1979 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

1979 Pittsburgh Panthers football
Fiesta Bowl champion Eastern champion
Fiesta Bowl, W 16–10 vs. Arizona
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 6
AP	No. 7
Record	11–1
Head coach	Jackie Sherrill (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Wally English (1st season)
Offensive scheme	Multiple pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Foge Fazio (1st season)
Base defense	Multiple front
Home stadium	Pitt Stadium

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 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. The independent Panthers competed in the Fiesta Bowl and were awarded the Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy as the champion of the East.

Schedule

In the Backyard Brawl, Pittsburgh was led by true freshman quarterback Dan Marino, making his second collegiate start. He directed Pitt to a 24–17 victory in the last college football game played at old Mountaineer Field.^[1][2]

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 15	1:30 p.m.	Kansas	No. 16	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA		W 24–0	41,545	[3][4]
September 22	1:00 p.m.	at North Carolina	No. 13	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC		L 7–17	50,500	[5]
September 29	7:30 p.m.	at Temple		Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, PA		W 10–9	34,039	[6]
October 6	1:30 p.m.	Boston College		Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA		W 28–7	37,146	[7]
October 13	10:00 a.m.	Cincinnati		Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (River City Rivalry)		W 35–0	31,620	[8]
October 20	4:30 p.m.	at No. 12 Washington	No. 17	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA		W 26–14	52,485	[9]
October 27	1:30 p.m.	No. 17 Navy	No. 12	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA		W 24–7	51,332	[10][11]
November 3	12:30 p.m.	Syracuse	No. 12	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)	ABC	W 28–21	43,500	[12]
November 10	1:30 p.m.	at West Virginia	No. 12	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (Backyard Brawl)		W 24–17	38,681	[2][13]
November 17	1:30 p.m.	at Army	No. 11	Michie Stadium West Point, NY		W 40–0	31,689	[14]
December 1	12:30 p.m.	at No. 20 Penn State	No. 11	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	ABC	W 29–14	76,958	[15]
December 25	3:30 p.m.	vs. Arizona	No. 10	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ (Fiesta Bowl)	NBC	W 16–10	55,347	[16]
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[17]

Roster

1979 Pittsburgh Panthers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class G 70 Emil Boures So C 56 Russ Grimm Jr OT 64 Bob Gruber Sr QB 13 Dan Marino Fr OT 73 Mark May Jr RB 40 Randy McMillan Jr WR 81 Cliff Moore TE 84 Benjie Pryor Jr WR 88 Ralph Still Sr QB 8 Rick Trocano Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DT 68 Jerry Boyarsky Jr DE 99 Hugh Green Jr DE 87 Rickey Jackson Jr DT 86 Greg Meisner Jr DT 76 Bill Neill Jr CB 3 Lynn Thomas Jr SS 48 Carlton Williamson Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 5 Mark Schubert Sr	Head coach Jackie Sherrill (3rd year) Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

^[18]

Coaching staff

1979 Pittsburgh Panthers football staff
	Coaching staff Jackie Sherrill – Head coach Jimmy Sharpe – Assistant head coach/offensive line Wally English – Offensive coordinator/Receivers Foge Fazio – Defensive coordinator/linebackers Ron Dickerson – Defensive backs Bob Matey – Defensive line Joe Moore – Offensive backs Joe Pendry – Quarterbacks Ray Zingler – Defensive ends			Support staff Alex Kramer – Executive Assistant Kevin Dickey – Recruiting coordinator Nick Gasparato – Graduate assistant Jerry Leith – Graduate assistant Nick Rapone – Graduate assistant			Strength and conditioning staff Paul Stark – Weight, Strength Coach

^[19]

Team players drafted into the NFL

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Jo Jo Heath	Defensive back	6	141	Cincinnati Bengals
Bob Gruber	Tackle	10	276	Los Angeles Rams

^[20]

References

Dan Marino quarterbacks Pitt in 35–0 rout of Cincinnati on October 13.

1. "Site Unavailable".
2. Smizik, Bob (November 11, 1979). "Whew! Pitt outmuscles fightin' WVU". Pittsburgh Press. p. H1.
3. Smizik, Bob (September 16, 1979). "Panthers 'still' Jayhawks, 24-0". Pittsburgh Press. p. D1.
4. Woodling, Chuck (September 16, 1979). "Song's same, but in different key". Lawrence Journal-World. (Kansas). p. 1B.
5. "North Carolina upsets 13th-ranked Pitt, 17–7". The Des Moines Register. September 23, 1979. Retrieved October 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Schubert was too right for Temple". Press of Atlantic City. September 30, 1979. Retrieved October 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Pitt 28-7 Win Stirs Up Great QB Debate". The Pittsburgh Press. October 7, 1979. pp. D1–D2 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Pitt clobbers Cincinnati behind QB". Staten Island Advance. October 14, 1979. Retrieved October 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Costly turnovers make Huskies pay Pitt's price, 26-14". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire service reports. October 21, 1979. p. 6B.
10. Smizik, Bob (October 28, 1979). "Super sub Marino torpedoes Navy". Pittsburgh Press. p. D1.
11. "Pitt turns its freshmen loose". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire service reports. October 28, 1979. p. 10B.
12. "Marino's passing paces Pitt". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. November 4, 1979. p. 102.
13. "Pitt holds on to beat W. Va". The Sunday News. November 11, 1979. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
14. Smizik, Bob (November 18, 1979). "Panthers have a Fiesta with Army". Pittsburgh Press. p. D1.
15. "Pitt rallies twice". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire service reports. December 2, 1979. p. 7E.
16. "Pitt struggles to 16–10 triumph in Fiesta Bowl". York Daily Record. December 26, 1979. Retrieved October 26, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
17. "1979 Pitt Panthers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 26, 2024.
18. "Kansas - Pittsburgh probable starters". Lawrence Journal-World. (Kansas). September 14, 1979. p. 15.
19. "Coaches Biographies". 1979 Pitt Football. University of Pittsburgh Department of Athletics. 1979. pp. 19–24. Retrieved December 26, 2012.
20. "1980 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on December 22, 2007.