The Notre Dame Fighting Irish were 8-3 in 1978. They emerged victorious over the Houston Cougars, 35 to 34, in the Cotton Bowl.
| GP | PTS | YDS | PLY | AVG | RUSH YDS | RUSH ATT | RUSH AVG | PASS YDS | PASS ATT | PASS AVG | SCK | SCKY | 1DWN | RUSH 1DWN | PASS 1DWN | PEN 1DWN | PEN | PEN YDS | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Team | 11 | 258 | 4,355 | 832 | 5.2 | 2,299 | 561 | 4.1 | 2,056 | 271 | 7.6 | ||||||||
Team Rank | 43rd | 21st | 37th | 22nd | 51st | 70th | 43rd | 21st | 38th | 22nd | |||||||||
Opponent | 11 | 163 | 3,572 | 4.4 | 1,537 | 490 | 3.1 | 2,035 | 317 | 6.4 | |||||||||
Opponent Rank | 31st | 61st | 54th | 22nd | 20th | 27th | 132nd | 133rd | 65th | ||||||||||
Net | +95 | +783 | +832 | +0.8 | +762 | +71 | +1.0 | +21 | -46 | +1.2 | |||||||||
Net Rank | 32nd | 38th | 37th | 33rd | 32nd | 39th | 30th | 65th | 97th | 33rd |
| Big 10 | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | 0 | 1.000 | |
| 2 | 11 | 0 | 1.000 |
| American Athletic | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 1 | .909 | |
| 2 | 9 | 2 | .818 |
| Independent | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | 2 | .818 | |
| 2 | 9 | 3 | .750 |
| Pac-12 | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 9 | .182 | |
| 2 | 5 | 6 | .455 |
| Mountain West | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9 | 2 | .818 | |
| 2 | 7 | 4 | .636 |
| Big 12 | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 1 | .909 | |
| 2 | 10 | 1 | .909 |
| Mid-American | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 | 4 | .667 | |
| 2 | 7 | 4 | .636 |
| Conference USA | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 | 4 | .636 | |
| 2 | 8 | 3 | .727 |
| Sun Belt | W | L | PCT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 | 1 | .909 | |
| 2 | 8 | 3 | .727 |