1979 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

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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 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame during the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Irish finished unranked in both major polls for the first time since 1963.

Schedule

September 153:20 p.m.at No. 6 MichiganNo. 9

• Michigan Stadium
• Ann Arbor, MI (Rivalry)

ABCW 12–10 105,111 September 222:30 p.m.at No. 17 PurdueNo. 5

• Ross–Ade Stadium
• West Lafayette, IN (Shillelagh Trophy)

L 22–28 70,567 September 292:30 p.m.No. 7 Michigan StateNo. 15

• Notre Dame Stadium
• South Bend, IN (Megaphone Trophy)

W 27–3 59,075 October 62:30 p.m.Georgia TechNo. 10

• Notre Dame Stadium
• South Bend, IN

W 21–13 59,075 October 133:30 p.m.at Air ForceNo. 10

• Falcon Stadium
• Colorado Springs, CO

W 38–13 34,881 October 2012:50 p.m.No. 4 USCNo. 9

• Notre Dame Stadium
• South Bend, IN (Jeweled Shillelagh)

ABCL 23–42 59,075 October 272:30 p.m.South CarolinaNo. 14

• Notre Dame Stadium
• South Bend, IN

W 18–17 59,075 November 31:30 p.m.NavyNo. 13

• Notre Dame Stadium
• South Bend, IN (Rivalry)

W 14–0 59,075 November 101:30 p.m.at TennesseeNo. 13

• Neyland Stadium
• Knoxville, TN

L 18–40 86,489 November 171:30 p.m.No. 14 Clemson

• Notre Dame Stadium
• South Bend, IN

L 10–16 59,075 November 2411:00 p.m.vs. Miami (FL)

• National Olympic Stadium
• Tokyo, Japan (Mirage Bowl)

W 40–15 62,574

Roster

1979 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class G 65 Bob Burger Jr WR 1 Ty Dickerson Jr RB 32 Vagas Ferguson Sr OT 73 Tim Foley Sr WR 31 Pete Holohan Jr G 78 Tim Huffman Jr QB 6 Rusty Lisch Sr OT 75 Rob Martinovich Sr OT 71 Phil Pozderac So C 57 John Scully Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 43 Bob Crable So S 22 Dave Duerson Fr CB 27 Tom Gibbons Jr CB 19 Josh Krimm So LB 61 Bobby Leopold Sr DB 34 Dave Waymer Sr LB 54 Mike Whittington Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Dan Devine Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Game summaries

Michigan

1 2 3 4 Total • Notre Dame 3 3 6 0 12 Michigan 3 7 0 0 10 Date: September 15 Location: Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, MI

Scoring summary 1 MICH Virgil 30-yard field goal MICH 3-0 1 ND Male 40-yard field goal Tied 3-3 2 MICH Edwards 1-yard run (Virgil kick) MICH 10-3 2 ND Male 40-yard field goal MICH 10-6 3 ND Male 22-yard field goal MICH 10-9 3 ND Male 39-yard field goal ND 12-10

Air Force

1 2 3 4 Total • Notre Dame 10 21 0 7 38 Air Force 0 7 6 0 13 Date: October 13 Location: Falcon Stadium, Colorado Springs, Colorado Game attendance: 34,881

Scoring summary Q1 ND Ferguson 5 yard run (Male kick) ND 7–0 Q1 ND Male 43 yard field goal ND 10–0 Q2 ND Lisch 1 yard run (Male kick) ND 17–0 Q2 AFA James 1 yard run (Sturch kick) ND 17–7 Q2 ND Vehr 2 yard pass from Lisch (Male kick) ND 24–7 Q2 ND Ferguson 23 yard run (Male kick) ND 31–7 Q3 AFA Schafer 2 yard pass from Ziebart (run failed) ND 31–13 Q4 ND Hunter 75 yard pass from Lisch (Male kick) ND 38–13

A football gifted by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team to President Gerald Ford, commemorating their 18-17 victory over South Carolina on October 27.

Team players in the NFL

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Vagas Ferguson	Running back	1	25	New England Patriots
Dave Waymer	Conerback	2	41	New Orleans Saints
Tim Foley	Tackle	2	51	Baltimore Colts
Rusty Lisch	Quarterback	4	89	St. Louis Cardinals
Bobby Leopold	Linebacker	8	210	San Francisco 49ers
Rob Martinovich	Tackle	10	261	Kansas City Chiefs