1979 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

1979 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
1979 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Conference	Independent
Record	7–4
Head coach	Dan Devine (5th season);
Captains	Vagas Ferguson ; Tim Foley ; Dave Waymer ;
Home stadium	Notre Dame Stadium
	Seasons ← 1978 1980 →

Last updated January 31, 2024

1979 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
v t e	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

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 15	3:20 p.m.	at No. 6 Michigan	No. 9	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	ABC	W 12–10	105,111	^[1]^[2]
September 22	2:30 p.m.	at No. 17 Purdue	No. 5	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (rivalry)		L 22–28	70,567
September 29	2:30 p.m.	No. 7 Michigan State	No. 15	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)		W 27–3	59,075
October 6	2:30 p.m.	Georgia Tech	No. 10	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)		W 21–13	59,075
October 13	3:30 p.m.	at Air Force	No. 10	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO (rivalry)		W 38–13	34,881
October 20	12:50 p.m.	No. 4 USC	No. 9	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)	ABC	L 23–42	59,075
October 27	2:30 p.m.	South Carolina	No. 14	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN		W 18–17	59,075	^[3]
November 3	1:30 p.m.	Navy	No. 13	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN (rivalry)		W 14–0	59,075
November 10	1:30 p.m.	at Tennessee	No. 13	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN		L 18–40	86,489	^[4]
November 17	1:30 p.m.	No. 14 Clemson		Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN		L 10–16	59,075
November 24	11:00 p.m.	vs. Miami (FL)		Korakuen Stadium Tokyo, Japan (Mirage Bowl) (rivalry)		W 40–15	62,574	^[5]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[6]

Roster

1979 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
G	`65`	Bob Burger	Jr
WR	`80`	Dave Condeni	So
QB	`2`	Mike Courey	Jr
C	`53`	Jeff Crippin	Sr
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	`13`	Greg Knafelc	Jr
QB	`6`	Rusty Lisch	Sr
OT	`75`	Rob Martinovich	Sr
TE	`86`	Dean Masztak	So
OT	`71`	Phil Pozderac	So
C	`57`	John Scully	Jr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DT	`94`	Tom Bock	So
LB	`43`	Bob Crable	So
DL		Mark Czaja
S	`22`	Dave Duerson	Fr
CB	`27`	Tom Gibbons	Jr
DE		Joe Gramke
DT		Kevin Griffith
DE		John Hankerd
DT		Don Kidd
DT		Pat Kramer
CB	`19`	John Krimm	So
LB	`61`	Bobby Leopold	Sr
DB	`34`	Dave Waymer	Sr
LB	`54`	Mike Whittington	Sr
DE	`70`	Scott Zettek	Jr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
P		Dick Boushka
K		Chuck Male	Sr

Head coach

Dan Devine

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Game summaries

At Michigan

Notre Dame Fighting Irish (0–0) at Michigan Wolverines (1–0)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Notre Dame	3	3	6	0	12
Michigan	3	7	0	0	10

at Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Date: September 15
Game weather: 65 °F (18 °C)
Game attendance: 105,111
TV announcers (ABC): Keith Jackson and Frank Broyles
Recap

Game information

First quarter

MICH – Bryan Virgil 30-yard field goal, 7:31. Michigan 3–0. Drive: 10 plays, 84 yards.
ND – Chuck Male 40-yard field goal. Tie 3–3. Drive:

Second quarter

MICH – Stan Edwards 1-yard run (Bryan Virgil kick), 10:48. Michigan 10–3. Drive: 13 plays, 80 yards, 6:39.
ND – Chuck Male 40-yard field goal, 4:48. Michigan 10–6. Drive:

Third quarter

ND – Chuck Male 22–yard field goal. Michigan 10–9. Drive:
ND – Chuck Male 39-yard field goal. Notre Dame 12–10. Drive:

Top passers

ND – Rusty Lisch – 5/10, 65 yards
MICH – B. J. Dickey – 9/18, 106 yards

Top rushers

ND – Vagas Ferguson – 35 rushes, 118 yards
MICH

Top receivers

ND
MICH

Bob Crable (10 tackles) leaped to block the potential-game winning field in the final seconds.

^[7]

At Purdue

Michigan State

Georgia Tech

At 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

^[8]

USC

South Carolina

Navy

	1	2	3	4	Total
Navy	0	0	0	0	0
• Notre Dame	7	0	0	7	14

Date: November 3
Location: Notre Dame Stadium
Game attendance: 59,075

ND: Ferguson 34 Rush, 155 Yds (first player in school history with 3,000 career rushing yards)

^[9]

At Tennessee

Clemson

Vs. Miami (FL)

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

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References

↑ Mick McCabe (September 17, 1979). "Irish upend punchless U-M, 12-10". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1F, 5F – via Newspapers.com.
↑ Billy Neff (September 16, 1979). "Irish upend Wolverines, 12-10". The Michigan Daily. pp. 1, 12 – via Bentley Historical Library.
↑ "Irish escape Gamecocks". The Indianapolis Star. October 21, 1979. Retrieved January 27, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Irish humbles by Vols, 40–18". The Indianapolis Star. November 11, 1979. Retrieved May 8, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
↑ "Irish run to victory over Miami". The Kokomo Tribune. November 26, 1979. Retrieved January 18, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
↑ 2011 Notre Dame football media guide.
↑ "Irish Topple Michigan On Walk-on's Field Goals." Palm Beach Post. 1979 September 16.
↑ Palm Beach Post. 1979 October 14.
↑ Eugene Register-Guard. 1979 November 4. Retrieved 2018-December-22.

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[1] Mick McCabe (September 17, 1979). "Irish upend punchless U-M, 12-10". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1F, 5F – via Newspapers.com.

[2] Billy Neff (September 16, 1979). "Irish upend Wolverines, 12-10". The Michigan Daily. pp. 1, 12 – via Bentley Historical Library.

[3] "Irish escape Gamecocks". The Indianapolis Star. October 21, 1979. Retrieved January 27, 2024– via Newspapers.com.

[4] "Irish humbles by Vols, 40–18". The Indianapolis Star. November 11, 1979. Retrieved May 8, 2022– via Newspapers.com.

[5] "Irish run to victory over Miami". The Kokomo Tribune. November 26, 1979. Retrieved January 18, 2023– via Newspapers.com.

[6] 2011 Notre Dame football media guide.

[7] "Irish Topple Michigan On Walk-on's Field Goals." Palm Beach Post. 1979 September 16.

[8] Palm Beach Post. 1979 October 14.

[9] Eugene Register-Guard. 1979 November 4. Retrieved 2018-December-22.

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