1979 NCAA Division I-A football season

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The 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season saw the Alabama Crimson Tide bring home a national title with a perfect 12-0 season. The title was Alabama's 11th claimed, though the number is disputed. It was their 6th Associated Press awarded title.

This was an extremely dominant Alabama team, only giving up 67 points the entire season and shutting out five opponents. The team won a tight one against LSU 3-0 and beat Auburn by a touchdown before beating Arkansas 24-9 in the Sugar Bowl.

The Ohio State Buckeyes came within one point of a national title under first year coach Earle Bruce, who replaced legendary coach Woody Hayes, falling to USC 17-16 in the Rose Bowl after an undefeated season. USC, whose season also included a tightly fought 17-12 victory over LSU, ended up finishing second in the country, but running back Charles White did bring home the Heisman Trophy.

Contents

[edit] Conference Standings

W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT = Winning Percentage, Conf. = Conference Record

Conference Champion
Atlantic Coast Conference
Team W L T Conf.
North Carolina State Wolfpack 7 4 0 5-1
Clemson Tigers 8 4 0 4-2
Maryland Terrapins 7 4 0 4-2
Wake Forest Demon Deacons 8 4 0 3-2
North Carolina Tar Heels 8 3 1 3-3
Virginia Cavaliers 6 5 0 1-4
Duke Blue Devils 2 8 1 0-6
Big Ten Conference
Team W L T Conf.
Ohio State Buckeyes 11 1 0 8-0
Purdue Boilermakers 10 2 0 7-1
Michigan Wolverines 8 4 0 6-2
Indiana Hoosiers 8 4 0 5-3
Iowa Hawkeyes 5 6 0 4-4
Minnesota Golden Gophers 4 6 1 3-5-1
Michigan State Spartans 5 6 0 3-5
Wisconsin Badgers 4 7 0 3-5
Illinois Fighting Illini 2 8 1 1-6-1
Northwestern Wildcats 1 10 0 0-9
Big Eight Conference
Team W L T Conf.
Oklahoma Sooners 11 1 0 7-0
Nebraska Cornhuskers 10 2 0 6-1
Oklahoma State Cowboys 7 4 0 5-2
Missouri Tigers 7 5 0 3-4
Kansas Jayhawks 3 8 0 2-5
Colorado Buffaloes 3 8 0 2-5
Iowa State Cyclones 3 8 0 2-5
Kansas State Wildcats 3 8 0 1-6
Mid-American Conference
Team W L T Conf.
Central Michigan Chippewas 10 0 1 8-0-1
Toledo Rockets 7 3 1 7-1-1
Western Michigan Broncos 6 5 0 5-4
Ball State Cardinals 6 5 0 4-4
Ohio Bobcats 6 5 0 4-4
Northern Illinois Huskies 5 5 1 3-3-1
Miami Redskins 6 5 0 3-4
Bowling Green Falcons 4 7 0 3-5
Eastern Michigan Hurons 2 8 1 1-6-1
Kent State Golden Flashes 1 10 0 1-7
Pacific-10 Conference
Team W L T Conf.
USC Trojans 11 0 1 6-0-1
Washington Huskies 9 3 0 5-2
Oregon Ducks 6 5 0 4-3
Arizona Wildcats 6 5 1 4-3
California Golden Bears 6 6 0 5-4
Stanford Cardinal 5 5 1 3-3-1
Arizona State Sun Devils 6 6 0 3-4
UCLA Bruins 5 6 0 3-4
Washington State Cougars 3 8 0 2-6
Oregon State Beavers 1 10 0 1-7
Southeastern Conference
Team W L T Conf.
Alabama Crimson Tide 12 0 0 6-0
Georgia Bulldogs 6 5 0 5-1
Auburn Tigers 8 3 0 4-2
Louisiana State Tigers 7 5 0 4-2
Tennessee Volunteers 7 5 0 3-3
Kentucky Wildcats 5 6 0 3-3
Ole Miss Rebels 4 7 0 3-3
Mississippi State Bulldogs 3 8 0 2-4
Vanderbilt Commodores 1 10 0 0-6
Florida Gators 0 10 1 0-6
Southwest Conference
Team W L T Conf.
Houston Cougars 11 1 0 7-1
Arkansas Razorbacks 10 2 0 7-1
Texas Longhorns 9 3 0 6-2
Baylor Bears 8 4 0 5-3
Texas A&M Aggies 6 5 0 4-4
SMU Mustangs 5 6 0 3-5
Texas Tech Red Raiders 3 6 2 2-5-1
TCU Horned Frogs 2 6 1 1-6-1
Rice Owls 1 10 0 0-8
Western Athletic Conference
Team W L T Conf.
Brigham Young Cougars 11 1 0 7-0
San Diego State Aztecs 8 3 0 5-2
Utah Utes 6 6 0 5-2
Hawaiʻi Rainbows 6 5 0 3-3
New Mexico Lobos 5 7 0 3-4
Colorado State Rams 4 7 1 3-4
Wyoming Cowboys 4 8 0 2-5
UTEP Miners 2 9 0 0-7


Independents
Team W L T
Pittsburgh Panthers 11 1 0
Florida State Seminoles 11 1 0
Temple Owls 10 2 0
UNLV Rebels 9 1 2
Tulane Green Wave 9 3 0
Rutgers Scarlet Knights 8 3 0
East Carolina Pirates 7 3 1
South Carolina Gamecocks 8 4 0
Penn State Nittany Lions 8 4 0
Navy Midshipmen 7 4 0
Notre Dame Fighting Irish 7 4 0
Southern Miss Golden Eagles 6 4 1
Syracuse Orangemen 7 5 0
Boston College Eagles 5 6 0
Miami Hurricanes 5 6 0
North Texas State Eagles 5 6 0
Memphis State Tigers 5 6 0
West Virginia Mountaineers 5 6 0
Virginia Tech Hokies 5 6 0
Louisville Cardinals 4 6 1
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 4 6 1
Army Black Knights 2 8 1
Air Force Falcons 2 9 0
Cincinnati Bearcats 2 9 0


[edit] #1 and #2 Progress

WEEKS #1 #2 Event
PRE-5 USC Alabama Stanford 21, USC 21 (Oct 13)
6 Alabama Texas Arkansas 17, Texas 14 (Oct 20)
7-9 Alabama Nebraska Ohio State 34, Iowa 7 (Nov 10)
10-11 Alabama Ohio State USC 49, UCLA 14 (Nov 24)
12 Alabama USC
13 Ohio State Alabama End Regular Season

[edit] Bowl Games

[edit] Bowl Games

BOWL
Rose Bowl #3 USC 17 #1 Ohio State 16
Sugar Bowl #2 Alabama 24 #6 Arkansas 9
Orange Bowl #5 Oklahoma 24 #4 Florida State 7
Cotton Bowl #8 Houston 17 #7 Nebraska 14
Bluebonnet Bowl #12 Purdue 27 Tennessee 22
Peach Bowl #19 Baylor 24 #18 Clemson 18
Hall of Fame Classic Missouri 24 #16 South Carolina 14
Gator Bowl North Carolina 17 #14 Michigan 15
Fiesta Bowl #10 Pittsburgh 16 Arizona 10
Sun Bowl #13 Washington 14 #11 Texas 7
Liberty Bowl Penn State 9 #15 Tulane 6
Tangerine Bowl LSU 34 Wake Forest 10
Holiday Bowl Indiana 38 #9 Brigham Young 37
Garden State Bowl #20 Temple 28 California 17
Independence Bowl Syracuse 31 McNeese State 7

[edit] Final AP Poll

  1. Alabama
  2. USC
  3. Oklahoma
  4. Ohio State
  5. Houston
  6. Florida State
  7. Pittsburgh
  8. Arkansas
  9. Nebraska
  10. Purdue
  11. Washington
  12. Texas
  13. Brigham Young
  14. Baylor
  15. North Carolina
  16. Auburn
  17. Temple
  18. Michigan
  19. Indiana
  20. Penn State

[edit] Final Choaches Poll

  1. Alabama
  2. Southern California
  3. Oklahoma
  4. Ohio St.
  5. Houston (TX)
  6. Pittsburgh (PA)
  7. Nebraska
  8. Florida St.
  9. Arkansas
  10. Purdue (IN)
  11. Washington
  12. Brigham Young (UT)
  13. Texas
  14. North Carolina
  15. Baylor (TX)
  16. Indiana
  17. Temple (PA)
  18. Penn St.
  19. Michigan
  20. Missouri


[edit] Heisman Trophy Voting

  1. Charles White, Southern California TB
  2. Billy Simms, Oklahoma HB
  3. Marc Wilson, Brigham Young QB
  4. Art Schlichter, Ohio State QB
  5. Vegas Ferguson, Notre Dame TB

[edit] Other Major Awards

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