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. 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 |
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| Home stadium | Martin Stadium, Joe Albi Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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.
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.
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). 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.