| Year Game Played: | 1978 |
| Game Name: | Holiday Bowl |
| Football Season: | 1978 |
| Visitor Name Short: | Navy |
| Visitor Nickname: | Midshipmen |
| Visitor School: | United States Naval Academy |
| Home Name Short: | BYU |
| Home Nickname: | Cougars |
| Home School: | Brigham Young University |
| Visitor Record: | 8 - 3 |
| Visitor Conference: | Independent |
| Home Record: | 9 - 3 |
| Home Conference: | WAC |
| Visitor Coach: | George Welsh |
| Home Coach: | LaVell Edwards |
| Visitor 1Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 3 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 13 |
| Home 1Q: | 3 |
| Home 2Q: | 6 |
| Home 3Q: | 7 |
| Home 4Q: | 0 |
| Date Game Played: | December 22 |
| Stadium: | San Diego Stadium |
| City: | San Diego, California |
| Mvp: | WR Phil McConkey (Navy) Tom Enlow (BYU) |
| Attendance: | 52,500[1] |
| Payout: | 218,645 per team |
| First Game Ever Played: | yes |
The 1978 Holiday Bowl was the inaugural college football bowl game of the Holiday Bowl. It was played on December 22, 1978, at San Diego Stadium in San Diego, California. The game was part of the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. It featured the Navy Midshipmen against the BYU Cougars. Navy won 23–16.
Navy won their first seven games of the season, the most wins in a streak in years. A loss to Notre Dame sparked a losing streak that spanned to their games against Syracuse and Florida State, but the Midshipmen managed to rout Army 28–0 to win their eighth game, the most in a season since the nine win year in 1963. The Cougars had won their third straight Western Athletic Conference title (their fourth in five years), with a 5-1 conference record (their only loss being to Utah in the Holy War). BYU was making their 3rd bowl appearance in four years, after skipping the previous year (and their invite to the Fiesta Bowl) due to the game falling on a Sunday.
For Navy, Bob Lesczynski threw 7-of-13 for 123 yards for one touchdown. Phil McConkey caught 4 passes for 88 yards and rushed for 42 yards on 2 carries, while being named MVP. For BYU, Jim McMahon threw 9-of-18 for 133 yards for one touchdown and one interception. Mike Chronister caught 3 passes for 60 yards and one touchdown.[2] [3] [4]
| Statistics | Navy | BYU |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 20 | 16 |
| Rushing yards | 214 | 74 |
| Passing yards | 138 | 181 |
| Total yards | 352 | 255 |
| Passing | 8–14–0 | 16–34–2 |
| Fumbles–lost | 2–2 | 0–0 |
| Penalties–yards | 3–37 | 12–91 |
| Punts–average | 3–38.6 | 5–37.0 |
| Kickoff return yards | 70 | 80 |
| Punt return yards | 0 | 18 |
| Time of possession | 32:03 | 27:57 |
This was the first in seven consecutive Holiday Bowl appearances for the Cougars, who won four of the seven they played, including one against Michigan in 1984 that determined the national championship. Navy has not reached the Holiday bowl since this game, while they went on a bowl win drought of 18 years, not winning one until 1996.