1978 San Jose State Spartans football team

The 1978 San Jose State Spartans football team represented San Jose State University during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season as a member of the Pacific Coast Athletic Association.^{[note 1]} The team was led by third year head coach Lynn Stiles. They played home games at Spartan Stadium in San Jose, California. The Spartans finished the season as champions of the PCAA for the third time in four years, with a record of seven wins and five losses (7–5, 4–1 PCAA).

1978 San Jose State Spartans football
PCAA co-champion
Conference	Pacific Coast Athletic Association
Record	7–5 (4–1 PCAA)
Head coach	Lynn Stiles (3rd season)
Home stadium	Spartan Stadium
Seasons ← 1977 1979 →

1978 Pacific Coast Athletic Association football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Utah State +	4	–	1	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
San Jose State +	4	–	1	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Pacific (CA)	3	–	2	–	0			4	–	8	–	0
Cal State Fullerton	2	–	2	–	0			5	–	7	–	0
Long Beach State	1	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Fresno State	1	–	4	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Utah State's game against Wyoming counted in the conference standings.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 9	Idaho*	Spartan Stadium San Jose, CA	W 31–14	10,011	[1]
September 16	at Stanford*	Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA (rivalry)	L 9–38	42,500	[2]
September 23	at No. 19 Colorado*	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	L 7–22	44,868	[3]
September 30	Santa Clara*	Spartan Stadium San Jose, CA	W 17–7	16,626	[4]
October 7	at Hawaii*	Aloha Stadium Halawa, HI (rivalry)	L 11–25	36,049	[5]
October 14	at Boise State*	Bronco Stadium Boise, ID	L 15–30	18,112	[6]
October 21	Fresno State	Spartan Stadium San Jose, CA (rivalry)	W 26–16	11,410	[7]
October 28	at Utah State	Romney Stadium Logan, UT	L 21–31	18,226	[8]
November 4	Cal State Fullerton	Spartan Stadium San Jose, CA	W 30–21	9,183	[9]
November 11	at Pacific (CA)	Pacific Memorial Stadium Stockton, CA (Victory Bell)	W 33–31	14,000	[10]
November 18	Montana*	Spartan Stadium San Jose, CA	W 35–7		[11]
December 2	Long Beach State	Spartan Stadium San Jose, CA	W 24–6	10,115	[12][13]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[14][15]

Team players in the NFL

The following were selected in the 1979 NFL draft.^[16]

Player	Position	Round	Overall	NFL team
Frank Manumaleuga	Linebacker	4	85	Kansas City Chiefs

The following finished their San Jose State career in 1978, were not drafted, but played in the NFL.^[17]

Player	Position	First NFL team
M. L. Carter	Defensive back	1979 Kansas City Chiefs

Notes

1. The Big West Conference was known as the Pacific Coast Athletic Association from its founding in 1969 through 1987.