1978 Boise State Broncos football team

The 1978 Boise State Broncos football team represented Boise State University in the 1978 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Broncos competed in the Big Sky Conference and played their home games on campus at Bronco Stadium in Boise, Idaho. Led by third-year head coach Jim Criner, the Broncos were 7–4 overall and 3–3 in conference.

1978 Boise State Broncos football
ConferenceBig Sky Conference
Record7–4 (3–3 Big Sky)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorGene Dahlquist (2nd season)
Base defense3–4
Home stadiumBronco Stadium
Seasons
← 1977
1979 →
1978 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 7 Northern Arizona $ 6 0 0 8 2 0
No. T–9 Montana State 4 2 0 8 2 0
Montana 4 2 0 5 6 0
Boise State 3 3 0 7 4 0
Weber State 2 4 0 4 7 0
Idaho 2 4 0 2 9 0
Idaho State 0 6 0 2 9 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA AP Poll

This was the first season for the newly created Division I-AA,[1] which the Big Sky joined. It was previously a Division II conference for football, except for Division I member Idaho, which moved down to I-AA this season.

Following this season, Boise State was put on probation for a scouting violation in November prior to the NAU game;[2][3][4] the Broncos were ineligible for the league title or the I-AA playoffs in 1979.[5][6][7]

Schedule

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DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 97:30 pmCal State Fullerton*W 42–1219,032[8]
September 167:30 pmLong Beach State*
  • Bronco Stadium
  • Boise, ID
W 19–1319,435[9]
September 237:30 pmNorthern Michigan*No. 3
  • Bronco Stadium
  • Boise, ID
W 31–2120,555[10]
September 301:30 pmat No. 6 Montana StateNo. 3ABCL 29–3112,850[11]
October 77:30 pmMontanaNo. 8
  • Bronco Stadium
  • Boise, ID
L 7–1519,580[12]
October 147:30 pmSan Jose State*
  • Bronco Stadium
  • Boise, ID
W 30–1518,112[13]
October 217:30 pmWeber State
  • Bronco Stadium
  • Boise, ID
W 14–1317,858[14]
October 288:00 pmat Idaho StateW 16–14  6,983[15]
November 41:30 pmIdaho 
W 48–1020,235[16][17]
November 117:00 pmat No. 7 Northern ArizonaNo. 9L 30–3114,783[18]
November 18at No. 8 (D-II) Cal Poly*L 3–7  7,430[19]

[20]

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked
Week
Poll123456789Final
AP3389

Roster

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1978 Boise State Broncos football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
QB 7 Kevin McDonald So
FL 9 Mike Grant Fr
QB 16 Hoskin Hogan Jr
TB 20 Cedric Minter So
TB 27 Terry Zahner So
FB 33 David Hughes So
TB 40 Fred Goode Sr
C 56 Mark Villano Sr
LG 64 Martin Bernardy So
RG 68 Bill Roberds Jr
RT 74 Jack White Jr
LT 77 Doug MacLeod Sr
TE 84 Webb Spahr Jr
FL 89 Lonnie Hughes Sr
SE 90 Duane Dlouhy Fr
OT 73 Kevin Streett Fr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
LCB 10 Larry Morritt Sr
SS 25 Sam Miller Sr
RCB 30 Layne Osborne Sr
FS 49 Nash Balinton Sr
OLB 43 Larry Lewis So
ILB 44 Bob Macauley Sr
OLB 47 Larry Polowski Sr
ILB 55 Willie Beamon Sr
NG 71 Bob Cabrera Jr
RDT 75 Doug Scott Jr
LDT 81 Jeff Taylor Jr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K 18 Tom Sarette Sr
P 19 Ed Thomas Sr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  •   Injured
  •   Redshirt
Source:[16][17]

NFL Draft

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Two Broncos were selected in the 1979 NFL draft, which lasted twelve rounds (330 selections).

Player Position Round Overall Franchise
Larry Polowski Linebacker 7th 169 Seattle Seahawks
Willie Beamon Linebacker 8th 205 New York Jets

References

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  1. ^ "Big schools win battle". St. Petersburg Independent. (Florida). Associated Press. January 13, 1978. p. 5C.
  2. ^ "Criner admits he hired football spy". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. November 16, 1978. p. 1C.
  3. ^ "Boise St. coach admits to scouting violation". Daily News. Bowling Green, Kentucky. Associated Press. November 16, 1978. p. 4-B.
  4. ^ "Presidents will discuss spying by Boise's Criner". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. November 17, 1978. p. 5B.
  5. ^ "Big Sky's down hard on Boise". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. December 17, 1978. p. B1.
  6. ^ "Probation slapped on Boise State football". Ellensburg Daily Record. Washington. UPI. December 18, 1978. p. 7.
  7. ^ Killen, John (October 13, 1979). "Idaho: possibility looms for a winning season". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. p. 1C.
  8. ^ "Broncos bombard Fullerton State 42–12". The Idaho Statesman. September 10, 1978. Retrieved September 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Long Beach Fumbles Game, 19-13". The Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. September 17, 1978. p. III-18. Retrieved March 31, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. 
  10. ^ "Boise sophomore sets rush records". The Billings Gazette. September 24, 1978. Retrieved September 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Montana State shocks Boise". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 1, 1978. p. 3B.
  12. ^ "Kerr, Grizzlies stun Boise State, 15–7". Great Falls Tribune. October 8, 1978. Retrieved September 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Boise State runs past San Jose State". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 15, 1978. p. 4B.
  14. ^ "Broncos escape Weber's clutches". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. October 22, 1978. p. 4B.
  15. ^ "Last-second field goal saves BSU". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 29, 1978. p. 4B.
  16. ^ a b Barrows, Bob (November 4, 1978). "Vandals hope emotion can buck Broncos". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 3B.
  17. ^ a b Barrows, Bob (November 5, 1978). "A punter's nightmare". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1B.
  18. ^ "NAU tops Boise for title". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 12, 1978. p. 3B.
  19. ^ "Broncos lose as late drive falls short". The Idaho Statesman. November 19, 1978. Retrieved September 8, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Record book (football)" (PDF). Boise State University Athletics. 2016. p. 71. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 15, 2017. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
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