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1979 Arizona State Sun Devils football
1979 Arizona State Sun Devils football
Conference	Pacific-10 Conference
Record	1–6, 5 wins vacated (0–4 Pac-10, 3 wins vacated)
Head coach	Frank Kush (22nd season; first 5 games); Bob Owens (interim final 7 games);
Home stadium	Sun Devil Stadium
	Seasons ← 1978 1980 →

1979 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 2 USC $	6	–	0	–	1	11	–	0	–	1
No. 11 Washington	5	–	2	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
Arizona	4	–	3	–	0	6	–	5	–	1
Oregon	4	–	3	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
California	5	–	4	–	0	6	–	6	–	0
Stanford	3	–	3	–	1	5	–	5	–	1
Arizona State †	3	–	4	–	0	6	–	6	–	0
UCLA	3	–	4	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Washington State	2	–	6	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Oregon State	1	–	7	–	0	1	–	10	–	0

$ – Conference champion † – Arizona State later forfeited 5 wins (3 in conference) due to NCAA sanctions^[1] Rankings from AP Poll

The 1979 Arizona State Sun Devils football team represented Arizona State University as a member of the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10) during the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was led by head coach Frank Kush through the first five games and by Bob Owens for the final seven games.^[2] They finished with a record of six wins and six losses (6–6, 3–4 Pac-10). The offense scored 306 points while the defense allowed 208 points. The team later vacated five victories.^[3]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 8	7:00 pm	California	No. 18	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ		L 9–17	71,005	^[4]
September 15	3:30 pm	vs. No. 18 Florida State*		Tampa Stadium Tampa, FL		L 3–31	33,484	^[5]
September 22	7:00 pm	Toledo*		Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, Arizona		W 49–0	68,756	^[6]
September 29	6:00 pm	at Oregon State		Parker Stadium Corvallis, OR		W 45–0 (vacated)	20,000	^[7]
October 13	7:00 pm	Washington		Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ		W 12–7 (vacated)	70,512	^[8]
October 20	7:00 pm	Washington State		Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ		W 28–17 (vacated)	70,729	^[9]
October 27	2:00 pm	Utah State*		Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ	KTVK	W 28–14 (vacated)	67,219	^[10]
November 3	2:00 pm	at Stanford		Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA	ABC	L 21–28	30,885	^[11]
November 10	2:30 pm	at UCLA		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA		L 28–31	34,763	^[12]
November 17	7:00 pm	West Virginia*		Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ		W 42–7	68,573	^[13]
November 24	7:00 pm	Arizona		Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ		L 24–27	70,947	^[14]
December 1	8:00 pm	at Hawaii*		Aloha Stadium Halawa, HI		L 17–29	42,040	^[15]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

^[16]

Game summaries

Washington

Frank Kush, who was coaching in his final collegiate game, was carried onto the field before the game and then off of the field following Arizona State's upset.^[17]

Personnel

1979 Arizona State Sun Devils football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
QB	`19`	Steve Bratkowski	So
WR		Melvin Hoover	Jr
QB		Mark Malone	Sr
WR		John Mistler	Jr
QB	`10`	Mike Pagel	So
RB	`37`	Gerald Riggs	So
RB		Robert Weathers	So

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
LB		Ben Apuna	Sr
DE	`95`	Bob Kohrs (C)	Sr
LB		Gary Padjen	Sr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class

Head coach

Frank Kush

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Bob Owens
Al Luginbill – Linebackers

Legend

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

Injured
Redshirt

1979 team players in the NFL

The following players were claimed in the 1980 NFL draft.

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Mark Malone	Quarterback	1	28	Pittsburgh Steelers
Bob Kohrs	Linebacker	2	35	Pittsburgh Steelers
Ben Apuna	Linebacker	7	171	St. Louis Cardinals
Joel Peters	Defensive tackle	9	234	New York Jets
Gary Padjen	Linebacker	11	300	Dallas Cowboys

^[18]

References

^ "2017 Media Guide" (PDF). thesundevils.com. ASU Athletics. p. 127. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
^ Reid, Ron (October 29, 1979). "There's the Devil to Pay". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on September 6, 2010. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
^ "2017 Media Guide" (PDF). thesundevils.com. ASU Athletics. p. 127. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
^ "California jolts No. 18 Arizona State". The Des Moines Register. September 9, 1979. Retrieved October 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "FSU just too much, 31–3 and 2–0". St. Petersburg Times. September 16, 1979. Retrieved October 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Arizona State demolishes Toledo, 49–0". The Arizona Republic. September 23, 1979. Retrieved October 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Arizona State rolls over Oregon State in Pac-10". The Idaho Statesman. September 30, 1979. Retrieved October 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Sun Devils upset sixth-ranked Washington, 12–7". The Arizona Daily Star. October 14, 1979. Retrieved October 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Sun Devils whip WSU in new coach's debut". The Columbian. October 21, 1979. Retrieved October 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Malone leads ASU over Utah State 28–14". South Idaho Press. October 28, 1979. Retrieved October 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Stanford beats Arizona State". The Selma Times-Journal. November 4, 1979. Retrieved October 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "UCLA wins wild one over Arizona State". The Idaho Statesman. November 11, 1979. Retrieved October 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Arizona State rolls past West Virginia". The Arizona Republic. November 18, 1979. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Wildcats get extra try, beat Sun Devils 27–24". The Sunday Oregonian. November 25, 1979. Retrieved October 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Hawaii cleans up on tormented ASU in finale". The Arizona Republic. December 3, 1979. Retrieved October 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "1979 Arizona State Sun Devils Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
^ Jr, Gordon S. White (October 15, 1979). "Kush Dismissal Jolts Arizona State". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
^ "1980 NFL Draft". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 21, 2012.