1978 Purdue Boilermakers football team

1978 Purdue Boilermakers football
1978 Purdue Boilermakers football
Peach Bowl champion
Peach Bowl, W 41–21 vs. Georgia Tech
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 13
AP	No. 13
Record	9–2–1 (6–1–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	Jim Young (2nd season);
Defensive coordinator	Leon Burtnett (2nd season)
MVP	Keena Turner
Captain	Tim Eubank, Willie Harris
Home stadium	Ross–Ade 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 1978 Purdue Boilermakers football team represented Purdue University in the 1978 Big Ten Conference football season. Led by second-year head coach Jim Young, the Boilermakers compiled an overall record of 9–2–1 with a mark of 6–1–1 in conference play, placing third in the Big Ten. Purdue was invited to the Peach Bowl, where the Boilermakers defeated Georgia Tech. The team played home games at Ross–Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 16	Michigan State		Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN		W 21–14	60,355
September 23	Ohio*		Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN		W 24–0	55,172
September 30	at Notre Dame*		Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)		L 6–10	59,075
October 7	Wake Forest*		Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN		W 14–7	54,362	^[1]
October 14	No. 16 Ohio State		Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN		W 27–16	69,465
October 21	at Illinois	No. 19	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)		W 13–0	50,918
October 28	at Iowa	No. 17	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA		W 34–7	57,640
November 4	Northwestern	No. 14	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN		W 31–0	64,232
November 11	at Wisconsin	No. 12	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI		T 24–24	78,986
November 18	at No. 7 Michigan	No. 15	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI		L 6–24	106,410	^[2]^[3]
November 25	Indiana	No. 18	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN		W 20–7	69,918
December 25	vs. Georgia Tech	No. 17	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium Atlanta, GA (Peach Bowl)	CBS	W 41–21	20,277	^[4]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[5]

Game summaries

Michigan State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Michigan State	14	0	0	0	14
• Purdue	0	0	14	7	21

Date: September 16
Location: Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, IN
Game attendance: 60,355

^[6]

John Macon 19 rushes, 120 yards

Ohio

At Notre Dame

Wake Forest

Ohio State

	1	2	3	4	Total
Ohio St	0	7	3	6	16
• Purdue	3	0	14	10	27

Date: October 14
Location: Ross–Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, IN
Game attendance: 69,465

^[7]

At Illinois

John Macon 32 rushes, 126 yards
Russell Pope 25 rushes, 118 yards

At Iowa

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Purdue	10	7	0	17	34
Iowa	0	0	7	0	7

Date: October 28
Location: Kinnick Stadium, Iowa City, Iowa
Game attendance: 57,460

^[8]

Northwestern

At Wisconsin

John Macon 32 rushes, 117 yards

At Michigan

Indiana

Mike Augustyniak 23 rushes, 135 yards

Peach Bowl (vs. Georgia Tech)

Personnel

1978 Purdue Boilermakers football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
RB		Mike Augustyniak
QB		Steve Barr
WR		Bart Burrell
RB		Frank Doria
TE		Tim Eubank
OT		Henry Fiel
WR		Tony Gallivan
RB		Labraunt Harris
WR		Mike Harris
G		John LeFeber
QB	`9`	Mark Herrmann	So
RB		Wally Jones
RB		Ron Keith
TE		Neil Lucklanow
FB		John Macon
RB		Don McAfee
RB		Ben McCall
OT		Steve McKenzie
RB		Jim Meyer
QB		Chuck Oliver
RB		Russell Pope
RB		Robert Pruitt
C		Pete Quinn
RB		Dwight Robinson
G		Dale Schwan
WR		Ray Smith
RB		Robert Williams
TE		Dave Young

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DT		Calvin Clark
DE		Ruben Floyd
S		Willie Harris
DT		Marcus Jackson
LB		Mark Johnason
MG		Ken Loushin
LB		Mike Marks
CB		Rick Moss
LB		Kevin Motts
CB		Wayne Smith
S		Rock Supan
DE		Keena Turner

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
P		Dave Eagin
P		Joe Linville
K		Scott Sovereen

Head coach

Jim Young

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Awards

All-Big Ten

Ken Loushin (1st)
Keena Turner (1st)
Mark Herrmann (2nd)
Marcus Jackson (2nd)
John LeFeber (2nd)
John Macon (2nd)
Steve McKenzie (2nd)
Dale Schwan (2nd)
Scott Sovereen (2nd)

Big Ten Coach of the Year: Jim Young

Statistics

Passing

Player	Comp	Att	Yards	TD	INT
Herrmann	152	274	1,904	14	12

References

^ "Late Purdue rally clips Wake Forest". The Kokomo Tribune. October 8, 1978. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Tom Henderson (November 19, 1978). "U-M stays on Rose Bowl path, 24-6: Wolverines cut Purdue down to size". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1E, 8E – via Newspapers.com.
^ Rick Maddock (November 19, 1978). "Bring on the Bucks! Wolverines crush Purdue hopes, 24-6". The Michigan Daily. pp. 1, 8 – via Bentley Historical Library.
^ "Boilers rip Ga. Tech 41–21". The Times-Mail. December 26, 1978. Retrieved July 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "2022 Purdue Football Record Book" (PDF). Purdue University Athletics. p. 90. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
^ "Macon's Run Lifts Purdue Over Spartans." Palm Beach Post. 1978 Sept 17.
^ Eugene Register-Guard. 1978 Oct 15.
^ "Purdue cuts down Iowa again." Milwaukee Journal. 1978 Oct 29.