1978 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team

The 1978 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team represented the Georgia Institute of Technology during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Yellow Jackets were led by fifth-year head coach Pepper Rodgers, and played their home games at Grant Field in Atlanta. The team was invited to the 1978 Peach Bowl, held just three miles from their home stadium in Atlanta, where they lost to Purdue.

1978 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football
Peach Bowl, L 21–41 vs. Purdue
Conference	Independent
Record	7–5
Head coach	Pepper Rodgers (5th season)
Captains	Eddie Lee Ivery Don Patterson Jeff Shank Mike Taylor
Home stadium	Grant Field
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

On November 11, 1978 at Air Force Tech running back Eddie Lee Ivery rushed for 356 yards. At the time it set a new record for rushing yards in a game by a player.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 9	at Duke		Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC		L 10–28	27,865
September 16	California		Grant Field Atlanta, GA		L 22–34	26,577
September 23	Tulane		Grant Field Atlanta, GA		W 27–17	25,805
September 30	The Citadel		Grant Field Atlanta, GA		W 28–0	21,802
October 7	South Carolina		Grant Field Atlanta, GA		W 6–3	36,128
October 14	Miami (FL)		Grant Field Atlanta, GA		W 24–19	29,695
October 21	at Auburn		Jordan-Hare Stadium Auburn, AL (rivalry)	ABC	W 24–10	59,111
October 28	Florida		Grant Field Atlanta, GA	ABC	W 17–13	44,866
November 11	at Air Force		Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO		W 42–21	19,564
November 18	No. 10 Notre Dame	No. 20	Grant Field Atlanta, GA (rivalry)		L 21–38	54,526
December 2	at No. 11 Georgia		Sanford Stadium Athens, GA (Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate)	ABC	L 28–29	59,700
December 25	vs. No. 17 Purdue		Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium Atlanta, GA (Peach Bowl)	CBS	L 21–41	20,277
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game