1978 Week 8 College Football Team Rankings

October 17, 1978By PowerUpRankings.com • Posted in 1978 Season Tags: • No Comments

1978 rankings calculated with the Classic formula (Ken's 2016-based hybrid, applied retroactively); records, NOW and game results come from James Howell's historical college football score archive.

entries per pageSearch:

Rank	Change	Rating	Team	Conf	Record	Win %	Place	NOW	Game Status
1	1	0.743	Penn State (PENN STATE)	IND FBSI	6–0	1.000	1	+15	BYE
2	1	0.892	Nebraska (NEBRASKA)	IND B8	5–1	0.833	10	+15	Beat Kansas State 48–14
3	2	1.010	Maryland (MARYLAND)	ACC	6–0	1.000	1	+15	Beat Syracuse 24–9
4	0	1.059	Oklahoma (OKLAHOMA)	IND B8	6–0	1.000	1	+14	Beat Kansas 17–16
5	3	1.246	Alabama (ALABAMA)	SEC	5–1	0.833	10	+13	Beat Florida 23–12
6	1	1.345	Arkansas (ARKANSAS)	IND SWC	4–0	1.000	1	+8	BYE
7	15	1.392	Arizona State (ARIZONA STATE)	PAC	5–1	0.833	10	+11	Beat USC 20–7
8	3	1.401	Tennessee Chattanooga (TENNESSEE-CHATTANOOGA)	IND SOCON	5–0–1	0.917	7	+8	Beat Jacksonville State 28–21
9	4	1.405	Clemson (CLEMSON)	ACC	4–1	0.800	19	+9	Beat Virginia 30–14
10	21	1.459	Houston (HOUSTON)	IND SWC	4–1	0.800	19	+9	Beat Texas A&M 33–0
11	8	1.489	Holy Cross (HOLY CROSS)	IND FBSI	5–0	1.000	1	+6	Beat Army 31–0
12	21	1.512	Georgia (GEORGIA)	SEC	4–1	0.800	19	+8	Beat LSU 24–17
13	8	1.524	Navy (NAVY)	IND FBSI	5–0	1.000	1	+6	Beat Duke 31–8
14	25	1.530	Texas (TEXAS)	IND SWC	4–1	0.800	19	+10	Beat North Texas 26–16
15	-5	1.534	USC	PAC	4–1	0.800	19	+8	Lost to Arizona State 7–20
16	10	1.550	California (CALIFORNIA)	PAC	5–1	0.833	10	+10	Beat Arizona 33–20
17	11	1.562	Cornell (CORNELL)	IND IVY	3–0–1	0.875	9	+3	Beat Harvard 25–20
18	-9	1.645	Ball State (BALL STATE)	MAC	5–1	0.833	10	+9	Lost to Louisiana Tech 7–17
19	-18	1.663	Michigan (MICHIGAN)	B10	4–1	0.800	19	+7	Lost to Michigan State 15–24
20	-14	1.665	Washington State (WASHINGTON STATE)	PAC	3–1–1	0.700	38	+6	Lost to UCLA 31–45
21	15	1.722	UCLA	PAC	5–1	0.833	10	+7	Beat Washington State 45–31
22	13	1.743	Missouri (MISSOURI)	IND B8	4–2	0.667	40	+9	Beat Iowa State 26–13
23	0	1.800	Wisconsin (WISCONSIN)	B10	4–0–1	0.900	8	+3	Tied Illinois 20–20
24	29	1.829	Notre Dame (NOTRE DAME)	IND FBSI	3–2	0.600	54	+7	Beat Pittsburgh 26–17
25	-13	1.854	UL Monroe (LOUISIANA MONROE)	IND FBSI	4–1–1	0.750	33	+6	Lost to Mcneese State 10–31
26	-9	1.915	Utah State (UTAH STATE)	IND PCAA	5–1	0.833	10	+7	Lost to Long Beach State 17–33
27	-12	1.945	Texas A&M (TEXAS A & M)	IND SWC	4–1	0.800	19	+4	Lost to Houston 0–33
28	2	1.960	Western Michigan (WESTERN MICHIGAN)	MAC	5–1	0.833	10	+6	Beat Toledo 17–7
29	-15	1.961	Tulsa (TULSA)	IND MVC	5–2	0.714	36	+11	Lost to New Mexico State 20–23
30	-5	2.032	NC State (NORTH CAROLINA STATE)	ACC	4–1	0.800	19	+7	BYE
31	-13	2.041	Pittsburgh (PITTSBURGH)	IND FBSI	4–1	0.800	19	+5	Lost to Notre Dame 17–26
32	18	2.084	Purdue (PURDUE)	B10	4–1	0.800	19	+4	Beat Ohio State 27–16
33	4	2.106	Auburn (AUBURN)	SEC	4–1	0.800	19	+4	Beat Vanderbilt 49–7
34	-14	2.115	LSU	SEC	4–1	0.800	19	+4	Lost to Georgia 17–24
35	9	2.150	Georgia Tech (GEORGIA TECH)	IND FBSI	4–2	0.667	40	+7	Beat Miami 24–19
36	5	2.169	South Carolina (SOUTH CAROLINA)	IND FBSI	3–2–1	0.583	59	+5	Beat Ohio 24–7
37	8	2.197	William & Mary (WILLIAM & MARY)	IND FBSI	4–1–1	0.750	33	+3	Beat James Madison 32–7
38	5	2.238	Utah (UTAH)	IND WAC	4–1	0.800	19	+2	Beat Weber State 30–7
39	-1	2.260	Rutgers (RUTGERS)	IND FBSI	4–1	0.800	19	+2	Beat UConn 10–0
40	32	2.275	Louisiana Tech (LOUISIANA TECH)	IND SLC	3–2	0.600	54	+7	Beat Ball State 17–7
41	-17	2.289	Duke (DUKE)	ACC	3–2	0.600	54	+7	Lost to Navy 8–31
42	22	2.336	Mississippi State (MISSISSIPPI STATE)	SEC	4–2	0.667	40	+8	Beat Florida State 55–27
43	-3	2.348	BYU	IND WAC	4–2	0.667	40	+4	Beat Oregon 17–16
44	13	2.349	Louisville (LOUISVILLE)	IND FBSI	4–2	0.667	40	+4	Beat Northwestern State 51–7
45	9	2.380	Miami (OH) (MIAMI (OH))	MAC	3–2–1	0.583	59	+5	Beat Marshall 29–3
46	-14	2.403	SMU	IND SWC	3–1–1	0.700	38	+2	Beat Baylor 28–21
47	-31	2.427	Colorado (COLORADO)	IND B8	5–1	0.833	10	0	Lost to Oklahoma State 20–24
48	-6	2.434	North Texas (NORTH TEXAS)	IND FBSI	5–2	0.714	36	+6	Lost to Texas 16–26
49	-22	2.605	Iowa State (IOWA STATE)	IND B8	4–2	0.667	40	+3	Lost to Missouri 13–26
50	11	2.614	Bowling Green (BOWLING GREEN)	MAC	4–2	0.667	40	+1	Beat Kent State 28–20
51	9	2.632	Arkansas State (ARKANSAS STATE)	IND SLC	3–3	0.500	63	+5	Beat Southern Illinois 26–24
52	26	2.695	Mcneese State (MCNEESE STATE)	IND SLC	4–2	0.667	40	+2	Beat UL Monroe 31–10
53	-19	2.756	Florida State (FLORIDA STATE)	IND FBSI	4–2	0.667	40	+2	Lost to Mississippi State 27–55
54	2	2.792	Temple (TEMPLE)	IND FBSI	3–2–1	0.583	59	+3	Beat Cincinnati 16–13
55	-6	2.792	Columbia (COLUMBIA)	IND IVY	3–1	0.750	33	0	Beat Princeton 14–10
56	15	2.831	Southern Miss (SOUTHERN MISS)	IND FBSI	4–2	0.667	40	+5	Beat East Carolina 17–16
57	6	2.893	Central Michigan (CENTRAL MICHIGAN)	MAC	4–2	0.667	40	+5	Beat Illinois State 45–7
58	12	2.944	Virginia Tech (VIRGINIA TECH)	IND FBSI	3–3	0.500	63	+2	Beat West Virginia 16–3
59	-4	2.959	East Carolina (EAST CAROLINA)	IND FBSI	4–3	0.571	62	+4	Lost to Southern Miss 16–17
60	8	3.009	Texas Tech (TEXAS TECH)	IND SWC	2–3	0.400	86	+3	Beat New Mexico 36–23
61	20	3.013	Kentucky (KENTUCKY)	SEC	2–2–1	0.500	63	+2	Beat Ole Miss 24–17
62	-16	3.020	Stanford (STANFORD)	PAC	3–3	0.500	63	+1	Lost to Washington 31–34
63	-12	3.051	Ohio State (OHIO STATE)	B10	2–2–1	0.500	63	+1	Lost to Purdue 16–27
64	-16	3.100	Southern Illinois (SOUTHERN ILLINOIS)	IND MVC	4–2	0.667	40	-1	Lost to Arkansas State 24–26
65	22	3.139	Washington (WASHINGTON)	PAC	3–3	0.500	63	0	Beat Stanford 34–31
66	-37	3.155	Hawai'i (HAWAII)	IND FBSI	3–2	0.600	54	+2	Lost to UNLV 20–30
67	10	3.172	App State (APPALACHIAN STATE)	IND SOCON	4–2	0.667	40	0	Beat Lenoir Rhyne 49–28
68	27	3.198	Long Beach State (LONG BEACH STATE)	IND PCAA	3–2	0.600	54	+6	Beat Utah State 33–17
69	-22	3.261	Miami (MIAMI)	IND FBSI	2–3	0.400	86	0	Lost to Georgia Tech 19–24
70	24	3.298	Michigan State (MICHIGAN STATE)	B10	2–3	0.400	86	+1	Beat Michigan 24–15
71	-13	3.351	Yale (YALE)	IND IVY	2–2	0.500	63	-1	Lost to Dartmouth 3–10
72	8	3.360	Furman (FURMAN)	IND SOCON	4–2	0.667	40	-2	Beat East Tennessee State 35–14
73	-11	3.410	Florida (FLORIDA)	SEC	1–3	0.250	111	+1	Lost to Alabama 12–23
74	-22	3.419	New Mexico (NEW MEXICO)	IND WAC	3–3	0.500	63	0	Lost to Texas Tech 23–36
75	-16	3.422	Arizona (ARIZONA)	PAC	3–3	0.500	63	-1	Lost to California 20–33
76	3	3.442	Indiana (INDIANA)	B10	2–3	0.400	86	+1	Beat Northwestern 38–10
77	-1	3.442	Harvard (HARVARD)	IND IVY	2–2	0.500	63	0	Lost to Cornell 20–25
78	18	3.463	Dartmouth (DARTMOUTH)	IND IVY	2–2	0.500	63	+4	Beat Yale 10–3
79	-5	3.499	North Carolina (NORTH CAROLINA)	ACC	2–3	0.400	86	+2	Beat Wake Forest 34–29
80	19	3.609	New Mexico State (NEW MEXICO STATE)	IND MVC	3–3	0.500	63	-1	Beat Tulsa 23–20
81	8	3.615	Memphis (MEMPHIS)	IND FBSI	2–3	0.400	86	+1	Beat Wichita State 26–13
82	-16	3.673	Pennsylvania (PENNSYLVANIA)	IND IVY	2–2	0.500	63	-1	Lost to Brown 0–14
83	-18	3.675	Northwestern State (NORTHWESTERN STATE)	IND FBSI	3–3	0.500	63	-1	Lost to Louisville 7–51
84	-11	3.707	Citadel (CITADEL)	IND SOCON	3–3	0.500	63	-2	Lost to Western Carolina 24–38
85	7	3.732	Pacific (PACIFIC)	IND PCAA	3–3	0.500	63	+3	Beat Fresno State 27–7
86	-11	3.758	Ole Miss (MISSISSIPPI)	SEC	2–3	0.400	86	+1	Lost to Kentucky 17–24
87	-20	3.782	Villanova (VILLANOVA)	IND FBSI	3–3	0.500	63	-1	Lost to Colgate 14–20
88	12	3.855	Colorado State (COLORADO STATE)	IND WAC	2–3	0.400	86	-1	Beat Air Force 31–13
89	-5	3.856	Tennessee (TENNESSEE)	SEC	1–2–1	0.375	98	-1	BYE
90	-21	4.046	Drake (DRAKE)	IND MVC	3–4	0.429	85	-2	Lost to Indiana State 0–13
91	0	4.120	Virginia Military Institute (VIRGINIA MILITARY INSTITUTE)	IND SOCON	3–3	0.500	63	-5	Beat Richmond 23–6
92	5	4.170	Wyoming (WYOMING)	IND WAC	2–3	0.400	86	-4	Beat San Diego State 31–22
93	5	4.318	Northern Illinois (NORTHERN ILLINOIS)	MAC	2–3	0.400	86	-4	Beat Western Illinois 24–20
94	-9	4.492	Kent State (KENT STATE)	MAC	2–4	0.333	99	-5	Lost to Bowling Green 20–28
95	-2	4.533	Tulane (TULANE)	IND FBSI	2–4	0.333	99	-5	Beat Boston College 9–3
96	30	4.554	Brown (BROWN)	IND IVY	2–2	0.500	63	0	Beat Pennsylvania 14–0
97	-11	4.593	Kansas State (KANSAS STATE)	IND B8	2–4	0.333	99	-4	Lost to Nebraska 14–48
98	-15	4.595	Wichita State (WICHITA STATE)	IND MVC	3–3	0.500	63	-7	Lost to Memphis 13–26
99	3	4.833	Vanderbilt (VANDERBILT)	SEC	1–4	0.200	114	-2	Lost to Auburn 7–49
100	1	4.839	Kansas (KANSAS)	IND B8	1–5	0.167	121	-3	Lost to Oklahoma 16–17
101	23	4.845	Indiana State (INDIANA STATE)	IND MVC	2–4	0.333	99	-6	Beat Drake 13–0
102	21	4.955	Western Carolina (WESTERN CAROLINA)	IND SOCON	3–3	0.500	63	+1	Beat Citadel 38–24
103	12	4.981	Minnesota (MINNESOTA)	B10	2–3	0.400	86	-5	Beat Iowa 22–20
104	8	5.011	Rice (RICE)	IND SWC	1–4	0.200	114	-3	Beat TCU 21–14
105	2	5.060	Eastern Michigan (EASTERN MICHIGAN)	MAC	3–3	0.500	63	-4	BYE
106	19	5.084	UNLV	IND FBSI	2–3	0.400	86	-1	Beat Hawai'i 30–20
107	-25	5.164	Louisiana (LOUISIANA LAFAYETTE)	IND SLC	2–4	0.333	99	-8	Lost to Texas Arlington 3–24
108	12	5.221	Oklahoma State (OKLAHOMA STATE)	IND B8	1–5	0.167	121	-6	Beat Colorado 24–20
109	12	5.235	West Texas A&M (WEST TEXAS A&M)	IND MVC	2–5	0.286	109	-8	Beat Lamar 55–16
110	-22	5.260	Air Force (AIR FORCE)	IND FBSI	2–4	0.333	99	-6	Lost to Colorado State 13–31
111	18	5.501	Texas Arlington (TEXAS-ARLINGTON)	IND SLC	2–5	0.286	109	-11	Beat Louisiana 24–3
112	21	5.504	Colgate (COLGATE)	IND FBSI	1–4	0.200	114	+1	Beat Villanova 20–14
113	3	5.623	Oregon State (OREGON STATE)	PAC	1–3–1	0.300	107	-6	BYE
114	-9	5.636	Ohio (OHIO)	MAC	1–4	0.200	114	-6	Lost to South Carolina 7–24
115	-9	5.703	Illinois (ILLINOIS)	B10	1–3–2	0.333	99	-5	Tied Wisconsin 20–20
116	-8	5.851	Wake Forest (WAKE FOREST)	ACC	1–5	0.167	121	-8	Lost to North Carolina 29–34
117	-8	5.859	Cincinnati (CINCINNATI)	IND FBSI	1–4	0.200	114	-8	Lost to Temple 13–16
118	-7	5.942	Oregon (OREGON)	PAC	0–6	0.000	134	-9	Lost to BYU 16–17
119	-29	6.042	San José State (SAN JOSE STATE)	IND PCAA	2–4	0.333	99	-6	Lost to Boise State 15–30
120	-17	6.060	TCU	IND SWC	1–4	0.200	114	-5	Lost to Rice 14–21
121	-17	6.206	Iowa (IOWA)	B10	1–4	0.200	114	-9	Lost to Minnesota 20–22
122	-5	6.225	West Virginia (WEST VIRGINIA)	IND FBSI	1–5	0.167	121	-9	Lost to Virginia Tech 3–16
123	-5	6.269	Marshall (MARSHALL)	IND SOCON	1–5	0.167	121	-10	Lost to Miami (OH) 3–29
124	7	6.298	Baylor (BAYLOR)	IND SWC	0–5	0.000	134	-7	Lost to SMU 21–28
125	-3	6.366	Virginia (VIRGINIA)	ACC	1–5	0.167	121	-10	Lost to Clemson 14–30
126	2	6.466	Syracuse (SYRACUSE)	IND FBSI	1–5	0.167	121	-8	Lost to Maryland 9–24
127	-8	6.565	Richmond (RICHMOND)	IND FBSI	1–6	0.143	131	-14	Lost to Virginia Military Institute 6–23
128	8	6.742	Princeton (PRINCETON)	IND IVY	0–3–1	0.125	132	-4	Lost to Columbia 10–14
129	-16	6.802	San Diego State (SAN DIEGO STATE)	IND WAC	1–3	0.250	111	-9	Lost to Wyoming 22–31
130	0	6.812	UTEP	IND WAC	1–5	0.167	121	-12	BYE
131	1	6.943	Army (ARMY)	IND FBSI	1–3–1	0.300	107	-7	Lost to Holy Cross 0–31
132	-22	7.203	Boston College (BOSTON COLLEGE)	IND FBSI	0–5	0.000	134	-10	Lost to Tulane 3–9
133	-19	7.434	Lamar (LAMAR)	IND SLC	1–4–1	0.250	111	-14	Lost to West Texas A&M 16–55
134	0	7.463	Fresno State (FRESNO STATE)	IND PCAA	1–5	0.167	121	-9	Lost to Pacific 7–27
135	-8	7.521	Northwestern (NORTHWESTERN)	B10	0–5–1	0.083	133	-9	Lost to Indiana 10–38
136	1	7.755	Toledo (TOLEDO)	MAC	0–6	0.000	134	-15	Lost to Western Michigan 7–17
137	1	9.050	Illinois State (ILLINOIS STATE)	IND FBSI	0–6	0.000	134	-12	Lost to Central Michigan 7–45
138	-3	9.344	CAL State Fullerton (CAL STATE FULLERTON)	IND PCAA	1–5	0.167	121	-5	Lost to Nevada 14–37