The 1978 Michigan Wolverines football team, under head coach Bo Schembechler, compiled a 10–2 record, tied with Michigan State for the Big Ten championship, led the conference in scoring defense (8.8 points allowed per game), lost to national champion USC in the Rose Bowl, and was ranked No.
Quarterback Rick Leach won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the most valuable player in the Big Ten, finished third in the voting for the Heisman Trophy, and was selected as a first-team All-American by the American Football Coaches Association.
The 1978 Michigan State Spartans football team, under head coach Darryl Rogers, compiled an 8–3, tied with Michigan for the conference championship, led the conference in scoring offense (37.4 points per game), and was ranked No.
Tight end Mark Brammer was selected as a first-team All-American by the Football Writers Association of America.
The 1978 Purdue Boilermakers football team, under head coach Jim Young, compiled a 9–2–1 record, finished in third place in the Big Ten, defeated Georgia Tech in the 1978 Peach Bowl, and was ranked No.
Quarterback Mark Herrmann passed for 1,904 yards, and defensive lineman Keena Turner was selected as the team's most valuable player.
Minnesota running back Marion Barber, Jr. led the conference with 1,210 rushing yards, and Ohio State quarterback Art Schlichter led the conference in scoring with 78 points on 13 rushing touchdowns.
Ohio State coach Woody Hayes was fired after punching a Clemson player in the closing minutes of the 1978 Gator Bowl.
Key AP final = Team's rank in the final AP Poll of the 1978 season[1] AP high = Team's highest rank in the AP Poll throughout the 1978 season[1] PPG = Average of points scored per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold[1] PAG = Average of points allowed per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold[1] MVP = Most valuable player as voted by players on each team as part of the voting process to determine the winner of the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy; trophy winner in bold[2] On September 16, 1978, the Big Ten football teams opened the season with three conference games and four non-conference games.
The game was marked by the so-called "Phantom Touchdown" scored by USC's Charles White in the second quarter.
Replays showed that White fumbled the ball before crossing the goal line.
One official marked the ball down at the one-yard line, but another ruled that White had scored.
The officials ultimately ruled that White had scored, giving USC its margin of victory.
With just over two minutes left in the game, Ohio State quarterback Art Schlichter threw a pass that was intercepted by Clemson's Charlie Bauman.
Bauman ran towards the OSU sideline avoiding tackles and was finally shoved out of bounds, where he was punched through his face mask by coach Hayes.
The next day, Ohio State fired Hayes after 28 seasons as the school's head football coach.
19 in the UPI Poll), 41–21, before a crowd of 20,277 in the 1978 Peach Bowl held at Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta.
Purdue quarterback Mark Herrmann completed 12 of 24 passes for 166 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.
[7][8] Offense Defense At the end of the 1978 season, only one Big Ten player was a consensus first-team pick for the 1978 College Football All-America Team.