1978 North Dakota State Bison football team

1978 North Dakota State Bison football
Conference	North Central Conference
Record	6–4 (3–3 NCC)
Head coach	Jim Wacker (3rd season)
Home stadium	Dacotah Field

1978 North Central Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
South Dakota * $	5	–	0	–	1			7	–	4	–	0
No. 6 Nebraska–Omaha * ^	4	–	1	–	1			8	–	3	–	0
North Dakota State	3	–	3	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
North Dakota	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
South Dakota State	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Augustana (SD)	2	–	4	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
Morningside	0	–	6	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant * – Nebraska–Omaha and South Dakota split two head-to-head games, which counted as a tie for each team in the conference standings. Rankings from AP Poll

The 1978 North Dakota State Bison football team was an American football team that represented North Dakota State University during the 1978 NCAA Division II football season as a member of the North Central Conference. In their third year under head coach Jim Wacker, the team compiled a 6–4 record.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 2	Northern Arizona*		Dacotah Field Fargo, ND	W 23–7	8,100
September 9	at Weber State*		Stewart Stadium Ogden, UT	W 49–28	12,062
September 16	at Montana State*		Reno H. Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT	L 18–28	7,650
September 23	at Augustana (SD)		Howard Wood Field Sioux Falls, SD	W 45–17	3,992
September 30	South Dakota	No. 8	Dacotah Field Fargo, ND	L 14–17	10,050
October 7	at Nebraska–Omaha		Al F. Caniglia Field Omaha, NE	L 12–19	8,200
October 14	Northern Iowa*		Dacotah Field Fargo, ND	W 42–14	9,000
October 21	at North Dakota		Memorial Stadium Grand Forks, ND (Nickel Trophy)	L 21–24	14,300
October 28	Morningside		Dacotah Field Fargo, ND	W 56–7	3,100
November 4	at South Dakota State		Coughlin–Alumni Stadium Brookings, SD (rivalry)	W 28–26	3,129
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game