1979 Arkansas Razorbacks football team
The 1979 Arkansas Razorbacks football team represented the University of Arkansas in the Southwest Conference (SWC) during the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their third year under head coach Lou Holtz, the Razorbacks compiled a 10–2 record (7–1 against SWC opponents), finished in a tie with Houston for the SWC championship, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 284 to 132. The Razorbacks' only regular season loss was to Houston by a 13–10 score. The team advanced to the 1980 Sugar Bowl, losing to undefeated national champion Alabama by a 24–9 score.[1][2] Arkansas was ranked #8 in the final AP Poll and #9 in the final UPI Coaches Poll.
| 1979 Arkansas Razorbacks football | |
|---|---|
Southwest Conference co-champion | |
Sugar Bowl, L 24–9 vs. Alabama | |
| Conference | Southwest Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 9 |
| AP | No. 8 |
| 1979 record | 10–2 (6–2 SWC) |
| Head coach |
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| Captains |
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| Home stadium | Razorback Stadium War Memorial Stadium |
| 1979 Southwest Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 5 Houston + | 7 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 11 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 8 Arkansas + | 7 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 10 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 12 Texas | 6 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 14 Baylor | 5 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Texas A&M | 4 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SMU | 3 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Texas Tech | 2 | – | 5 | – | 1 | 3 | – | 6 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TCU | 1 | – | 6 | – | 1 | 2 | – | 8 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rice | 0 | – | 8 | – | 0 | 1 | – | 10 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Offensive tackle Greg Kolenda was a consensus All-American for the Razorbacks in 1979.[3] Placekicker Ish Ordonez led the nation in field goals with 18 and lead the Southwest Conference in scoring for the second year in a row with 80 points. He broke the NCAA record of 12 consecutive field goals making 16 and hit 18 of 22 field goals on the season, for an 82% average and was second-team All-American. As a defense, Arkansas was tied for 6th in scoring defense in the 1979 season, giving up 108 points in 11 games (9.8 ppg).
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 15 | Colorado State* | No. 17 | W 36–3 | 55,317 | ||
| September 22 | Oklahoma State* | No. 15 |
| W 27–7 | 55,812 | |
| September 29 | Tulsa* | No. 13 | W 33–8 | 45,742 | ||
| October 6 | at TCU | No. 13 | W 16–13 | 25,317 | ||
| October 13 | at Texas Tech | No. 12 | W 20–6 | 47,109 | ||
| October 20 | No. 2 Texas | No. 10 |
| ABC | W 17–14 | 55,838 |
| October 27 | No. 6 Houston | No. 4 |
| ABC | L 10–13 | 43,319 |
| November 3 | at Rice | No. 9 | W 34–7 | 17,000 | ||
| November 10 | No. 17 Baylor | No. 9 |
| W 29–20 | 43,284 | |
| November 17 | at Texas A&M | No. 8 | W 22–10 | 62,648 | ||
| November 24 | SMU | No. 7 |
| W 31–7 | 54,718 | |
| January 1 | vs. No. 2 Alabama* | No. 6 | ABC | L 9–24 | 77,486 | |
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Roster
- RB Gary Anderson, Fresh
- Jeff Goff (defense), Soph
- DE Jim Howard
- TE Darryl Mason
- PK Ish Ordonez
- Ricky Richardson (defense), Soph
- QB Kevin Scanlon, Sr.
- G George Stewart
Season summary
Texas
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Texas' John Goodson missed a 51-yard field goal into a 24-mile per hour wind with 1:29 left to play as Arkansas beat the Longhorns for the first time since 1971. [4]
References
- "Arkansas Yearly Results (1975-1979)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
- "19789Arkansas Razorbacks Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
- "Consensus All Americans."1979 Retrieved on July 31, 2007.
- Eugene Register-Guard. 1979 Oct 21.