# 1978 Arizona State Sun Devils football team

The 1978 Arizona State Sun Devils football team was an American football team that represented Arizona State University in the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their 21st season under head coach Frank Kush, the Sun Devils compiled a 9–3 record (4–3 against Pac-10 opponents), finished in a tie for fourth place in the Pac-10, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 347 to 236.
The team's statistical leaders included Mark Malone with 1,305 passing yards and 705 rushing yards and Chris DeFrance with 617 receiving yards.

## Schedule

| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance |
| September 9 | Pacific (CA)* | | Sun Devil StadiumTempe, AZ | W 42–7 | 69,527 |
| September 16 | BYU* | | Sun Devil StadiumTempe, AZ | W 24–17 | 70,311 |
| September 23 | at Washington State | | Joe Albi StadiumSpokane, WA | L 26–51 | 33,507 |
| September 30 | UTEP* | | Sun Devil StadiumTempe, AZ | W 27–0 | 69,497 |
| October 7 | Northwestern* | | Dyche StadiumEvanston, IL | W 56–14 | 17,009 |
| October 14 | No. 2 USC | | Sun Devil StadiumTempe, AZ | W 20–7 | 70,138 |
| October 28 | Washington | No. 12 | Husky StadiumSeattle, WA | L 7–41 | 54,866 |
| November 4 | California | | Sun Devil StadiumTempe, AZ | W 35–21 | 70,876 |
| November 11 | Stanford | | Sun Devil StadiumTempe, AZ | L 14–21 | 51,000 |
| November 18 | at Oregon State | | Parker StadiumCorvallis, OR | W 44–22 | 23,500 |
| November 25 | Arizona | | Arizona StadiumTucson, AZ (rivalry) | W 18–17 | 58,090 |
| December 16 | vs. Rutgers* | | Giants StadiumEast Rutherford, NJ (Garden State Bowl) | W 34–18 | 33,402 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game |||||||

## Game summaries
### USC

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| USC | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| • Arizona St | 0 | 3 | 14 | 3 | 20 |
* Mark Malone 19 Rush, 141 Yds
* Bob Kohrs 3 Fum Rec

### Arizona

Mark Malone threw a pair of touchdown passes and Bill Zivic's 45-yard field goal attempt missed wide left in the final seconds to secure the Sun Devil victory.

### Garden State Bowl

| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Arizona St | 0 | 7 | 14 | 13 | 34 |
| Rutgers | 10 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 18 |
at Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
* Date: December 16
* Game attendance: 33,402
* 2018 Arizona State football media guide
Game information :
Arizona St
Rutgers :
MVP: John Mistler
Scoring summary :
| Quarter | Time | Drive | Drive | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | Score |
| Quarter | Time | Plays | Yards | TOP | Team | Scoring information | ASU | RU |
| 1 | | | | | Rutgers | Dorn 47-yard touchdown run, Startzell kick good | 0 | 7 |
| 1 | | | | | Rutgers | 46-yard field goal by Startzell | 0 | 10 |
| 2 | | | | | Arizona St | Weathers 14-yard touchdown reception from Malone, Hicks kick good | 7 | 10 |
| 3 | | | | | Arizona St | Mistler 26-yard touchdown reception from Malone, Hicks kick good | 14 | 10 |
| 3 | | | | | Arizona St | DeFrance 53-yard touchdown reception from Malone, Hicks kick good | 21 | 10 |
| 4 | | | | | Arizona St | Malone 1-yard touchdown run, Hicks kick good | 28 | 10 |
| 4 | | | | | Rutgers | Blackwell 5-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass good | 28 | 18 |
| 4 | | | | | Arizona St | Malone 4-yard touchdown run, kick no good | 34 | 18 |
| "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. | 34 | 18 |