1978 Ottawa Rough Riders season

The 1978 Ottawa Rough Riders finished in 1st place in the Eastern Conference with a 12–4 record.

1978 Ottawa Rough Riders season
Head coach	George Brancato
Home field	Lansdowne Park
Results
Record	12–4
Division place	1st, East
Playoff finish	Lost Eastern Final
Uniform

In 1978, Tony Gabriel was named the Outstanding Player in the CFL. He was the first Canadian to win that honour since Russ Jackson in 1969. No other Canadian has won the award since Gabriel. By 1978, Condredge Holloway's interception totals had dropped from 9, 6 and 5 in his first three years to just 2 on 214 attempts in 1978.[1] Holloway's share of Ottawa's passing yards was between 25.7 – 32.8 percent over the first three years. In 1978, it soared to 49.7 percent. Holloway's higher profile and obvious improvement would be factors in Clements' May, 1979 trade to Saskatchewan.[2]

Preseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Score	Result	Record
A	June 14	at Hamilton Tiger-Cats	24–16	Win	1–0
B	June 21	vs. BC Lions	21–20	Loss	1–1
C	June 28	vs. Montreal Alouettes	25–4	Loss	1–2
D	July 4	at Winnipeg Blue Bombers	28–27	Loss	1–3

Regular season

Standings

Eastern Football Conference

Team	GP	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pts
Ottawa Rough Riders	16	12	4	0	395	261	22
Montreal Alouettes	16	8	7	1	331	295	17
Hamilton Tiger-Cats	16	5	10	1	225	403	11
Toronto Argonauts	16	4	12	0	234	389	8

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Score	Result	Record
1	July 11	vs. Montreal Alouettes	17–10	Win	1–0
2	July 26	at Toronto Argonauts	20–16	Loss	1–1
3	Aug 1	at Edmonton Eskimos	24–23	Win	2–1
4	Aug 8	vs. Toronto Argonauts	37–18	Win	3–1
5	Aug 15	vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats	32–6	Win	4–1
6	Aug 23	at Hamilton Tiger-Cats	36–8	Win	5–1
7	Aug 30	vs. Calgary Stampeders	27–16	Win	6–1
8	Sept 5	at Montreal Alouettes	23–18	Win	7–1
8	Sept 9	vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers	31–29	Loss	7–2
9	Bye
10	Sept 24	vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders	53–18	Win	8–2
11	Sept 30	at Toronto Argonauts	24–3	Win	9–2
12	Oct 9	at Hamilton Tiger-Cats	25–5	Loss	9–3
13	Oct 15	vs. Montreal Alouettes	13–10	Win	10–3
14	Oct 21	at BC Lions	20–17	Loss	10–4
15	Oct 28	vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats	34–9	Win	11–4
16	Nov 4	at Montreal Alouettes	34–9	Win	12–4

[3]

Postseason

Round	Date	Opponent	Score	Result	Record
East Final	Nov 19	vs. Montreal Alouettes	21–16	Loss	12–5

Player stats

Passing

Player	Attempts	Completions	Percentage	Yards	Touchdowns	Interceptions
Tom Clements	239	152	63.6	1990	17	12
Condredge Holloway[4]	214	132	61.7	1970	12	2

Receiving

Player	Games Played	Receptions	Yards	Average	Long	Touchdowns
Jeff Avery	16	50	767	15.3	68	3
Tony Gabriel[5]	16	67	1070	16.0	80	11
Art Green	16	40	580	14.5	47	6

Rushing

Player	Rushes	Yards	Average	Touchdowns	Long
Art Green	58	238	4.1	3	64

Awards and honours

• CFL's Most Outstanding Player Award – Tony Gabriel (TE)
• CFL's Most Outstanding Canadian Award – Tony Gabriel (TE)
• CFL's Most Outstanding Offensive Lineman Award – Jim Coode (OT)

References

1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-07-28. Retrieved 2017-08-23.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-07-28. Retrieved 2017-08-23.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
3. http://michigan-football.com/cfl/f/ottaware.htm
4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-07-28. Retrieved 2017-08-23.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-07-28. Retrieved 2017-08-23.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)