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1979 Northwestern Wildcats football
1979 Northwestern Wildcats football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	1–10 (0–9 Big Ten)
Head coach	Rick Venturi (2nd season);
Captains	Kevin Berg; Mike Fiedler;
Home stadium	Dyche Stadium
	Seasons ← 1978 1980 →

1979 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 4 Ohio State $	8	–	0	–	0	11	–	1	–	0
No. 10 Purdue	7	–	1	–	0	10	–	2	–	0
No. 18 Michigan	6	–	2	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
No. 19 Indiana	5	–	3	–	0	8	–	4	–	0
Iowa	4	–	4	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Minnesota	3	–	5	–	1	4	–	6	–	1
Michigan State	3	–	5	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Wisconsin	3	–	5	–	0	4	–	7	–	0
Illinois	1	–	6	–	1	2	–	8	–	1
Northwestern	0	–	9	–	0	1	–	10	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1979 Northwestern Wildcats team represented Northwestern University during the 1979 Big Ten Conference football season. In their second year under head coach Rick Venturi, the Wildcats compiled a 1–10 record (0–9 against Big Ten Conference opponents) and finished in last place in the Big Ten Conference.^[2]

The team's offensive leaders were quarterback Mike Kerrigan with 961 passing yards, Jeff Cohn with 426 rushing yards, and Todd Sheets with 614 receiving yards.^[3]

Northwestern's 54–21 loss to Syracuse on September 22 began a 34-game losing streak, the longest in NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) history. The Wildcats did not win another game until September 25, 1982.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 8	at No. 7 Michigan	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	L 7–49	100,790	^[4]
September 15	Wyoming*	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	W 27–22		^[5]
September 22	Syracuse*	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	L 21–54	20,121	^[6]
September 29	at Minnesota	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	L 8–38	33,998	^[7]
October 6	at No. 8 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	L 7–16	87,406	^[8]
October 13	Iowa	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	L 6–58	27,224	^[9]
October 20	at Indiana	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	L 0–30	30,086	^[10]
October 27	at No. 16 Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	L 16–20	69,656	^[11]
November 3	Michigan State	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	L 7–42	20,193	^[12]
November 10	at Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	L 3–28	68,229	^[13]
November 17	Illinois	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL (rivalry)	L 13–29	19,217	^[14]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1979 Northwestern Wildcats football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
WR	`84`	Dave Bahoric	So
QB	`11`	Chris Capstran	So
G	`67`	Jim Crowder	So
RB	`30`	Jeff Cohn	Fr
QB	`12`	Mike Kerrigan	So
TE	`85`	Wally Kaspryscki	Sr
OT	`55`	Phil Reitz	Sr
OT	`75`	Rob Taylor	So

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DB	`20`	Mark Adams	Jr
FS	`15`	Bobby Anderson	Fr
DB	`22`	Dave Bayer	Jr
DB	`14`	Ron Coleman	Jr
LB	`80`	Chris Hinton	Fr
LB	`62`	Jim Miller	Sr
DT	`74`	Norm Wells	Sr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class

Head coach

Rick Venturi

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Mike Westhoff – Offensive line

Legend

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

Injured
Redshirt

Team players in the NFL

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Norm Wells	Guard	12	330	Dallas Cowboys

References

^ "Year-by-Year Results" (PDF). 2007. p. 148. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 16, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
^ "1979 Northwestern Wildcats Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
^ "1979 Northwestern Wildcats Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
^ Mick McCabe (September 9, 1979). "U-M 'pass happy' in first test, 49-7". Detroit Free Press. pp. 1E, 4E – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Wildcats break long losing streak". The Dispatch. September 16, 1979. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Hurley, Syracuse rip Northwestern". Wisconsin State Journal. September 23, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Barber, Carlson spark Minnesota past NU". The Post-Crescent. September 30, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Ohio State survives Northwestern scare". Journal and Courier. October 7, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Look out Big 10, Iowa is for real!". The Daily Nonpareil. October 14, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Indiana romps past Northwestern, 30–0". The Des Moines Register. October 21, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Herrmann sets Big Ten record as Purdue nips Northwestern". The Courier-Journal. October 28, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Reserve QB leads MSU over 'Cats". The Rock Island Argus. November 4, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Kalasmiki keys 28–3 Badger win". The Courier. November 11, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Sub leads Illini to 29–13 victory". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. November 18, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.