1978 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

1978 Pittsburgh Panthers football
Tangerine Bowl, L 17–30 vs. NC State Wolfpack
Conference	Independent
Record	8–4
Head coach	Jackie Sherrill (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Don Boyce (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Split backs
Defensive coordinator	Jimmy Johnson (2nd season)
Base defense	5–2
Home stadium	Pitt Stadium (capacity: 56,500)

1978 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 4 Penn State		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
North Texas State		–		–				9	–	2	–	0
East Carolina		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Navy		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
No. 7 Notre Dame		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Rutgers		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Florida State		–		–				8	–	3	–	0
Tennessee State		–		–				8	–	3	–	0
Temple		–		–				7	–	3	–	1
Pittsburgh		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
Holy Cross		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Louisville		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
UNLV		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Southern Miss		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Northeast Louisiana		–		–				6	–	4	–	1
Georgia Tech		–		–				7	–	5	–	0
Hawaii		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Miami (FL)		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
South Carolina		–		–				5	–	5	–	1
William & Mary		–		–				5	–	5	–	1
Cincinnati		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Villanova		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Army		–		–				4	–	6	–	1
Memphis State		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Tulane		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Air Force		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Colgate		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Richmond		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Syracuse		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Illinois State		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
West Virginia		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Boston College		–		–				0	–	11	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1978 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Panthers competed in the 1978 Tangerine Bowl.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 16	8:30 p.m.	at Tulane	No. 14	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA		W 24–6	32,658
September 23	1:30 p.m.	Temple	No. 11	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA		W 20–12	43,445
September 30	1:30 p.m.	North Carolina	No. 9	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA	ABC	W 20–16	50,439
October 7	1:30 p.m.	at Boston College	No. 9	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA		W 32–15	21,673
October 14	12:30 p.m.	at Notre Dame	No. 9	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	ABC	L 17–26	59,075
October 21	1:30 p.m.	Florida State	No. 15	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA		W 7–3	55,104
October 28	2:00 p.m.	at 18 Navy	No. 15	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD		L 11–21	32,909
November 4	1:00 p.m.	at Syracuse	No. 19	Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY (rivalry)		W 18–17	26,039
November 11	1:30 p.m.	West Virginia	No. 20	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (Backyard Brawl)		W 52–7	53,074
November 18	1:30 p.m.	Army	No. 18	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA		W 35–17	45,297
November 25	1:30 p.m.	at 1 Penn State	No. 15	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	ABC	L 10–17	77,465
December 23	8:00 p.m.	vs. NC State	No. 16	Orlando Stadium Orlando, FL (Tangerine Bowl)	Mizlou	L 17–30	31,356
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Coaching staff

1978 Pittsburgh Panthers football staff
	Coaching Staff Jackie Sherrill – Head Coach Jimmy Johnson – Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator Don Boyce – Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Line Foge Fazio – Linebackers Larry Holton – Defensive Backs Pat Jones – Defensive Front Joe Moore – Offensive Backs Joe Pendry – Quarterbacks Dave Wannstedt – Receivers			Support Staff Alex Kramer – Executive Assistant Bob Matey – Scouting Coordinator Kevin Dickey – Graduate Assistant Gary Davis – Graduate Assistant Tony Wise – Graduate Assistant			Strength and Conditioning Staff Bob Matey – Weight Program

Team players drafted into the NFL

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL Club
Gordon Jones	Wide Receiver	2	34	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Walt Brown	Center	5	131	Detroit Lions
Jeff Delaney	Defensive Back	7	190	Los Angeles Rams
Al Chesley	Linebacker	11	296	Philadelphia Eagles
David Logan	Nose Tackle	12	307	Tampa Bay Buccaneers