1978 Virginia Tech Gobblers football team

The 1978 Virginia Tech Gobblers football team was an American football team that represented Virginia Tech as an independent during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their first year under head coach Bill Dooley, the Gobblers compiled an overall record of 4–7.^[1]

1978 Virginia Tech Gobblers football
Conference	Independent
Record	4–7
Head coach	Bill Dooley (1st season)
Home stadium	Lane Stadium
Seasons ← 1977 1979 →

1978 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 4 Penn State		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
North Texas State		–		–				9	–	2	–	0
East Carolina		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Navy		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
No. 7 Notre Dame		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Rutgers		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Florida State		–		–				8	–	3	–	0
Tennessee State		–		–				8	–	3	–	0
Temple		–		–				7	–	3	–	1
Pittsburgh		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
Holy Cross		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Louisville		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
UNLV		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Southern Miss		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Northeast Louisiana		–		–				6	–	4	–	1
Georgia Tech		–		–				7	–	5	–	0
Hawaii		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Miami (FL)		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
South Carolina		–		–				5	–	5	–	1
William & Mary		–		–				5	–	5	–	1
Cincinnati		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Villanova		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Army		–		–				4	–	6	–	1
Memphis State		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Tulane		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Air Force		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Colgate		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Richmond		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Syracuse		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Illinois State		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
West Virginia		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Boston College		–		–				0	–	11	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 9	Tulsa	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, Virginia		L 33–35	26,000	[2]
September 16	at Wake Forest	Groves Stadium Winston-Salem, NC		W 28–6	22,750	[3]
September 23	Auburn	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA		L 7–18	38,000	[4]
September 30	William & Mary	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA		W 22–19	34,000	[5]
October 7	at Clemson	Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC	ABC	L 7–38	53,054	[6][7]
October 14	West Virginia	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)		W 16–3	40,000	[8]
October 21	at Virginia	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA (rivalry)		L 7–17	34,275	[9]
October 28	at No. 3 Alabama	Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL		L 0–35	60,210	[10]
November 4	Kentucky	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA		L 0–28	36,000	[11]
November 11	at Florida State	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL		L 14–24	38,654	[12]
November 18	VMI	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)		W 28–2	20,000	[13]
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

The following players were members of the 1978 football team.

1978 Virginia Tech roster
	Chris Albrittain Zack Apkarian Jeff Bailey Gippy Belcher Greg Birtsch Brown Gene Bunn Steve Casey Chris Cosh David Stephen Dolphin Scott Dovel John Drinkard Paul Engle Larry Fallen Michel Faulkner 88 Mickey Fitzgerald John Gambone Danny Hill Dickie Holway Michael James Hughes James Johnson Mathew Dane "Chip" Keatley Mike Kenley		Eric King Kent Knupp Mike Kovac David Lamie Don LaRue John Latina Ed Lewis Kenny Lewis Sr. Ron Luraschi Carl McDonald Doug McDougald Matt Mead Bucky Methfessel Wayne Mutter Charles Novell Jerome Pannell Nate Parker Nick Rapone Mickey Rogers Mike Romagnoli Joe Sansone		Ellis Savage Mike Scharnus Dennis Scott Jerry Sheehan Dave Smigelsky Gary Smith Gary Smith Henry Smith Tory Smith Sidney Snell Lewis Stuart Craig Van Schoick Roe Waldron Leonard Walker Paul Watkins Tom Webb Denny Windmuller Steve Wirt Lawrence Young Ron Zollicoffer Michael Edward Zouzalik