1978 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team

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1978 Association of Mid-Continent Universities football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Youngstown State $^	5	–	0	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
Akron	4	–	1	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Eastern Illinois ^	3	–	2	–	0			12	–	2	–	0
Northern Michigan	1	–	3	–	1			5	–	4	–	1
Western Illinois	1	–	3	–	1			3	–	6	–	1
Northern Iowa	0	–	5	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant

The 1978 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team represented Eastern Illinois University during the 1978 NCAA Division II football season, and completed the 78th season of Panther football. The Panthers played their home games at O'Brien Stadium in Charleston, Illinois. The 1978 team came off a 1–10 record from the previous season. The 1978 team was led by coach Darrell Mudra. The team finished the regular season with a 9–2 record and made the NCAA Division II playoffs. The Panthers defeated Delaware, 10–9, in the National Championship Game en route to the program's first NCAA Division II Football Championship.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result
September 2	Central State (OH)	O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL	W 41–16
September 9	at Butler	Bud and Jackie Sellick Bowl Indianapolis, IN	W 42–3
September 16	Northern Iowa	O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL	W 38–22
September 23	Northeast Missouri State	O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL	W 29–12
September 30	at Akron	Rubber Bowl Akron, OH	L 16–17