1979 North Dakota Fighting Sioux football team

1979 North Dakota Fighting Sioux football
NCC champion
NCAA Division II Quarterfinal, L 15–35 at Mississippi College
Conference	North Central Conference
Record	10–2 (5–1 NCC)
Head coach	Gene Murphy (2nd season)
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons ← 1978 1980  →

1979 North Central Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 3 North Dakota $^	5	–	1	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
No. 8 South Dakota State * ^	4	–	2	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
North Dakota State	4	–	2	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Nebraska–Omaha	3	–	3	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
South Dakota *	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Augustana (SD)	2	–	4	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
Morningside	0	–	6	–	0			0	–	10	–	0
Northern Colorado †	0	–	0	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant * – South Dakota State won two head-to-head games over South Dakota, which counted as one game for each team in the conference standings. † – Northern Colorado was ineligible for the conference title. Rankings from AP Poll

The 1979 North Dakota Fighting Sioux football team, also known as the Nodaks, was an American football team that represented the University of North Dakota as a member of the North Central Conference (NCC) during the 1979 NCAA Division II football season. Led by Gene Murphy in his second and final season as head coach, the Fighting Sioux compiled an overall record of 10–2 with a mark of 5–1 in conference play, winning the NCC title. North Dakota advanced to the NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs, losing in the quarterfinals to Mississippi College. The team played home games at Memorial Stadium in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 1		Moorhead State *		Memorial Stadium Grand Forks, ND	W 17–0	6,300
September 8		at Montana State *		Reno H. Sales Stadium Bozeman, MT	W 20–16	7,070
September 15		at Sacramento State *		Memorial Stadium Grand Forks, ND	W 31–0	13,200
September 22		at South Dakota State		Coughlin–Alumni Stadium Brookings, SD	W 13–0	4,380
September 29		Illinois State *	No. T–4	Memorial Stadium Grand Forks, ND	W 13–0	5,700	[1]
October 6		at Augustana (SD)	No. 3	Sioux Falls, SD	W 30–24	1,157
October 13		at North Dakota State	No. 2	Dacotah Field Fargo, ND (Nickel Trophy)	W 14–7	12,800	[2]
October 20		South Dakota	No. 3	Memorial Stadium Grand Forks, ND (Sitting Bull Trophy)	W 23–22	11,050
October 27		Morningside	No. 3	Memorial Stadium Grand Forks, ND	W 32–7	5,700
November 3		at Nebraska–Omaha	No. 3	Al F. Caniglia Field Omaha, NE	L 13–24	5,300
November 10		at Western Illinois *	No. 3	Hanson Field Macomb, IL	W 28–7	8,300
November 24	7:30 p.m.	at No. 5 Mississippi College *	No. 3	Mississippi Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS (NCAA Division II Quarterfinal)	L 15–35		[3] [4]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

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Roster

1979 North Dakota Fighting Sioux football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB 33 Kirk Anderson Jr QB 15 Chris Sorensen So OT 74 Todd Thomas Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class CB 13 Jim Abernathy So DT 80 Dale Markham Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Gene Murphy Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

References

1. "Undefeated Sioux post fourth shutout of year". Sioux City Journal . Associated Press. September 30, 1979. p. C10. Retrieved December 18, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
2. "North Dakota defeats North Dakota St. 14–7". Star Tribune. October 14, 1979. Retrieved October 5, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
3. Nance, Roscoe (November 24, 1979). "MC's loss to be motivator for today, says Williams". The Clarion-Ledger . Jackson, Mississippi. p. 3C. Retrieved December 30, 2022– via Newspapers.com .
4. Gough, Norman (November 25, 1979). "Mississippi overpowers N. Dakota". The Morning News . Wilmington, Delaware. p. D3. Retrieved December 30, 2022– via Newspapers.com .
5. "Final 1979 Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association . Retrieved December 30, 2022.
6. "2019 North Dakota Football Media Guide" (PDF). University of North Dakota. 2019. p. 176.