September
The pre-season ranking of the top 5 were 1. Alabama, 2. Arkansas, 3. Penn State, 4. Oklahoma, and 5. Notre Dame.
On September 2, Alabama avenged its only loss from the prior season when they topped #10 Nebraska, 20-3. #2 Arkansas would not start its season for another two weeks. #3 Penn State struggled in beating Temple 10-7 and dropped to 5th, #4 Oklahoma was idle, as was #5 Notre Dame. 1. Alabama, 2. Arkansas, 3. Oklahoma, 4. Notre Dame, 5. Penn State
On September 9, #1 Alabama and #2 Arkansas were not scheduled, while #3 Oklahoma opened its season with a 35-29 win at Stanford. #4 Notre Dame was stunned at Missouri, 3-0, while #5 Penn State beat Rutgers, 26-10. #6 Michigan, who had yet to begin their season, replaced Notre Dame in the top 5. 1. Alabama, 2. Arkansas, 3. Oklahoma, 4. Michigan, 5. Penn State.
September 16 saw #1 Alabama win at #11 Missouri, 38-20 while #2 Arkansas opened its season with a 48-17 win over Vanderbilt. #3 Oklahoma walloped West Virginia 52-10, and #4 Michigan started its campaign with a 31-0 shutout of Illinois. #5 Penn State blanked #6 Ohio State 19-0 and would regain the #3 ranking, tying Oklahoma in the voting. 1. Alabama, 2. Arkansas, 3. Penn State, 3. Oklahoma, 5. Michigan.
On September 23, #1 Alabama lost in Birmingham to #7 USC, 24-14. #2 Arkansas struggled in beating Oklahoma State 19-7, #3 Penn State struggled with SMU but won 26-21, #3 Oklahoma would vault to the top spot on the strength of their 66-7 win over Rice, and #5 Michigan won at #14 Notre Dame, 28-14. The new poll was 1. Oklahoma, 2. Arkansas, 3. USC, 4. Michigan, 5. Penn State.
On September 30, new #1 Oklahoma beat #14 Missouri 45-23, #2 Arkansas was unimpressive in a 21-13 win over Tulsa, #3 USC thumped Michigan State 30-9, #4 Michigan beat Duke 52-0, and #5 Penn State crushed TCU 58-0. 1. Oklahoma, 2. USC, 3. Michigan, 4. Arkansas, 5. Penn State.
Read more about this topic: 1978 NCAA Division I-A Football Season