1979 Tennessee Volunteers football team

1979 Tennessee Volunteers football
Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, L 22–27 vs. Purdue
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Record	7–5 (3–3 SEC)
Head coach	Johnny Majors (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Joe Avezzano (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Frank Emanuel (1st season)
Captains	Roland James Craig Puki Jimmy Streater
Home stadium	Neyland Stadium
Seasons ←  1978 1980  →

1979 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Alabama $	6	–	0	–	0			12	–	0	–	0
Georgia	5	–	1	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
No. 16 Auburn	4	–	2	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
LSU	4	–	2	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Tennessee	3	–	3	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Kentucky	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Ole Miss	3	–	3	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Mississippi State	2	–	4	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Vanderbilt	0	–	6	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
Florida	0	–	6	–	0			0	–	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.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 15	at Boston College *		Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA		W 28–16	30,150	[1]
September 22	Utah *		Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN		W 51–18	85,783	[2]
September 29	Auburn		Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN		W 35–17	85,936	[3]
October 6	vs. Mississippi State	No. 19	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN		L 9–28	48,820	[4]
October 13	Georgia Tech *		Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)		W 31–0	85,524	[5]
October 20	at No. 1 Alabama	No. 18	Legion Field Birmingham, AL (Third Saturday in October)		L 17–27	77,665	[6]
November 3	Rutgers *	No. 17	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN		L 7–13	84,265	[7]
November 10	No. 13 Notre Dame *		Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN		W 40–18	86,489	[8]
November 17	at Ole Miss	No. 19	Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS (rivalry)		L 20–44	55,760	[9]
November 24	at Kentucky		Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY (rivalry)		W 20–17	57,950	[10]
December 1	Vanderbilt		Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)		W 31–10	84,142	[11]
December 31	vs. No. 12 Purdue *		Houston Astrodome Houston, TX (Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl)	Mizlou	L 22–27	40,542	[12]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel

1979 Tennessee Volunteers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB 34 James Berry So G 64 Roy Cunningham Fr RB 43 Terry Daniels So WR 24 Clyde Duncan Fr WR 26 Willie Gault Fr WR 28 Anthony Hancock So TE 85 Reggie Harper Jr WR 4 Phil Ingram Jr OT 78 Tim Irwin Jr G 68 Mike Jester Jr C 59 Alan Lynn Sr G 70 Bill Marren Sr RB 33 Gary Moore Sr C 73 Lee North So QB 5 Jeff Olszewski So QB 8 David Rudder Sr RB 32 Hubert Simpson Jr QB 6 Jimmy Streater Sr OT 67 Phil Sutton Sr G 71 Jay Williams Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 42 Val Barksdale Jr DB 40 Bill Bates Fr DE 93 Mike Cofer Fr DE 57 Steve Davis Sr DB 26 Greg Gaines Jr DE 84 Brian Ingram Jr S 14 Roland James Sr DB 29 Danny Martin Jr DT 60 Jim Noonan Sr LB 44 Craig Puki Sr LB 50 Danny Spradlin Jr DE 83 John Wade Fr DT 90 Brad White Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 10 Alan Duncan Jr P 49 Dale Schnitman Sr P 20 John Warren Fr	Head coach Johnny Majors Coordinators/assistant coaches Joe Avezzano –Offensive coordinator/offensive line Lynn Amedee –Quarterbacks Bobby Jackson –Running backs Bob Harrison –Wide receivers Frank Emanuel –Defensive coordinator/defensive ends Jim Dyar –Defensive line Robbie Franklin –Outside linebacker Joe Madden –Defensive backs/assistant head coach John Chavis –Graduate assistant Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Game summaries

At Kentucky

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
• Tennessee	3	7	7	3	20
Kentucky	0	14	0	3	17

• Date: November 25
• Location: Commonwealth Stadium, Lexington, KY
• Game attendance: 57,950

Scoring summary

Q1		TENN	Duncan 30 yard field goal	TENN 3–0
Q2		TENN	Simpson 12 yard pass from Olszewski (Duncan kick)	TENN 10–0
Q2		UK	Jones 57 yard run (kick failed)	TEN 10–6
Q2		UK	Wilson 9 yard pass from Henry (Jones run)	UK 14–10
Q3		TENN	Berry 2 yard run (Duncan kick)	TENN 17–14
Q4		UK	Streim 25 yard field goal	Tie 17–17
Q4	:05	TENN	Duncan 25 yard field goal	TENN 20–17

^[13]

Vanderbilt

See also: 1979 Vanderbilt Commodores football team

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

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Vanderbilt	10	0	0	0	10
Tennessee	0	0	21	10	31

at Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tennessee

• Date: December 1
• Game attendance: 84,142
• ^[14]

Game information

First quarter VAN – Mike Woodard 31-yard field goal. Vanderbilt 3–0. Drive: VAN – Van Heflin 1-yard run (Mike Woodard kick). Vanderbilt 10–0. Drive: Second quarter No scoring Third quarter TEN – Anthony Hancock 41-yard pass from Jimmy Streater (Alan Duncan kick), 11:45. Vanderbilt 10–7. Drive: 7 plays, 72 yards. TEN – Roland James 89-yard punt return (Alan Duncan kick). Tennessee 14–10. TEN – Anthony Hancock 85-yard pass from Jimmy Streater (Alan Duncan kick). Tennessee 21–10. Drive: Fourth quarter TEN – Gary Moore 17-yard run (Alan Duncan kick). Tennessee 28–10. Drive: TEN – Alan Duncan 27-yard field goal. Tennessee 31–10. Drive: Top passers VAN – Van Heflin – 6/16, 50 yards, 3 INT TEN – Jimmy Streater – 13/23, 221 yards, 2 TD, INT Top rushers VAN – Terry Potter – 19 rushes, 127 yards TEN – Hubert Simpson – 19 rushes, 42 yards Top receivers VAN – Preston Brown – 2 receptions, 27 yards TEN – Anthony Hancock – 6 receptions, 163 yards, 2 TD

• Jimmy Streater became school's all-time leading passer

Bluebonnet Bowl (vs. Purdue)

Main article: 1979 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl

See also: 1979 Purdue Boilermakers football team

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
•Purdue	0	14	7	6	27
Tennessee	0	0	16	6	22

• Date: December 31
• Location: Astrodome, Houston, Texas
• Game attendance: 40,542

Scoring summary

2		Purdue	Ben McCall 6-yard run (John Seibel kick)	Purdue 7-0
2		Purdue	Bart Burrell 12-yard pass from Mark Herrmann (John Seibel kick)	Purdue 14-0
3		Purdue	Dave Young 12-yard pass from Mark Herrmann (John Seibel kick)	Purdue 21-0
3		Tennessee	Glenn Ford 8-yard pass from Jimmy Streater (pass failed)	Purdue 21-6
4		Tennessee	James Berry 15-yard pass from Phil Ingram (Hubert Simpson run)	Purdue 21-14
4		Tennessee	Hubert Simpson 1-yard run (Hubert Simpson pass from Jimmy Streater)	Tennessee 22-21
4		Purdue	Dave Young 17-yard pass from Mark Herrmann (pass failed)	Purdue 27-22

Team players drafted into the NFL

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Roland James	Defensive Back	1	14	New England Patriots
Craig Puki	Linebacker	3	77	San Francisco 49ers

• Reference: ^[15]

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.