Jump to content

1978 Furman Paladins football team

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

1978 Furman Paladins football
SoCon co-champion
ConferenceSouthern Conference
Record8–3 (4–1 SoCon)
Head coach
Captains
  • Russell Gambrell
  • Brette Simmons
  • Greg Laetsch
Home stadiumSirrine Stadium
Seasons
← 1977
1979 →
1978 Southern Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Furman + 4 1 0 8 3 0
Chattanooga + 4 1 0 7 3 1
Appalachian State 4 2 0 7 4 0
Western Carolina 4 2 0 6 5 0
The Citadel 2 3 0 5 6 0
VMI 1 4 0 3 8 0
Marshall 0 5 0 1 10 0
Davidson 0 0 0 5 5 0
East Tennessee State 0 0 0 4 7 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • The conference was a hybrid of NCAA Division I-A and I-AA teams. Davidson was classified as I-AA. All the other teams were classified as I-A. Davidson and East Tennessee State were ineligible for the conference title. VMI's games against William & Mary and Richmond and Chattanooga's game against Richmond were designated as conference games and counted in the SoCon standings.

The 1978 Furman Paladins football team was an American football team that represented Furman University as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their first year under head coach Dick Sheridan, the Paladins compiled an overall record of 8–3 with a conference mark of 4–1, sharing the SoCon title with Chattanooga.[1][2]

Schedule

[edit]
DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 9at South Carolina*L 10–4550,239[3]
September 16Carson–Newman*W 31–14[4]
September 23at Vanderbilt*L 10–1725,000[5]
September 30at Appalachian StateW 52–3413,150[6]
October 7Wofford*
  • Sirrine Stadium
  • Greenville, SC (rivalry)
W 36–128,500[7]
October 14at East Tennessee State*W 35–148,951[8]
October 21Chattanooga
  • Sirrine Stadium
  • Greenville, SC
L 9–137,618[9]
October 28at MarshallW 42–12[10]
November 4Davidson*
  • Sirrine Stadium
  • Greenville, SC
W 56–1413,122[11]
November 11at Western CarolinaW 24–7[12]
November 18The Citadel
  • Sirrine Stadium
  • Greenville, SC (rivalry)
W 17–1313,312[13][14]
  • *Non-conference game

[15]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Southern Standings". Asheville Citizen-Times. Asheville, North Carolina. November 19, 1978. p. 1B. Retrieved July 16, 2025 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  2. ^ "SoCon 2024 Football Media Guide" (PDF). Southern Conference. p. 180. Retrieved July 16, 2025.
  3. ^ "USC pulverizes Furman". The State. September 10, 1978. Retrieved December 3, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Furman trips Eagles, 31–14". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. September 17, 1978. Retrieved December 3, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Vandy prays way past Furman". The Tennessean. September 24, 1978. Retrieved December 3, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Furman outscores Appalachian 52–34". The State. October 1, 1978. Retrieved December 3, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Furman drops Wofford". The Times and Democrat. October 8, 1978. Retrieved December 3, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Furman offense too much for Bucs, 35–14". Kingsport Times-News. October 15, 1978. Retrieved December 3, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Moccasins sneak past Paladins". The Greenville News. October 22, 1978. Retrieved December 3, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Furman wins, Paladins rout Marshall". The Greenville News. October 29, 1978. Retrieved December 3, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Point-happy Furman routs Davidson 56–14". The Charlotte Observer. November 5, 1978. Retrieved December 3, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Furman stops Western cold in bid for Southern crown". Asheville Citizen-Times. November 12, 1978. Retrieved December 3, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Paladins share conference championship". The Greenville News. November 19, 1978. Retrieved December 3, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Furman defeats Citadel, 17-13". Salisbury Sunday Post. Salisbury, North Carolina. Associated Press. November 19, 1978. p. 4C. Retrieved July 16, 2025 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  15. ^ "1978 Furman Paladins Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 3, 2021.