1978 Jackson State Tigers football team

1978 Jackson State Tigers football
1978 Jackson State Tigers football
NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal, L 10–15 vs. Florida A&M
Conference	Southwestern Athletic Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 2 (NCAA Division I-AA)
Record	10–2 (5–1 SWAC)
Head coach	W. C. Gorden (3rd season);
Home stadium	Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium
	Seasons ← 1977 1979 →

1978 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Grambling State $	5	–	0	–	1	9	–	1	–	1
No. 2 Jackson State ^	5	–	1	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
Mississippi Valley State	3	–	2	–	1	6	–	3	–	1
Alcorn State	2	–	3	–	1	5	–	4	–	1
Southern	2	–	4	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Texas Southern	1	–	4	–	1	3	–	7	–	1
Prairie View A&M	1	–	5	–	0	3	–	7	–	0

$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from Associated Press poll

The 1978 Jackson State Tigers football team represented Jackson State University as a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) during the 1978 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by third-year head coach W. C. Gorden, the Tigers compiled an overall record of 10–2 with a mark of 5–1 in conference play, placing second in the SWAC. Jackson State advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, where the lost in the semifinals to the eventual national champion, Florida A&M.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 2	at Alabama State*		Cramton Bowl Montgomery, AL		W 20–6		^[1]
September 9	at Tennessee State*		Dudley Field Nashville, TN		W 35–24	17,000	^[2]
September 16	Prairie View A&M		Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS		W 41–14		^[3]
September 23	Mississippi Valley State	No. 4	Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS		W 27–16		^[4]
October 7	Arkansas–Pine Bluff*	No. 4	Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS		W 54–14		^[5]
October 14	at Southern	No. 4	BREC Memorial Stadium Baton Rouge, LA		W 41–14		^[6]^[7]
October 21	at Grambling State	No. 2	Grambling Stadium Grambling, LA		L 7–13		^[8]
October 28	Bethune–Cookman*	No. 4	Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS		W 35–6		^[9]
November 4	Texas Southern	No. 2	Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS		W 41–0		^[10]
November 11	Morgan State*	No. 2	Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS		W 21–6		^[11]
November 18	at Alcorn State	No. 2	Henderson Stadium Lorman, MS (rivalry)		W 38–8		^[12]
December 9	No. 3 Florida A&M*	No. 2	Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS (NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal)	ABC	L 10–15	12,000	^[13]^[14]
*Non-conference game Rankings from Associated Press Poll released prior to the game

^[15]

References

^ "ASU falls to Jackson". The Montgomery Advertiser. September 3, 1978. Retrieved August 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Jackson State rips struggling TSU". The Tennessean. September 10, 1978. Retrieved August 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Harris leads J. State to win". Hattiesburg American. September 17, 1978. Retrieved August 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Jackson State beats Valley". The Greenwood Commonwealth. September 24, 1978. Retrieved August 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Jackson State routs foe, 54–14". The Sun Herald. October 8, 1978. Retrieved August 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Southern blitzed". Daily World. October 15, 1978. Retrieved August 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Southern coach has rare career". Daily World. August 27, 1978. Retrieved August 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Tigers lose first game". Enterprise-Journal. October 22, 1978. Retrieved March 18, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Jackson State rips Bethune". The Miami Herald. October 29, 1978. Retrieved August 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Jackson State rips Texas Southern 41–0". Enterprise-Journal. November 5, 1978. Retrieved June 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Morgan loses, 21 to 6". The Baltimore Sun. November 12, 1978. Retrieved August 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Tigers top Alcorn 38–8". Enterprise-Journal. November 19, 1978. Retrieved August 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "sports on the air". Tallahassee Democrat. Tallahassee, Florida. December 9, 1978. p. 6B. Retrieved May 14, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ Jackson, Eddie (December 10, 1978). "Rattlers Win A Title, Eye Another (cont'd)". The Tampa Tribune. p. 3-D. Retrieved May 14, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
^ "Jackson State Yearly Results (1975–1979)". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved August 20, 2023.