1978 Lehigh Engineers football team

American college football season

1978 Lehigh Engineers football
Conference	Independent
Ranking
AP	No. 9
Record	8–3
Head coach	John Whitehead (3rd season)
Captains	Bill Bradley Pete DeLuca
Home stadium	Taylor Stadium
Seasons← 1977 1979 →

1978 NCAA Division I-AA independents football standings
v t e	Conf			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
No. 3 Florida A&M ^		–		12	–	1	–	0
No. 1 Nevada ^		–		11	–	1	–	0
No. 9 Lehigh		–		8	–	3	–	0
Northeastern		–		6	–	5	–	0
Bucknell		–		5	–	5	–	0
Northwestern State		–		5	–	6	–	0
Portland State		–		5	–	6	–	0
Lafayette		–		4	–	7	–	0

^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant Rankings from Associated Press poll

The 1978 Lehigh Engineers football team was an American football team that represented Lehigh University as an independent during the 1978 NCAA Division I-AA football season.

In their third year under head coach John Whitehead, the Engineers compiled an 8–3 record. Bill Bradley and Pete DeLuca were the team captains.

Lehigh had won the NCAA Division II Football Championship in 1977, and in 1978 the Engineers moved up to the newly formed Division I-AA, later to be renamed the Football Championship Subdivision. Also moving up from Division II, and competing as I-AA independents, were in-state rivals Bucknell and Lafayette. The Engineers' 1978 schedule included opponents from Division I-A, Division I-AA, Division II and Division III.

Lehigh played its home games at Taylor Stadium on the university's main campus in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
September 9	West Chester		Taylor Stadium Bethlehem, PA	W 23–20	11,900
September 16	at Slippery Rock		N. Kerr Thompson Stadium Slippery Rock, PA	W 17–0
September 23	Colgate	No. 1	Taylor Stadium Bethlehem, PA	W 38–7	13,500
September 29	at Penn	No. 1	Franklin Field Philadelphia, PA	L 13–21	14,158
October 7	Delaware	No. 6	Taylor Stadium Bethlehem, PA (rivalry)	W 27–17	14,000
October 14	Davidson^	No. 6	Taylor Stadium Bethlehem, PA	W 27–21	9,000
October 21	at VMI	No. 5	Alumni Memorial Field Lexington, VA	W 14–10	8,400
October 28	Bucknell	No. 3	Taylor Stadium Bethlehem, PA	L 6–13	11,000
November 4	C. W. Post	No. 8	Taylor Stadium Bethlehem, PA	W 24–22	9,000
November 11	at Maine	No. 6	Alumni Field Orono, ME	L 18–21	3,000
November 18	at Lafayette		Fisher Field Easton, PA (The Rivalry)	W 25–15	17,000
^ Parents Day Rankings from Associated Press Poll released prior to the game

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked
	Week
Poll	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Final
AP	1	1	6	6	5	3	8	6	—	9

References

^ "Year-by-Year Results". Lehigh Football Record Book (PDF). Bethlehem, Pa.: Lehigh University. p. 22. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
"Lehigh Football Captains". Lehigh Football Record Book (PDF). Bethlehem, Pa.: Lehigh University. p. 12. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
Larimer, Terry (September 10, 1978). "Lehigh Fights for 23-20 Win". Sunday Call-Chronicle. Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
"Lehigh Humbles Colgaters, 38-6". Press & Sun-Bulletin. Binghamton, N.Y. September 24, 1978. p. 4B – via Newspapers.com.
Lewis, Allen (September 30, 1978). "Quaker Sub Quarterback Sciolla Leads Halt of Lehigh Streak at 11". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pa. p. 1-C – via Newspapers.com.
Simmons, Bill (October 8, 1978). "Lehigh Tops Error-Prone Delaware". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pa. p. 1-F – via Newspapers.com.
Larimer, Terry (October 15, 1978). "Lehigh Hangs On to Turn Back Davidson, 27-21". Sunday Call-Chronicle. Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
Larimer, Terry (October 22, 1978). "Lehigh's Defense Gets Credit for 14-10 Decision". Sunday Call-Chronicle. Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.
"Bucknell 13, Lehigh 6". Sunday News Journal. Wilmington, Del. October 29, 1978. p. B-6 – via Newspapers.com.
Larimer, Terry (November 5, 1978). "Lehigh Wins Another the 'Hard Way' 24-22". Sunday Call-Chronicle. Allentown, Pa. p. C2 – via Newspapers.com.
Warner, Bill (November 13, 1978). "Bears Stun Lambert Cup Leaders". Bangor Daily News. Bangor, Maine. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.
McKee, Don (November 19, 1978). "Lafayette Is Downed by Lehigh". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pa. p. 8-F – via Newspapers.com.

v t e Lehigh Mountain Hawks football
Venues	Taylor Stadium (1914–1987) Goodman Stadium (1988–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Delaware Lafayette: The Rivalry Yale: Yank Townsend Trophy
People	Head coaches NFL draftees
Seasons	1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

Categories: