1979 Tulane Green Wave football team

1979 Tulane Green Wave football
Liberty Bowl, L 6–9 vs. Penn State
Conference	Independent
Record	9–3
Head coach	Larry Smith (4th season)
Defensive coordinator	Moe Ankney (4th season)
Home stadium	Louisiana Superdome
Seasons ←  1978 1980  →

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 Tulane Green Wave football team represented Tulane University in the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was led by Larry Smith. The Green Wave played home games in the Louisiana Superdome. The team finished with a record of 9–3 and played in the 1979 Liberty Bowl, losing 6–9 to Penn State.

The offense scored 318 points while the defense allowed 179 points. Two members of the Green Wave team were drafted into the National Football League.

The Wave opened the season by smashing Stanford 33-10, spoiling John Elway's collegiate debut.

In the 77th edition of the Battle for the Rag, Tulane beat LSU 24–13 in what was LSU coach Charles McClendon's final regular season game after 18 seasons.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 8	No. 13 Stanford		Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA		W 33–10	41,251	[1]
September 15	at Rice		Rice Stadium Houston, TX		L 17–21	15,000	[2]
September 22	at TCU		Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX		W 33–19	15,208	[3]
September 29	No. 19 SMU		Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA		W 24–17	42,563	[4]
October 6	Vanderbilt		Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA		W 42–14	27,873	[5]
October 13	at Southern Miss		M. M. Roberts Stadium Hattiesburg, MS (rivalry)		W 20–19	30,028	[6]
October 20	at West Virginia		Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV		L 17–27	28,303	[7]
October 27	Georgia Tech		Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA		W 12–7	51,963	[8]
November 3	at Boston College		Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA		W 43–8	12,236	[9]
November 10	Ole Miss		Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA (rivalry)		W 49–15	45,647	[10]
November 24	LSU	No. 18	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA (Battle for the Flag)	ABC	W 24–13	73,496	[11]
December 22	vs. Penn State	No. 15	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN (Liberty Bowl)	ABC	L 6–9	50,021	[12]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^{[13] [14]}

Roster

1979 Tulane Green Wave football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 3 Alton Alexis Sr QB 12 Nickie Hall Jr TE 87 Rodney Holman So	Defense Pos. # Name Class CB 4 Mike Sims LB 97 Marty Wetzel Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 9 Eddie Murray Sr	Head coach Larry Smith Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Team players in the NFL

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL Team
Eddie Murray	Kicker	7	166	Detroit Lions
Alton Alexis	Wide receiver	11	281	Cincinnati Bengals

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References

1. "Stanford is stunned by Tulane, 33–10". The Los Angeles Times. September 9, 1979. Retrieved July 25, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
2. "Hertel directs Owls past Tulane, 21–17". The Daily Advertiser. September 16, 1979. Retrieved July 25, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Tulane shocks Frogs, 33–19". The Tyler Courier-Times. September 23, 1979. Retrieved July 25, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Tulane edges Ponies, 24–17". San Angelo Standard-Times. September 30, 1979. Retrieved July 25, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Tulane Green Wave crush Vandy, 42–14". The Daily Advertiser. October 7, 1979. Retrieved October 29, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Tulane slips by Eagles". The Daily Advertiser. October 14, 1979. Retrieved March 25, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Mountaineers upset Green Wave, 27–17". The Daily Advertiser. October 21, 1979. Retrieved July 25, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Tulane holds on to beat Tech, 12–7". The Atlanta Constitution. October 28, 1979. Retrieved July 25, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Tulane 43, Boston College 8". St. Petersburg Times. November 4, 1979. p. 7C – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Rebs get smashed at Tulane party". The Commercial Appeal. November 11, 1979. Retrieved October 30, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Wave rides crest into Liberty". The Commercial Appeal. November 25, 1979. Retrieved October 30, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Lions dip into magic bag, pull out a Liberty Bowl win". Sunday News. December 23, 1979. Retrieved July 25, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
13. "Tulane Football Historical Data". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
14. "1980 Preseason Football Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
15. "1980 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on December 22, 2007.