American college football season
The 1979 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois during the 1979 Big Ten Conference football season . In their third year under head coach Gary Moeller , the Illini compiled a 2–8–1 record and finished in ninth place in the Big Ten Conference .[1]
The team's offensive leaders were quarterback Lawrence McCullough with 1,254 passing yards, running back Mike Holmes with 792 rushing yards, and wide receiver John Lopez with 296 receiving yards.[2] McCullough was selected as the team's most valuable player.[3]
Schedule [ edit ] Date Opponent Site Result Attendance Source September 8 at No. 10 Michigan State L 16–3371,125 September 15 No. 11 Missouri * L 6–1449,049 [4] [5] September 22 at Air Force * W 27–1918,178 September 29 Navy * Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL L 12–1353,825 October 6 Iowa Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL L 7–1351,044 October 13 at No. 20 Purdue L 14–2869,413 October 20 No. 11 Michigan Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry ) L 7–2743,370 [6] [7] October 27 at Minnesota T 17–1747,406 November 3 No. 5 Ohio State L 7–4441,870 November 10 Indiana Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL L 14–4530,874 November 17 at Northwestern W 29–1319,217 *Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
1979 Illinois Fighting Illini football team roster Players Coaches Offense Pos. # Name Class OT 71 Lou Belmont So C 63 Greg Boeke Jr TE 80 Lee Boeke Jr QB 9 Tim McAvoy Jr C 53 Mike McBeth Sr G 76 Bob McClure Sr QB 11 Lawrence McCullough Sr G 62 Troy McMillin Jr G 78 Ray Pavesic Sr C 51 John Scott Jr WR 12 Kenny Shaw So TE 81 Mike Sherrod Sr QB 10 Nick Sowa Sr FB 42 Calvin Thomas So QB 14 Rich Weiss Jr
Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 15 Bonji Bonner So DT 73 Reggie Brown Jr OLB 31 Pete Burgard So OLB 58 Tab Carmien Jr LB 90 Chris Carr Sr DB 35 Bill Forrester So DB 6 Rick George So LB 38 John Gillen Jr LB 45 Bob Hauser Sr DB 48 Tim Holm Sr LB 89 Dan MacLean Sr DT 86 Stanley Ralph Sr LB 85 Jerry Ramshaw Sr LB 34 Jack Squirek So CB 16 Tyron Worthy So DB 39 Mark Zimmer So
Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 3 Cliff Jones Jr
Head coach Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster
References [ edit ] ^ "1979 Illinois Fighting Illini Schedule and Results" . SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015 . ^ "1979 Illinois Fighting Illini Stats" . SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015 . ^ "Fighting Illini Football Record Book" (PDF) . University of Illinois. 2015. p. 155. Retrieved December 29, 2016 . ^ Richardson, Steve (September 16, 1979). "MU Defense Saves Day At Goal Line" . The Kansas City Star . Kansas City, Missouri . p. 1S. Retrieved March 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com . ^ Richardson, Steve (September 16, 1979). "Running of Ellis Puts Tigers in Gear (continued)" . The Kansas City Star . Kansas City, Missouri . p. 9S. Retrieved March 4, 2023 – via Newspapers.com . ^ Mick McCabe (October 21, 1979). " 'Winded' U-M offense awakens in 2d half against Illinois, 27-7" . Detroit Free Press . pp. 1F, 16F – via Newspapers.com . ^ Billy Neff (October 21, 1979). "Blue blows past game Illinois, 27-7" . The Michigan Daily . pp. 1, 12.
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