1979 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

1979 Minnesota Golden Gophers football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record4–6–1 (3–5–1 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorMike Shanahan (1st season)
MVPMark Carlson
Captains
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
Seasons
← 1978
1980 →
1979 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 4 Ohio State $ 8 – 0 – 0 11 – 1 – 0
No. 10 Purdue 7 – 1 – 0 10 – 2 – 0
No. 18 Michigan 6 – 2 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
No. 19 Indiana 5 – 3 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
Iowa 4 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Minnesota 3 – 5 – 1 4 – 6 – 1
Michigan State 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Wisconsin 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Illinois 1 – 6 – 1 2 – 8 – 1
Northwestern 0 – 9 – 0 1 – 10 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1979 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the 1979 Big Ten Conference football season. In their first year under head coach Joe Salem, the Golden Gophers compiled a 4–6–1 record and were outscored by their opponents by a combined total of 271 to 264.[1]

Quarterback Mark Carlson received the team's Most Valuable Player award. Free safety Keith Edwards was awarded the Defensive MVP Award. Split End Elmer Bailey was named All-Big Ten first team. Defensive lineman Alan Blanshan and offensive lineman Bill Humphries were named Academic All-Big Ten.[2]

Total attendance for the season was 241,942, which averaged to 40,323. The season high for attendance was against Purdue.[3]

Schedule[edit]

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendance
September 8Ohio*
W 24–1033,435
September 15No. 15 Ohio State
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Minneapolis, MN
L 17–2143,515
September 22at No. 1 USC*
L 14–4861,966
September 29Northwestern
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Minneapolis, MN
W 38–833,998
October 6No. 12 Purdue
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Minneapolis, MN
W 31–1447,281
October 13at No. 11 Michigan
L 21–31104,677
October 20at Iowa
W 24–760,050
October 27Illinoisdagger
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Minneapolis, MN
T 17–1746,449
November 3at Indiana
L 24–4235,591
November 10at Michigan State
L 17–3175,131
November 17Wisconsin
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)
L 37–4237,274
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster[edit]

1979 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
WR 86 Jeff Anhorn Sr
WR 20 Elmer Bailey Sr
RB 41 Marion Barber Jr. Jr
QB 12 Mark Carlson Sr
G 67 Tom Fitzpatrick Sr
G 52 Darell Schwen Sr
WR 15 Terry Simmons Sr
FB 31 Bob Stroup Fr
WR 27 Virgil Thomas Fr
FB 48 Jeff Thompson Sr
OT 75 Terry Thomton Fr
C 53 Steve Tobin Sr
QB 7 Mark Tonn Sr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DE 70 Steve Cunningham Sr
DE 98 Anthony Davis Fr
CB 25 Howard Davis Fr
DT 91 Jeff Denney Fr
LB 89 Jim Fahnhorst So
LB 56 Jack Johnson Sr
DT 94 Kevin Kellen Fr
DT 92 John Kuduk Sr
LB 35 Mark Laliberte Fr
LB 59 Don Meyer Sr
DE 96 Jeff Schuh Jr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Roster

Team players in the NFL[edit]

Player Position Round Pick NFL club
Elmer Bailey Wide receiver 4 100 Miami Dolphins
Greg Murtha Tackle 6 161 Philadelphia Eagles

References[edit]

  1. ^ "1979 Minnesota Golden Gophers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  2. ^ Keiser, Jeff (2007), 2007 Media Guide (PDF), pp. 179–182[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ Keiser, Jeff (2007), 2007 Media Guide (PDF), p. 160[permanent dead link]
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