1979 North Carolina Tar Heels football team

1979 North Carolina Tar Heels football
Gator Bowl champion
Gator Bowl, W 17–15 vs. Michigan
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 14
AP	No. 15
Record	8–3–1 (3–3 ACC)
Head coach	Dick Crum (2nd season)
Captain	Buddy Curry
Home stadium	Kenan Memorial Stadium
Seasons ←  1978 1980  →

1979 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
NC State $	5	–	1	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Clemson	4	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Maryland	4	–	2	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Wake Forest	3	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
No. 15 North Carolina	3	–	3	–	0			8	–	3	–	1
Virginia	1	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Duke	0	–	6	–	0			2	–	8	–	1
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1979 North Carolina Tar Heels football team was an American football team that represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their second year under head coach Dick Crum, the Tar Heels compiled an overall record of 8–3–1, with a conference record of 3–3, and finished fifth in the ACC.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 8	1:00 p.m.	South Carolina *		Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC (rivalry)	Raycom	W 28–0	49,500	[1]
September 22	1:00 p.m.	No. 13 Pittsburgh *		Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	Raycom	W 17–7	50,550	[2]
September 29	2:00 p.m.	at Army *	No. 20	Michie Stadium West Point, NY	Raycom	W 41–3	32,157	[3]
October 6	1:00 p.m.	Cincinnati *	No. 18	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	Raycom	W 35–14	49,000	[4]
October 13	1:00 p.m.	Wake Forest	No. 14	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC (rivalry)	ABC	L 19–24	50,720	[5]
October 20	4:00 p.m.	at No. 15 NC State	No. 19	Carter–Finley Stadium Raleigh, NC (rivalry)	ABC	W 35–21	54,200	[6]
October 27	1:00 p.m.	East Carolina *	No. 15	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	Raycom	T 24–24	49,700	[7]
November 3	1:30 p.m.	at Maryland	No. 18	Byrd Stadium College Park, MD	Raycom	L 14–17	35,618	[8]
November 10	1:00 p.m.	No. 18 Clemson		Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	Raycom	L 10–19	50,100	[9]
November 17	1:30 p.m.	at Virginia		Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA (rivalry)	Raycom	W 13–7	31,472	[10]
November 24	1:30 p.m.	at Duke		Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC (rivalry)	Raycom	W 37–16	39,800	[11]
December 28	9:00 p.m.	vs. No. 14 Michigan *		Gator Bowl Stadium Jacksonville, FL (Gator Bowl)	ABC	W 17–15	70,407	[12]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

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Roster

1979 North Carolina Tar Heels football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class C 51 Rick Donnalley Jr QB 12 Matt Kupec Sr RB 20 Amos Lawrence Jr RB 25 Doug Paschal Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 57 Buddy Curry Sr LB 98 Lawrence Taylor Jr DT 76 Donnell Thompson Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Dick Crum Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

1979 team players in the NFL

The following players were drafted into professional football following the season.

Player	Position	Round	Pick	Franchise
Buddy Curry	Linebacker	2	36	Atlanta Falcons
Doug Paschal	Running back	5	121	Minnesota Vikings
Phil Farris	Wide receiver	11	297	Denver Broncos

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References

1. "Tar Heels get their kicks in 28–0 win". The Charlotte Observer. September 9, 1979. Retrieved January 28, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
2. "North Carolina upsets 13th-ranked Pitt, 17–7". The Des Moines Register. September 23, 1979. Retrieved January 28, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Lawrence stars as unbeaten Tar Heels rout Army, 41–3". The Tampa Tribune. September 30, 1979. Retrieved January 28, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Heels rally, avery upset". Durham Morning Herald. October 7, 1979. Retrieved January 28, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Wake Forest stuns UNC". Daily Press. October 14, 1979. Retrieved January 27, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Tar Heels subdue Wolfpack". Winston-Salem Journal. October 21, 1979. Retrieved January 28, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Smoocher! Heels, Bucs tie one on". The News and Observer. October 28, 1979. Retrieved January 28, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Tice, Castro lead Terps by Tar Heels". The News and Observer. November 4, 1979. Retrieved January 28, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Tigers boot Heels". The Greenville News. November 11, 1979. Retrieved January 28, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Tar Heels defeat Cavaliers, 13–7". The Sun-News. November 18, 1979. Retrieved January 28, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Lawrence, UNC rush past Duke". Winston-Salem Journal. November 25, 1979. Retrieved January 28, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Michigan loses in Gator, 17–15". Detroit Free Press. December 29, 1979. Retrieved January 28, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
13. "1979 North Carolina Tar Heels Schedule and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
14. "1980 NFL Draft". Pro-Football-Reference. Retrieved October 21, 2012.