1979 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

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.

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
1979 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW 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

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.[1][2]

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 151:30 p.m.KansasNo. 16
W 24–041,545[3][4]
September 221:00 p.m.at North CarolinaNo. 13
L 7–1750,500
September 297:30 p.m.at Temple
W 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. 17
W 26–1452,485[5]
October 271:30 p.m.No. 17 NavyNo. 12
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, PA
W 24–751,332[6][7]
November 312:30 p.m.SyracuseNo. 12
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)
ABCW 28–2143,500[8]
November 101:30 p.m.at West VirginiaNo. 12
W 24–1738,681[2][9]
November 171:30 p.m.at ArmyNo. 11
W 40–031,689[10]
December 112:30 p.m.at No. 20 Penn StateNo. 11
ABCW 29–1476,958[11]
December 253:30 p.m.vs. ArizonaNo. 10
NBCW 16–1055,347

Roster
1979 Pittsburgh Panthers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
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.#NameClass
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.#NameClass
K 5 Mark Schubert Sr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt

Roster

[12]

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

[13]

Team players drafted into the NFL
PlayerPositionRoundPickNFL club
Jo Jo HeathDefensive back6141Cincinnati Bengals
Bob GruberTackle10276Los Angeles Rams

[14]

References
  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. "Costly turnovers make Huskies pay Pitt's price, 26-14". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire service reports. October 21, 1979. p. 6B.
  6. Smizik, Bob (October 28, 1979). "Super sub Marino torpedoes Navy". Pittsburgh Press. p. D1.
  7. "Pitt turns its freshmen loose". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire service reports. October 28, 1979. p. 10B.
  8. "Marino's passing paces Pitt". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. November 4, 1979. p. 102.
  9. "Pitt holds on to beat W. Va". The Sunday News. November 11, 1979. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Smizik, Bob (November 18, 1979). "Panthers have a Fiesta with Army". Pittsburgh Press. p. D1.
  11. "Pitt rallies twice". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire service reports. December 2, 1979. p. 7E.
  12. "Kansas - Pittsburgh probable starters". Lawrence Journal-World. (Kansas). September 14, 1979. p. 15.
  13. "Coaches Biographies". 1979 Pitt Football. University of Pittsburgh Department of Athletics. 1979. pp. 19–24. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
  14. "1980 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on December 22, 2007.


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