 Sam Busch Jr MG 40 Tom Everson Sr CB 41 Jeff Files Fr LB 96 Raleigh Fletcher Sr MG 61 Brian Flones So FS 28 Bob Gregor Jr DT 76 Spud Harris Jr DE 58 Mark Hicks Sr LB 35 Jeff Jones Jr LB 39 Don Nevels Jr LB 47 Scott Pelluer So DT 68 Greg Porter So DE 38 Mel Sanders Jr CB 17 Randall Simmons Sr CB 13 Mike Snow Jr DT 64 Steve Swift Sr DE 36 Tom Thompson Sr DT 50 George Yarno Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P 16 Tim Davey Fr K 22 Paul Watson Sr	Head coach Jim Walden (1st year) Coordinators/assistant coaches Mike Church – (LB) Gary Gagnon – (RB) Rich Glover – (DL) Lindsay Hughes – (DE) Steve Morton – (TE) Pat Ruel – (OL) Al Sandahl – (QB) Dave Walker – (DL) Jerry Wamsley – (DB) Ken Woody – (WR) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

^{[24][25][26][27]}

Awards

• All-American: QB Jack Thompson (Playboy, Preseason, Sporting News, 1st)
• All-Pac-10: QB Jack Thompson (1st), C Mark Chandless
• All-West Coast: Jack Thompson (UPI, 2nd)
• Frank Butler Award: Jack Thompson
• J. Fred Bohler Award: Tom Larsen
• Laurie Niemi Award: Mark Chandless

Source:^[23]

NFL Draft

One Cougar was selected in the 1979 NFL draft.

Player	Position	Round	Overall	Franchise
Jack Thompson	QB	1	3	Cincinnati Bengals

^[4]

References

1. "1978 Washington State Cougars Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
2. "2016 Media Guide" (PDF). WSUCougars.com. Washington State Cougars Athletics. p. 76. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 21, 2016. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
3. "1978 Washington State Cougars Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 24, 2016.
4. "Thompson 3rd in NFL draft". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). May 3, 1979. p. 37.
5. Killen, John (December 19, 1977). "WSU hires Waldens, who plans to stay". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
6. Missildine, Harry (December 19, 1977). "Walden's players' choice at WSU". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 19.
7. Brown, Bruce (December 19, 1977). "WSU makes Walden's dreams come true". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 25.
8. "Hanson directs stadium drive". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington. October 10, 1978. p. 19.
9. "Martin Stadium on schedule". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). April 1, 1979. p. C3.
10. "Construction to start". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). December 21, 1978. p. 27.
11. "New Martin Stadium". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). (photo). September 7, 1979. p. 1.
12. "Thompson leads WSU win". The Spokesman-Review. September 10, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Error-prone UI falls to Cougars". The Spokesman-Review. September 17, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Throwin' Samoan drills Devils, 51–26". The Arizona Republic. September 24, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
15. "Army rallies for 21–21 tie". The Daily Item. October 1, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
16. "WSU falls in Pac-10 game". The Bellingham Herald. October 15, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
17. "Cougs bombed 43–27". The News Tribune. October 22, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
18. "Oregon upsets Washington State". The Idaho Statesman. October 29, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
19. "Walford FG upsets Cougars, 32–31". The Olympian. November 5, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
20. "Jones' runs spark Bears". The Sunday Oregonian. November 12, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
21. "Arizona claims 31–24 win". The El Paso Times. November 19, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
22. "One for the record book: Huskies 38–8". Tri-City Herald. November 26, 1978. Retrieved October 22, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
23. 2009 Washington State football media guide
24. "Rebels vs. Cougars: probable starters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). September 9, 1978. p. 17.
25. Van Sickel, Charlie (September 11, 1978). "Cougar QBs abound". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). p. 21.
26. "Beavers vs. Cougars: probable starters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). November 4, 1978. p. 19.
27. "Huskies vs. Cougars: probable starters". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). November 25, 1978. p. 21.

External links

• 1978 Washington State Cougars at College Football @ Sports-Reference.com
• Game program: UNLV vs. WSU at Spokane – September 9, 1978
• Game program: Idaho at WSU – September 16, 1978
• Game program: Arizona State vs. WSU at Spokane – September 23, 1978
• Game program: Stanford at WSU – October 21, 1978
• Game program: Oregon State at WSU – November 4, 1978
• Game program: Washington vs. WSU at Spokane – November 25, 1978