1979 Tennessee Volunteers football team

Last updated

1979 Tennessee Volunteers football
Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, L 22–27 vs. Purdue
Conference Southeastern Conference
Record7–5 (3–3 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinator Joe Avezzano (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator Frank Emanuel (1st season)
Captains
Home stadium Neyland Stadium
Seasons
  1978
1980  
1979 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 1 Alabama $ 6 0 012 0 0
Georgia 5 1 06 5 0
No. 16 Auburn 4 2 08 3 0
LSU 4 2 07 5 0
Tennessee 3 3 07 5 0
Kentucky 3 3 05 6 0
Ole Miss 3 3 04 7 0
Mississippi State 2 4 03 8 0
Vanderbilt 0 6 01 10 0
Florida 0 6 00 10 1
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1979 Tennessee Volunteers football team (variously "Tennessee", "UT" or the "Vols") represented the University of Tennessee in the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. Playing as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the team was led by head coach Johnny Majors, in his third year, and played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. They finished the season with a record of seven wins and five losses (7–5 overall, 3–3 in the SEC) and a loss against Purdue in the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl.

Contents

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 15at Boston College *W 28–1630,150 [1]
September 22 Utah *W 51–1885,783 [2]
September 29 Auburn
  • Neyland Stadium
  • Knoxville, TN
W 35–1785,936 [3]
October 6vs. Mississippi State No. 19L 9–2848,820 [4]
October 13 Georgia Tech *
  • Neyland Stadium
  • Knoxville, TN (rivalry)
W 31–085,524 [5]
October 20at No. 1 Alabama No. 18L 17–2777,665 [6]
November 3 Rutgers *Dagger-14-plain.pngNo. 17
  • Neyland Stadium
  • Knoxville, TN
L 7–1384,265 [7]
November 10No. 13 Notre Dame *
  • Neyland Stadium
  • Knoxville, TN
W 40–1886,489 [8]
November 17at Ole Miss No. 19L 20–4455,760 [9]
November 24at Kentucky W 20–1757,950 [10]
December 1 Vanderbilt
  • Neyland Stadium
  • Knoxville, TN (rivalry)
W 31–1084,142 [11]
December 31vs. No. 12 Purdue * Mizlou L 22–2740,542 [12]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Dagger-14-plain.pngHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel

1979 Tennessee Volunteers football team roster
PlayersCoaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
RB 34James BerrySo
G 64Roy CunninghamFr
RB 43Terry DanielsSo
WR 24Clyde DuncanFr
WR 26 Willie Gault Fr
WR 28 Anthony Hancock So
TE 85Reggie HarperJr
WR 4Phil IngramJr
OT 78 Tim Irwin Jr
G 68Mike JesterJr
C 59Alan LynnSr
G 70Bill MarrenSr
RB 33Gary MooreSr
C 73Lee NorthSo
QB 5Jeff OlszewskiSo
QB 8David RudderSr
RB 32Hubert SimpsonJr
QB 6 Jimmy Streater Sr
OT 67Phil SuttonSr
G 71Jay WilliamsJr
Defense
Pos.#NameClass
DB 42Val BarksdaleJr
DB 40 Bill Bates Fr
DE 93Mike CoferFr
DE 57Steve DavisSr
DB 26 Greg Gaines Jr
DE 84Brian IngramJr
S 14 Roland James Sr
DB 29Danny MartinJr
DT 60Jim NoonanSr
LB 44 Craig Puki Sr
LB 50 Danny Spradlin Jr
DE 83John WadeFr
DT 90Brad WhiteJr
Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
K 10Alan DuncanJr
P 49Dale SchnitmanSr
P 20John WarrenFr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injury icon 2.svg Injured
  • Redshirt.svg Redshirt

Game summaries

At Kentucky

1234Total
Tennessee377320
Kentucky0140317

[13]

Vanderbilt

Vanderbilt Commodores (1–9) at Tennessee Volunteers (6–4)
Quarter1234Total
Vanderbilt1000010
Tennessee00211031

at Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tennessee

  • Date: December 1
  • Game attendance: 84,142
  • [14]
Game information
  • Jimmy Streater became school's all-time leading passer

Bluebonnet Bowl (vs. Purdue)

1234Total
Purdue0147627
Tennessee0016622

Team players drafted into the NFL

PlayerPositionRoundPickNFL club
Roland James Defensive Back114 New England Patriots
Craig Puki Linebacker377 San Francisco 49ers

References

  1. Roberts, Ernie (September 16, 1979). "BC lead fizzles, it's Tennessee, 28–16". The Boston Globe. Retrieved May 8, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  2. "Tennessee blasts Utah, 51–18". The Salt Lake Tribune. September 23, 1979. Retrieved May 8, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  3. "Moore sparks Tennessee". The Daily Advertiser. September 30, 1979. Retrieved May 8, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Bulldogs swarm Vols". Enterprise-Journal. October 7, 1979. Retrieved May 8, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Streater leads Tennessee to whitewashing of Tech". The Macon News. October 14, 1979. Retrieved May 8, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  6. "No. 1 Alabama rallies to overtake Tennessee 27–17". The Courier-Journal. October 21, 1979. Retrieved May 8, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  7. "'No-name' Rutgers earns respect". Daily Record. November 4, 1979. Retrieved May 8, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Irish humbles by Vols, 40–18". The Indianapolis Star. November 11, 1979. Retrieved May 8, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Rebs use 'D' to beat Vols". The Commercial Appeal. November 18, 1979. Retrieved May 8, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  10. "UK's fourth-down bowl bid comes up short". The Courier-Journal. November 25, 1979. Retrieved May 8, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Streater rallies Vols past Vandy". Kingsport Times-News. December 2, 1979. Retrieved May 8, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Tennessee rally falls short, Purdue wins Bluebonnet Bowl". Johnson City Press-Chronicle. January 1, 1980. Retrieved May 8, 2022 via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Late Field Goal Lifts Tennessee." Palm Beach Post. 1979 Nov 25.
  14. "Vols bash Vandy." Eugene Register-Guard. 1979 Dec 02. Pg. 7E. Retrieved 2020-Dec-11.
  15. "1980 NFL Draft". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 6, 2012.