# 1978 Florida State Seminoles football team

The 1978 Florida State Seminoles football team represented Florida State University as an independent during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by third-year head coach Bobby Bowden, the Seminoles compiled a record of 8–3. Florida State played home games at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee, Florida.

## Schedule

| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
| September 9 | at Syracuse | No. 17 | Archbold StadiumSyracuse, NY | | W 28–0 | 24,272 |
| September 16 | Oklahoma State | No. 16 | Doak Campbell StadiumTallahassee, FL | | W 38–20 | 40,338 |
| September 23 | at Miami (FL) | No. 13 | Miami Orange BowlMiami, FL (rivalry) | ABC | W 31–21 | 25,002 |
| September 30 | Houston | No. 10 | Doak Campbell StadiumTallahassee, FL | | L 21–27 | 41,142 |
| October 7 | Cincinnati | No. 18 | Doak Campbell StadiumTallahassee, FL | | W 26–21 | 39,599 |
| October 14 | at Mississippi State | No. 15 | Scott FieldStarkville, MS | | L 27–55 | 36,000 |
| October 21 | at No. 16 Pittsburgh | | Pitt StadiumPittsburgh, PA | | L 3–7 | 55,104 |
| October 28 | at Southern Miss | | M. M. Roberts StadiumHattiesburg, MS | | W 38–16 | 23,248 |
| November 11 | Virginia Tech | | Doak Campbell StadiumTallahassee, FL | | W 24–14 | 38,654 |
| November 18 | Navy | | Doak Campbell StadiumTallahassee, FL | ABC | W 38–6 | 45,795 |
| November 25 | Florida | | Doak Campbell StadiumTallahassee, FL (rivalry) | | W 38–21 | 48,432 |
| HomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game ||||||||

## Game summaries
### At Syracuse
### At Miami (FL)

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Florida St | 0 | 14 | 7 | 10 | 31 |
| Miami (FL) | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
at Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida
* Date: September 23, 1978
* Game weather: Cloudy, 83 °F (28 °C)
* Game attendance: 25,003
* Box Score
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Florida St | Passing | Jimmy Jordan | 8/12, 83 Yds, TD, INT |
| Florida St | Rushing | Homes Johnson | 23 Rush, 90 Yds |
| Florida St | Receiving | Mark Lyles | 5 Rec, 58 Yds, TD |
| Miami (FL) | Passing | Mark Richt | 5/11, 74 Yds, TD, 3 INT |
| Miami (FL) | Rushing | Ottis Anderson | 15 Rush, 137 Yds, TD |
| Miami (FL) | Receiving | Mark Cooper | 3 Rec, 48 Yds |
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | FSU | UM |
| 1 | 9:27 | 1 | 80 | 0:15 | Miami (FL) | Ottis Anderson 80-yard touchdown run, Danny Miller kick good | 0 | 7 |
| 2 | 12:57 | | | | Florida St | Blocked punt returned 48 yards for touchdown by Mark Macek, Dave Cappelen kick good | 7 | 7 |
| 2 | 9:25 | 2 | 52 | 0:19 | Miami (FL) | James Joiner 48-yard touchdown run, Danny Miller kick good | 7 | 14 |
| 2 | 2:49 | 13 | 76 | 6:36 | Florida St | Jackie Flowers 4-yard touchdown reception from Jimmy Jordan, Dave Cappelen kick good | 14 | 14 |
| 3 | 8:15 | 7 | 41 | 3:44 | Florida St | Wally Woodham 1-yard touchdown run, Dave Cappelen kick good | 21 | 14 |
| 4 | 6:58 | 4 | -3 | 0:52 | Florida St | 26-yard field goal by Dave Cappelen | 24 | 14 |
| 4 | 4:27 | 5 | 65 | 2:31 | Miami (FL) | E.J. Baker 27-yard touchdown reception from Mark Richt, Danny Miller kick good | 24 | 21 |
| 4 | 1:14 | 4 | 31 | 0:42 | Florida St | Mark Lyles 22-yard touchdown reception from Wally Woodham, Dave Cappelen kick good | 31 | 21 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 31 | 21 |

### Navy

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Navy | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Florida St | 0 | 7 | 17 | 14 | 38 |
at Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, Florida
* Date: November 18, 1978
* Game time: 12:50 p.m. EDT
* Game weather: Partly cloudy, 76 °F (24 °C)
* Game attendance: 45,795
* Referee: W.T. Miller
* TV: ABC
* Box Score
* ABC Players of the Game: Jimmy Jordan & Sam Platt (off), Ron Simmons (def) 10 tackles, FR, FF
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
| Navy | Passing | Bob Leszczynski | 10/20, 188 Yds, INT |
| Navy | Rushing | Kevin Tolbert | 5 Rush, 27 Yds |
| Navy | Receiving | Sandy Jones | 2 Rec, 51 Yds |
| Florida St | Passing | Jimmy Jordan | 15/27, 280 Yds, 4 TD |
| Florida St | Rushing | Greg Ramsey | 5 Rush, 51 Yds, TD |
| Florida St | Receiving | Sam Platt | 6 Rec, 145 Yds, 3 TD |
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | NAVY | FSU |
| 1 | 0:48 | 4 | 35 | | Navy | 43-yard field goal by Bob Tata | 3 | 0 |
| 2 | 4:10 | 3 | 60 | | Florida St | Greg Ramsey 12-yard touchdown run, Dave Cappelen kick good | 3 | 7 |
| 2 | 2:28 | 6 | 77 | | Navy | 46-yard field goal by Bob Tata | 6 | 7 |
| 3 | 11:58 | 4 | 28 | | Florida St | 38-yard field goal by Dave Cappelen | 6 | 10 |
| 3 | 9:38 | 3 | 11 | | Florida St | Sam Platt 4-yard touchdown reception from Jimmy Jordan, Dave Cappelen kick good | 6 | 17 |
| 3 | 6:55 | 4 | 56 | | Florida St | Sam Platt 36-yard touchdown reception from Jimmy Jordan, Dave Cappelen kick good | 6 | 24 |
| 4 | 13:50 | 5 | 90 | | Florida St | Sam Platt 51-yard touchdown reception from Jimmy Jordan, Dave Cappelen kick good | 6 | 31 |
| 4 | 9:00 | 7 | 53 | | Florida St | Grady King 23-yard touchdown reception from Jimmy Jordan, Dave Cappelen kick good | 6 | 38 |
| "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 6 | 38 |