1978 Clemson Tigers football team

1978 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
	$ – Conference champion; Rankings from AP Poll

1978 Clemson Tigers football
1978 Clemson Tigers football
ACC champion; Gator Bowl champion
Gator Bowl, W 17–15 vs. Ohio State
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 7
AP	No. 6
1978 record	11–1 (6–0 ACC)
Head coach	Charley Pell (2nd season); Danny Ford (bowl game, 1st season);
Offensive coordinator	Jimmye Laycock (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Mickey Andrews (2nd season)
Captain	Steve Fuller, Randy Scott
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
	Seasons ← 1977 1979 →

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.

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]

Schedule[]

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 16	The Citadel*		Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC	W 58–3	54,075
September 23	at Georgia*	No. 8	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA (rivalry)	L 0–12	60,000
September 30	Villanova*		Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC	W 31–0	46,000
October 7	Virginia Tech*		Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC	W 38–7	53,800	^[4]
October 14	at Virginia		Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	W 30–14	19,243
October 21	Duke		Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC	W 28–8	51,109
October 28	at NC State	No. 20	Carter–Finley Stadium Raleigh, NC (Textile Bowl)	W 33–10	45,000
November 4	at Wake Forest	No. 16	Groves Stadium Winston-Salem, NC	W 51–6	30,400
November 11	North Carolina	No. 15	Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC	W 13–9	53,800
November 18	at No. 11 Maryland	No. 12	Byrd Stadium College Park, MD	W 28–24	51,376
November 25	South Carolina*	No. 10	Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC (Palmetto Bowl)	W 41–23	63,479	^[5]
December 29	vs. No. 20 Ohio State*	No. 7	Gator Bowl Stadium Jacksonville, FL (Gator Bowl)	W 17–15	72,011
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel[]

1978 Clemson Tigers football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
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.	#	Name	Class
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.	#	Name	Class
K		Obed Ariri
P		David Sims

Head coach

Charley Pell

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Danny Ford (OL)

Legend

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

Injured
Redshirt

Roster

Season summary[]

Gator Bowl (vs. Ohio State)[]

Gator Bowl: #7 Clemson Tigers (10–1) vs. #20 Ohio State Buckeyes (7–3–1)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Ohio St	0	9	0	6	15
Clemson	0	10	7	0	17

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

Second quarter

OSU – Bob Atha 27-yard field goal, 12:08. Ohio St 3–0. Drive: 8 plays, 72 yards.
CLEM – Steve Fuller 4-yard run (Obed Ariri kick), 5:03. Clemson 7–3. Drive: 15 plays, 80 yards.
OSU – Art Schlichter 4-yard run (kick failed), 1:21. Ohio St 9–7. Drive: 9 plays, 78 yards.
CLEM – Obed Ariri 47-yard field goal, 0:05. Clemson 10–9. Drive: 8 plays, 76 yards.

Third quarter

CLEM – Cliff Austin 1-yard run (Ariri kick), 2:18. Clemson 17–9. Drive: 19 plays, 84 yards.

Fourth quarter

OSU – Art Schlichter 1-yard run (run failed), 8:11. Clemson 17–15. Drive: 12 plays, 87 yards.

Top passers

OSU – Art Schlichter – 16/20, 205 yards, INT
CLEM – Steve Fuller – 9/20, 123 yards

Top rushers

OSU – Art Schlichter – 18 rushes, 70 yards, 2 TD
CLEM – Tracy Perry – 14 rushes, 54 yards

Warren Ratchford – 10 rushes, 54 yards

Top receivers

OSU – Doug Donley – 3 receptions, 54 yards
CLEM – Jerry Butler – 4 receptions, 44 yards

References[]

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

[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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v t Clemson Tigers football
Venues	Bowman Field (1900–1914) Riggs Field (1915–1941) Memorial Stadium (1942–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Alabama Auburn Boston College (O'Rourke–McFadden Trophy) Florida State Georgia Georgia Tech NC State (Textile Bowl) South Carolina
Culture & lore	History The Tiger "Tiger Rag" Marching band Clemson–South Carolina football brawl Safety The Fridge
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
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National championship seasons in bold

1978 Clemson Tigers football
ACC champion Gator Bowl champion
Gator Bowl, W 17–15 vs. Ohio State
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 7
AP	No. 6
1978 record	11–1 (6–0 ACC)
Head coach	Charley Pell (2nd season) Danny Ford (bowl game, 1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Jimmye Laycock (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Mickey Andrews (2nd season)
Captain	Steve Fuller, Randy Scott
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons ← 1977 1979 →

1978 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
v t	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 6 Clemson $	6	–	0	–	0	11	–	1	–	0
No. 20 Maryland	5	–	1	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
No. 18 NC State	4	–	2	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
North Carolina	3	–	3	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Duke	2	–	4	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Wake Forest	1	–	5	–	0	1	–	10	–	0
Virginia	0	–	6	–	0	2	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll