1978 Northern Illinois Huskies football team

1978 Northern Illinois Huskies football
Conference	Mid-American Conference
Record	5–6 (2–4 MAC)
Head coach	Pat Culpepper (3rd season)
MVP	Pete Kraker, Dave Petzke, Mark Stuart
Captain	All seniors
Home stadium	Huskie Stadium

1978 Mid-American Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Ball State $	8	–	0	–	0			10	–	1	–	0
Central Michigan	8	–	1	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
Miami (OH)	5	–	2	–	0			8	–	2	–	1
Western Michigan	5	–	4	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Bowling Green	3	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Ohio	3	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Northern Illinois	2	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Kent State	2	–	6	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Toledo	2	–	7	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Eastern Michigan	1	–	5	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
$ – Conference champion

The 1978 Northern Illinois Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois University as a member of the Mid-American Conference (MAC) during 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by third-year head coach Pat Culpepper, the Huskies compiled an overall record of 5–6 with a mark of 2–4 in conference play, placing seventh in the MAC. Northern Illinois played home games at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb, Illinois.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 16	Western Michigan	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	L 30–44
September 23	at Northeast Louisiana*	Malone Stadium Monroe, LA	L 10–27
September 30	Illinois State*	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	W 49–21
October 7	at Long Beach State*	Anaheim Stadium Anaheim, CA	L 19–24	6,225
October 14	Western Illinois*	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	W 24–20
October 21	at Central Michigan	Perry Shorts Stadium Mount Pleasant, MI	L 7–34
October 28	at Southern Illinois*	McAndrew Stadium Carbondale, IL	W 14–13	16,489
November 4	Kent State	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	W 27–21
November 11	at Toledo	Glass Bowl Toledo, OH	L 16–35
November 18	Ball State	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL (rivalry)	L 13–31
November 25	at Ohio	Peden Stadium Athens, OH	W 23–14
*Non-conference game