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1978 Utah Utes football
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
	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

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.

Schedule[edit]

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

^[2]^[3]

Personnel[edit]

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

Game summaries[edit]

BYU[edit]

BYU Cougars (7–2) at Utah Utes (5–3)

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

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

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

NFL draft[edit]

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[edit]

^ "Wyoming Cowboys defeat Utes 34-21". Casper Star-Tribune. October 22, 1978. p. 32 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "1979 Utah Football Media Guide". University of Utah Athletic Department. Archived from the original on December 10, 2012. Retrieved August 8, 2011.
^ "Ute Record Book" (PDF). University of Utah. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 13, 2011. Retrieved October 21, 2009.

[1] "Wyoming Cowboys defeat Utes 34-21". Casper Star-Tribune. October 22, 1978. p. 32 – via Newspapers.com.

['78_attend-2] "1979 Utah Football Media Guide". University of Utah Athletic Department. Archived from the original on December 10, 2012. Retrieved August 8, 2011.

[2009_Utah_Media_Guide-3] "Ute Record Book" (PDF). University of Utah. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 13, 2011. Retrieved October 21, 2009.

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Utah Utes football
Venues	Robert Rice Stadium (1927–1997) Rice–Eccles Stadium (1998–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games BYU: Holy War (Beehive Boot) Colorado: Rumble in the Rockies Utah State: Battle of the Brothers (Beehive Boot)
Culture & lore	Swoop "Utah Man" Pride of Utah Utah pass
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold