The 1979 Ohio State Buckeyes football team compiled an 11–1 record, won the Big Ten championship, lost to USC in the 1980 Rose Bowl, and was ranked No. 4 in the final AP and UPI polls. Quarterback Art Schlichter led the team with 2,246 yards of total offense, finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting, and was selected as a first-team All-American by the NEA and The Sporting News. Offensive guard Ken Fritz was a consensus All-American. Earl Bruce, in his first year as head coach, was selected as the Big Ten Coach of the Year. Doug Donley led the Big Ten with 800 receiving yards, and Vlade Janakievski led the conference with 97 points scored. Defensive lineman Jim Laughlin was selected as the team's most valuable player.
The 1979 Purdue Boilermakers football team, under head coach Jim Young, finished in second place in the Big Ten, compiled a 10–2 record, defeated Tennessee in the 1979 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, led the conference in both scoring offense (32.5 points per game) and scoring defense (10.5 points allowed per game), and was ranked No. 10 in the final AP and UPI polls. Quarterback Mark Herrmann led the conference with 2,377 passing yards and finished eighth in the Heisman Trophy voting. Tight end Dave Young was selected as the team's most valuable player.
The 1979 Michigan Wolverines football team, under head coach Bo Schembechler, compiled an 8–4 record, finished third in the Big Ten, lost to North Carolina in the 1979 Gator Bowl, and was ranked No. 18 in the final AP poll. Linebacker Ron Simpkins was selected as the team's most valuable player and as a consensus All-American. Defensive end Curtis Greer was also selected as a first-team All-American by multiple selectors. Butch Woolfolk ranked second in the Big Ten with 990 rushing yards.
Key
AP final = Team's rank in the final AP Poll of the 1979 season[1]
AP high = Team's highest rank in the AP Poll throughout the 1979 season[1]
PPG = Average of points scored per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold[1]
PAG = Average of points allowed per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold[1]
MVP = Most valuable player as voted by players on each team as part of the voting process to determine the winner of the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy; trophy winner in bold[2]
Regular season
September 8
On September 8, 1979, the Big Ten football teams played four conference games and two non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in two wins.
Purdue 41, Wisconsin 20
Michigan 49, Northwestern 7
Indiana 30, Iowa 26
Michigan State 33, Illinois 16
Ohio State 31, Syracuse 8
Minnesota 24, Ohio 10
September 15
On September 15, 1979, the Big Ten teams played one conference games and eight non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in four wins and four losses, giving the Big Ten a 6–4 record to that point in the season.
Ohio State 21, Minnesota 17
UCLA 31, Purdue 21
Notre Dame 12, Michigan 10
Indiana 44, Vanderbilt 13
Oklahoma 21, Iowa 6
Michigan State 41, Oregon 17
Wisconsin 38, Air Force 0
Missouri 14, Illinois 6
Northwestern 27, Wyoming 22
September 22
On September 22, 1979, the Big Ten teams played 10 non-conference games, resulting in six wins and four losses. The results gave the Big Ten a 12–8 record to that point in the season
Ohio State 45, Washington State 29
Purdue 28, Notre Dame 22
Michigan 28, Kansas 7
Indiana 18, Kentucky 10
Nebraska 24, Iowa 21
USC 48, Minnesota 14
Michigan State 24, Miami (OH) 21
UCLA 37, Wisconsin 12
Illinois 27, Air Force 19
Syracuse 54, Northwestern 21
September 29
On September 29, 1979, the Big Ten teams played one conference game and eight non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in four wins and four losses, giving the Big Ten a 16–12 record to that point in the season.
Minnesota 38, Northwestern 8
Ohio State 17, UCLA 13
Purdue 13, Oregon 7
Michigan 14, California 10
Colorado 17, Indiana 16
Iowa 30, Iowa State 14
Notre Dame 27, Michigan State 3
San Diego State 24, Wisconsin 17
Navy 13, Illinois 12
October 6
On October 6, 1979, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.
Ohio State 16, Northwestern 7
Minnesota 31, Purdue 14
Michigan 21, Michigan State 7
Indiana 3, Wisconsin 0
Iowa 13, Illinois 7
October 13
On October 13, 1979, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.
Ohio State 47, Indiana 6
Purdue 28, Illinois 14
Michigan 31, Minnesota 21
Iowa 58, Northwestern 6
Wisconsin 38, Michigan State 29
October 20
On October 20, 1979, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.
Ohio State 59, Wisconsin 0
Purdue 14, Michigan State 7
Michigan 27, Illinois 7
Indiana 30, Northwestern 0
Minnesota 24, Iowa 7
October 27
On October 27, 1979, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.
Ohio State 42, Michigan State 0
Purdue 20, Northwestern 16
Michigan 27, Indiana 21
Iowa 24, Wisconsin 13
Illinois 17, Minnesota 17
November 3
On November 3, 1979, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.
Ohio State 44, Illinois 7
Purdue 20, Iowa 14
Michigan 54, Wisconsin 0
Indiana 42, Minnesota 24
Michigan State 42, Northwestern 7
November 10
On November 10, 1979, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.
Ohio State 34, Iowa 7
Purdue 24, Michigan 21
Indiana 45, Illinois 14
Minnesota 31, Michigan State 17
Wisconsin 28, Northwestern 3
November 17
On November 17, 1979, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.
At the end of the 1979 season, two Big Ten players were consensus first-team picks for the 1979 College Football All-America Team.[3] The Big Ten's consensus All-Americans were:
