American college football season
The1979 Northwestern Wildcats team representedNorthwestern University during the1979 Big Ten Conference football season . In their second year under head coachRick Venturi , the Wildcats compiled a 1–10 record (0–9 againstBig Ten Conference opponents) and finished in last place in theBig Ten Conference .[ 2]
The team's offensive leaders were quarterbackMike Kerrigan with 961 passing yards, Jeff Cohn with 426 rushing yards, and Todd Sheets with 614 receiving yards.[ 3]
Northwestern's 54–21 loss toSyracuse on September 22 began a 34-game losing streak, the longest inNCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) history. The Wildcats did not win another game until September 25, 1982.
Date Opponent Site Result Attendance Source September 8 at No. 7Michigan L 7–49100,790 [ 4] September 15 Wyoming * W 27–22[ 5] September 22 Syracuse * Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL L 21–5420,121 [ 6] September 29 atMinnesota L 8–3833,998 [ 7] October 6 at No. 8Ohio State L 7–1687,406 [ 8] October 13 Iowa Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL L 6–5827,224 [ 9] October 20 atIndiana L 0–3030,086 [ 10] October 27 at No. 16Purdue L 16–2069,656 [ 11] November 3 Michigan State Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL L 7–4220,193 [ 12] November 10 atWisconsin L 3–2868,229 [ 13] November 17 Illinois Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL (rivalry ) L 13–2919,217 [ 14] *Non-conference game Rankings fromAP Poll released prior to the game
1979 Northwestern Wildcats football team roster Players Coaches Offense Defense Special teams Head coach Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain(S) Suspended(I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt
Team players in the NFL [ edit ] ^ "Year-by-Year Results" (PDF) . 2007. p. 148.Archived (PDF) from the original on March 16, 2019. RetrievedMarch 14, 2019 .^ "1979 Northwestern Wildcats Schedule and Results" .SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. RetrievedFebruary 22, 2016 .^ "1979 Northwestern Wildcats Stats" .SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. RetrievedFebruary 22, 2016 .^ Mick McCabe (September 9, 1979)."U-M 'pass happy' in first test, 49-7" .Detroit Free Press . pp. 1E, 4E – viaNewspapers.com . ^ "Wildcats break long losing streak" .The Dispatch . September 16, 1979. p. 15 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Hurley, Syracuse rip Northwestern" .Wisconsin State Journal . September 23, 1979. RetrievedOctober 27, 2024 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Barber, Carlson spark Minnesota past NU" .The Post-Crescent . September 30, 1979. RetrievedOctober 27, 2024 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Ohio State survives Northwestern scare" .Journal and Courier . October 7, 1979. RetrievedOctober 27, 2024 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Look out Big 10, Iowa is for real!" .The Daily Nonpareil . October 14, 1979. RetrievedOctober 27, 2024 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Indiana romps past Northwestern, 30–0" .The Des Moines Register . October 21, 1979. RetrievedOctober 27, 2024 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Herrmann sets Big Ten record as Purdue nips Northwestern" .The Courier-Journal . October 28, 1979. RetrievedOctober 27, 2024 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Reserve QB leads MSU over 'Cats" .The Rock Island Argus . November 4, 1979. RetrievedOctober 27, 2024 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Kalasmiki keys 28–3 Badger win" .The Courier . November 11, 1979. RetrievedOctober 27, 2024 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Sub leads Illini to 29–13 victory" .St. Louis Post-Dispatch . November 18, 1979. RetrievedOctober 27, 2024 – viaNewspapers.com .
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