The 1978 NCAA Division II football rankings are from the Associated Press. This is for the 1978 season.
| Increase in ranking | ||
| Decrease in ranking | ||
| Not ranked previous week | ||
(#–#)
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Win–loss record | |
(Italics)
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Number of first place votes | |
т
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Tied with team above or below also with this symbol |
| Week 1 Sept 27[1] | Week 2 Oct 4[2] | Week 3 Oct 11[3] | Week 4 Oct 18[4] | Week 5 Oct 25[5] | Week 6 Nov 1[6] | Week 7 Nov 8[7] | Week 8 Nov 15[8] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Delaware (3–0) | Winston-Salem State (5–0) | Winston-Salem State (6–0) | Winston-Salem State (7–0) | Winston-Salem State (8–0) | Winston-Salem State (9–0) | Winston-Salem State (9–0) | Winston-Salem State (10–0) | 1. |
| 2. | Winston-Salem State (4–0) | Delaware (3–1) | Cal Poly (4–0) | Youngstown State (6–0) | Youngstown State (7–0) | Youngstown State (7–1) | Youngstown State (8–1) | Youngstown State (9–1) | 2. |
| 3. | North Dakota (3–1) | Cal Poly (3–0) | Youngstown State (5–0) | Delaware (4–2) | Delaware (5–2) | Nebraska–Omaha (8–1) | Cal Poly (6–1) | Delaware (7–3) | 3. |
| 4. | Eastern Illinois (4–0) | Youngstown State (4–0) | Akron (4–1) | Cal Poly (4–1) | Cal Poly (5–1) | Cal Poly (5–1) | Delaware (6–3) | UC Davis (7–2) | 4. |
| 5. | Northern Michigan (2–1) | Northern Michigan (3–1) | Delaware (3–2) | Nebraska–Omaha (6–1) | UC Davis (5–1) | Troy State (6–1) | Troy State (7–1) | Eastern Illinois (8–2) | 5. |
| 6. | Youngstown State (3–0) | Akron (3–1) | UC Davis (3–1) | Akron (4–2) | Nebraska–Omaha (7–1) | Delaware (5–3) | UC Davis (6–2) | Nebraska–Omaha (8–2–1) | 6. |
| 7. | Bethune–Cookman (3–0) | Troy State (3–0) | Nebraska–Omaha (5–1) | North Alabama (5–0–1) | Troy State (5–1) | UC Davis (5–2) | Eastern Illinois (7–2) | Jacksonville State (6–2) | 7. |
| 8. | North Dakota State (3–1) | Eastern Illinois (4–1) | Mississippi College (5–0) | Northern Michigan (4–1–1) | Eastern Illinois (5–2) | Akron (5–3) | South Dakota (7–3) | Cal Poly (6–2) | 8. |
| 9. | Cal Poly (2–0) | UC Davis (2–1) | Jacksonville State (3–1) | UC Davis (4–1) | Northern Michigan (4–2–1) | Eastern Illinois (6–2) | Jacksonville State (5–2) | American International (6–2–1) | 9. |
| 10. | Jacksonville State (2–1) | Jacksonville State (3–1) т | Northern Michigan (3–1–1) | Troy State (4–1) | Jacksonville State (3–2) | Jacksonville State (4–2) | Nebraska–Omaha (8–2) | Puget Sound (10–0) | 10. |
| 11. | Virginia Union (2–1) т | 11. | |||||||
| Week 1 Sept 27[1] | Week 2 Oct 4[2] | Week 3 Oct 11[3] | Week 4 Oct 18[4] | Week 5 Oct 25[5] | Week 6 Nov 1[6] | Week 7 Nov 8[7] | Week 8 Nov 15[8] | ||
Dropped:
| Dropped:
| Dropped:
| Dropped:
| Dropped: 9 Northern Michigan | Dropped: 8 Akron | Dropped:
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| Pre-divisional |
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| NCAA University Division |
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| NCAA Division I |
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| NCAA Division I-A/FBS |
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| NCAA Division I-AA/FCS |
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| Small college |
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| NCAA Division II |
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| NCAA Division III |
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| Polls |
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