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1979 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

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American college football season

1979 Pittsburgh Panthers football
Fiesta Bowl champion
Eastern champion
Fiesta Bowl, W 16–10 vs. Arizona
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 6
APNo. 7
Record11–1
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorWally English (1st season)
Offensive schemeMultiple pro-style
Defensive coordinatorFoge Fazio (1st season)
Base defenseMultiple front
Home stadiumPitt Stadium
Seasons← 19781980 →
1979 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 6 Florida State   –   –   11 – 1 – 0
No. 7 Pittsburgh   –   –   11 – 1 – 0
UNLV   –   –   9 – 1 – 2
No. 17 Temple   –   –   10 – 2 – 0
Tulane   –   –   9 – 3 – 0
Rutgers   –   –   8 – 3 – 0
Tennessee State   –   –   8 – 3 – 0
East Carolina   –   –   7 – 3 – 1
No. 20 Penn State   –   –   8 – 4 – 0
South Carolina   –   –   8 – 4 – 0
Navy   –   –   7 – 4 – 0
Notre Dame   –   –   7 – 4 – 0
Southern Miss   –   –   6 – 4 – 1
Syracuse   –   –   7 – 5 – 0
Colgate   –   –   5 – 4 – 1
Boston College   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
Holy Cross   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
Memphis State   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
Miami (FL)   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
North Texas State   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
Villanova   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
Virginia Tech   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
West Virginia   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
Georgia Tech   –   –   4 – 6 – 1
Louisville   –   –   4 – 6 – 1
William & Mary   –   –   4 – 7 – 0
Illinois State   –   –   3 – 8 – 0
Northeast Louisiana   –   –   3 – 8 – 0
Army   –   –   2 – 8 – 1
Air Force   –   –   2 – 9 – 0
Cincinnati   –   –   2 – 9 – 0
Richmond   –   –   0 – 11 – 0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1979 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. The independent Panthers competed in the Fiesta Bowl and were awarded the Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy as the champion of the East.

Schedule

In the Backyard Brawl, Pittsburgh was led by true freshman quarterback Dan Marino, making his second collegiate start. He directed Pitt to a 24–17 victory in the last college football game played at old Mountaineer Field.

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 151:30 p.m.KansasNo. 16W 24–041,545
September 221:00 p.m.at North CarolinaNo. 13L 7–1750,500
September 297:30 p.m.at TempleW 10–934,039
October 61:30 p.m.Boston College
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, PA
W 28–737,146
October 1310:00 a.m.Cincinnati
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, PA (River City Rivalry)
W 35–031,620
October 204:30 p.m.at No. 12 WashingtonNo. 17W 26–1452,485
October 271:30 p.m.No. 17 NavyNo. 12
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, PA
W 24–751,332
November 312:30 p.m.SyracuseNo. 12
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)
ABCW 28–2143,500
November 101:30 p.m.at West VirginiaNo. 12W 24–1738,681
November 171:30 p.m.at ArmyNo. 11W 40–031,689
December 112:30 p.m.at No. 20 Penn StateNo. 11ABCW 29–1476,958
December 253:30 p.m.vs. ArizonaNo. 10NBCW 16–1055,347

Roster

1979 Pittsburgh Panthers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
G 70 Emil Boures So
C 56 Russ Grimm Jr
OT 64 Bob Gruber Sr
QB 13 Dan Marino Fr
OT 73 Mark May Jr
RB 40 Randy McMillan Jr
WR 81 Cliff Moore
TE 84 Benjie Pryor Jr
WR 88 Ralph Still Sr
QB 8 Rick Trocano Jr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DT 68 Jerry Boyarsky Jr
DE 99 Hugh Green Jr
DE 87 Rickey Jackson Jr
DT 86 Greg Meisner Jr
DT 76 Bill Neill Jr
CB 3 Lynn Thomas Jr
SS 48 Carlton Williamson Jr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K 5 Mark Schubert Sr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Roster

Coaching staff

1979 Pittsburgh Panthers football staff
Coaching staff   Support staff
  • Alex Kramer – Executive Assistant
  • Kevin Dickey – Recruiting coordinator
  • Nick Gasparato – Graduate assistant
  • Jerry Leith – Graduate assistant
  • Nick Rapone – Graduate assistant
   Strength and conditioning staff
  • Paul Stark – Weight, Strength Coach

Team players drafted into the NFL

Player Position Round Pick NFL club
Jo Jo Heath Defensive back 6 141 Cincinnati Bengals
Bob Gruber Tackle 10 276 Los Angeles Rams

References

Dan Marino quarterbacks Pitt in 35–0 rout of Cincinnati on October 13.
  1. "Site Unavailable".
  2. ^ Smizik, Bob (November 11, 1979). "Whew! Pitt outmuscles fightin' WVU". Pittsburgh Press. p. H1.
  3. Smizik, Bob (September 16, 1979). "Panthers 'still' Jayhawks, 24-0". Pittsburgh Press. p. D1.
  4. Woodling, Chuck (September 16, 1979). "Song's same, but in different key". Lawrence Journal-World. (Kansas). p. 1B.
  5. "North Carolina upsets 13th-ranked Pitt, 17–7". The Des Moines Register. September 23, 1979. Retrieved October 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Schubert was too right for Temple". Press of Atlantic City. September 30, 1979. Retrieved October 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Pitt 28-7 Win Stirs Up Great QB Debate". The Pittsburgh Press. October 7, 1979. pp. D1 – D2 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Pitt clobbers Cincinnati behind QB". Staten Island Advance. October 14, 1979. Retrieved October 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Costly turnovers make Huskies pay Pitt's price, 26-14". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire service reports. October 21, 1979. p. 6B.
  10. Smizik, Bob (October 28, 1979). "Super sub Marino torpedoes Navy". Pittsburgh Press. p. D1.
  11. "Pitt turns its freshmen loose". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire service reports. October 28, 1979. p. 10B.
  12. "Marino's passing paces Pitt". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. November 4, 1979. p. 102.
  13. "Pitt holds on to beat W. Va". The Sunday News. November 11, 1979. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. Smizik, Bob (November 18, 1979). "Panthers have a Fiesta with Army". Pittsburgh Press. p. D1.
  15. "Pitt rallies twice". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire service reports. December 2, 1979. p. 7E.
  16. "Pitt struggles to 16–10 triumph in Fiesta Bowl". York Daily Record. December 26, 1979. Retrieved October 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  17. "1979 Pitt Panthers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
  18. "Kansas - Pittsburgh probable starters". Lawrence Journal-World. (Kansas). September 14, 1979. p. 15.
  19. "Coaches Biographies". 1979 Pitt Football. University of Pittsburgh Department of Athletics. 1979. pp. 19–24. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
  20. "1980 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on December 22, 2007.
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