1978 Clemson Tigers football team

The 1978 Clemson Tigers football team was an American football team that represented Clemson University in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. In its second season under head coach Charley Pell, the team compiled an 11–1 record (6–0 against conference opponents), won the ACC championship, defeated Ohio State in the 1978 Gator Bowl, was ranked No. 6 in the final AP and Coaches Polls, and outscored opponents by a total of 368 to 131.[1][2] The team played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina.

1978 Clemson Tigers football
ACC champion
Gator Bowl champion
Gator Bowl, W 17–15 vs. Ohio State
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 7
APNo. 6
Record11–1 (6–0 ACC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorJimmye Laycock (2nd season)
Defensive coordinatorMickey Andrews (2nd season)
CaptainSteve Fuller, Randy Scott
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
1978 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 6 Clemson $ 6 –0 –011 –1 –0
No. 20 Maryland 5 –1 –09 –3 –0
No. 18 NC State 4 –2 –09 –3 –0
North Carolina 3 –3 –05 –6 –0
Duke 2 –4 –04 –7 –0
Wake Forest 1 –5 –01 –10 –0
Virginia 0 –6 –02 –9 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

Steve Fuller and Randy Scott were the team captains. The team's statistical leaders included Steve Fuller with 1,515 passing yards, Lester Brown with 1,022 rushing yards and 102 points scored, and Jerry Butler with 908 receiving yards.[3]

The Gator Bowl victory became infamous due to the fact that Ohio State's legendary head coach Woody Hayes punched Clemson player Charlie Bauman during the game on the Buckeyes sideline after a play. The incident was caught on live television, and Hayes resigned as Ohio State head coach the next day before the team even left Jacksonville. Hayes would never coach again.

Schedule
DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 16 The Citadel*
W 58–354,075
September 23 at Georgia*
L 0–1260,000
September 30 Villanova*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Clemson, SC
W 31–046,000
October 7 Virginia Tech*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Clemson, SC
W 38–753,800[4]
October 14 at Virginia
W 30–1419,243
October 21 Duke
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Clemson, SC
W 28–851,109
October 28 at NC StateNo. 20
W 33–1045,000
November 4 at Wake ForestNo. 16
W 51–630,400
November 11 North CarolinaNo. 15
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Clemson, SC
W 13–953,800
November 18 at No. 11 MarylandNo. 12
W 28–2451,376
November 25 South Carolina*No. 10
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Clemson, SC (rivalry)
W 41–2363,479[5]
December 29 vs. No. 20 Ohio State*No. 7
W 17–1572,011
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel
1978 Clemson Tigers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
TE Ed Abreu
RB Cliff Austin
RB Rick Basich
OL Jeff Bostic
OL Joe Bostic
TE Cliff Bray
RB Lester Brown
WR Jerry Butler
WR Dwight Clark
TE Mark Clifford
OL Chris Dulce
QB Steve Fuller
WR Jerry Gaillard
QB Mike Gasque
RB Harold Goggins
WR JD Haglan
OL Bill Hudson
OL Steve Kenney
TE Anthony King
QB Billy Lott
OL Lee Nanney
RB Tracy Perry
RB Warren Ratchford
RB Marvin Sims
OL Mark Thornton
WR Perry Tuttle
RB Paul Williams
WR Eric Young
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
DL Charlie Bauman
DL Jonathan Brooks
LB Bubba Brown
DB Jack Cain
DL Steve Durham
DB Eddie Geathers
DL Steve Gibbs
DB Willie Jordan
DL David Reed
DB Bubba Rollins
DB Steve Ryan
LB Randy Scott
DL Jim Stuckey
DL Rich Tuten
DB Rex Varn
DL Toney Williams
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
K Obed Ariri
P David Sims
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Roster

Game summaries

Gator Bowl (vs. Ohio State)
Main article: 1978 Gator Bowl
See also: 1978 Ohio State Buckeyes football team
Gator Bowl: #7 Clemson Tigers (10–1) vs. #20 Ohio State Buckeyes (7–3–1)
Period 1 2 34Total
Ohio St 0 9 0615
Clemson 0 10 7017

at Gator Bowl, Jacksonville, Florida

  • Date: December 29, 1978
  • Game time: 9:00 p.m. EST
  • Game attendance: 72,011
  • Referee: Jim Artley
  • TV: ABC
  • Box Score
Game information

References
  1. "2016 Media Guide" (PDF). clemsontigers.com. Clemson Athletics. 2016. pp. 200–208. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
  2. "1978 Clemson Tigers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 3, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "1978 Clemson Tigers Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 4, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Tigers feast on Gobblers". The Charlotte Observer. October 8, 1978. Retrieved December 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. Kerry Capps (November 26, 1978). "Tigers defeat Gamecocks". The Greenville News. p. 1C – via Newspapers.com.
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