1978 Air Force Falcons football team

The 1978 Air Force Falcons football team represented the United States Air Force Academy in the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season as an independent. Future National Football League (NFL) head coach Bill Parcells replaced Ben Martin as head coach in his only season as Air Force head coach. The Falcons played their home games at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado. They finished the season with a record of 3–8.

1978 Air Force Falcons football
Conference	Independent
Record	3–8
Head coach	Bill Parcells (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Ken Hatfield (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Wishbone triple option
Co-defensive coordinators	Dennis Fryzel (1st season) Al Groh (1st season)
Base defense	3–4
Captains	Tom Foertsch Steve Hoog
Home stadium	Falcon Stadium

1978 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

	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	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 9		at UTEP	Sun Bowl El Paso, TX	W 34–25	24,700
September 16		at Boston College	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	W 18–7	21,935
September 23		Holy Cross	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	L 18–35	21,447
September 30		at Kansas State	KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS	L 21–34	30,300
October 7		Navy	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)	L 8–37	30,482
October 14		Colorado State	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO (rivalry)	L 13–31	22,386
October 21	1:30 p.m.	No. 20 Notre Dame	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO (rivalry)	L 15–38	35,425
October 28		Kent State	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	W 26–10	20,769
November 4		at Army	Michie Stadium West Point, NY (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)	L 14–28	40,115
November 11		Georgia Tech	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	L 21–42	19,564
November 18		at Vanderbilt	Dudley Field Nashville, TN	L 27–41	18,500
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

Roster

1978 Air Force Falcons football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class	Defense Pos. # Name Class S Johnny Jackson Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Bill Parcells Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt