1979 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team

1979 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	6–5 (0–0 MVC)
Head coach	John Cooper (3rd season)
Home stadium	Skelly Stadium

1979 Missouri Valley Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
West Texas State $	5	–	0	–	0			5	–	5	–	1
Southern Illinois	4	–	1	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
Indiana State	3	–	2	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
Drake	1	–	4	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
New Mexico State	1	–	4	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Wichita State	1	–	4	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
Tulsa	0	–	0	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
$ – Conference champion Tulsa was ineligible for MVC title

The 1979 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team represented the University of Tulsa as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) during the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their third year under head coach John Cooper, the Golden Hurricane compiled a 6–5 record. Tulsa played only two games against conference opponents, Wichita State and New Mexico State, but neither game counted in the conference standings.^[1]

The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Bill Blankenship with 627 passing yards, Paul Roberson with 546 rushing yards, and Paul Johns with 408 receiving yards.^[2] Head coach John Cooper was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 1	McNeese State*	Skelly Stadium Tulsa, OK	L 3–6	24,600	[3]
September 8	at Air Force*	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	W 24–7	23,000	[4]
September 15	Southwestern Louisiana*	Skelly Stadium Tulsa, OK	W 28–20	17,500	[5]
September 22	at No. 3 Oklahoma*	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK	L 13–49	71,187	[6]
September 29	at No. 13 Arkansas*	Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR	L 8–33	45,742	[7]
October 6	at Kansas State*	KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS	W 9–6	33,100	[8]
October 13	at Louisville*	Fairgrounds Stadium Louisville, KY	L 7–24	14,941	[9]
October 20	TCU*	Skelly Stadium Tulsa, OK	L 17–24	20,000	[10]
October 27	at Florida*	Florida Field Gainesville, FL	W 20–10	60,126	[11]
November 3	Wichita State*	Skelly Stadium Tulsa, OK	W 28–26	17,861	[12]
November 10	New Mexico State*	Skelly Stadium Tulsa, OK	W 38–16	10,065	[13]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[14][15]

After the season

1980 NFL draft

The following Golden Hurricane player was selected in the 1980 NFL draft following the season.^[16][17]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL club
12	313	Quinn Jones	Running back	Atlanta Falcons

References

1. "Missouri Valley Conference". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. November 19, 1979. p. 61. Retrieved January 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
2. "1979 Tulsa Golden Hurricane Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
3. "McNeese stumps Hurricane, 6–3". Tulsa World. September 2, 1979. Retrieved March 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Tulsa Hurricane blows Air Force Falcons away". The Kansas City Star. September 9, 1979. Retrieved October 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Tulsa slides past Southwestern Louisiana". The Des Moines Register. September 16, 1979. Retrieved October 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Sooners' Julius Caesar conquers Tulsa, 49–13". The Cincinnati Enquirer. September 23, 1979. Retrieved October 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Arkansas best Tulsa has seen". The Tampa Tribune-Times. September 30, 1979. Retrieved October 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Tulsa beats Kansas State on field goal". The Courier-Journal. October 7, 1979. Retrieved October 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Louisville pops struggling TU". Tulsa World. October 14, 1979. Retrieved October 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "TCU stops Tulsa, 24–17". The Odessa American. October 21, 1979. Retrieved October 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Tulsa outlasts Florida, 20–10". The Daily Oklahoman. October 28, 1979. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Tulsa survives Shocker comeback". The Wichita Eagle. November 4, 1979. Retrieved February 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Tulsa belts NMSU Ags". The Roswell Daily Record. November 11, 1979. Retrieved October 24, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "1979 Tulsa Golden Hurricane Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
15. "Tulsa Golden Hurricane Football Record & Fact Book 2022" (PDF). University of Tulsa. p. 185. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
16. "1980 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
17. "Tulsa Drafted Players/Alumni". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 23, 2023.