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
1979 record	11–1
Head coach	Jackie Sherrill (3rd year)
Offensive coordinator	Wally English (1st year)
Offensive scheme	Multiple pro-style
Defensive coordinator	Foge Fazio (1st year)
Base defense	Multiple front
Home stadium	Pitt Stadium (Capacity: 56,500)

1979 Division I-A independents football records
	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
#6 Florida State		–		–		11	–	1	–	0
#7 Pittsburgh		–		–		11	–	1	–	0
UNLV		–		–		9	–	1	–	2
#17 Temple		–		–		10	–	2	–	0
Tulane		–		–		9	–	3	–	0
Rutgers		–		–		8	–	3	–	0
East Carolina		–		–		7	–	3	–	1
#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		–		–		5	–	6	–	0
Miami		–		–		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
Connecticut		–		–		3	–	6	–	2
William & Mary		–		–		4	–	7	–	0
Northwestern State		–		–		3	–	6	–	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 Panthers competed in the 1980 Fiesta Bowl. Pitt was awarded the Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy as the champion of the East.

Schedule

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

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

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

Dan Marino quarterbacks Pitt in 35-0 rout of Cincinnati on October 13, 1979

Pittsburgh Panthers football

Venues	Recreation Park (1898–1904) Exposition Park (1904–08) Forbes Field (1909–24) Pitt Stadium (1925–99) Three Rivers Stadium (2000) Heinz Field (2001–present) UPMC Sports Performance Complex (practice)

Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games West Virginia (Backyard Brawl) Penn State Notre Dame Syracuse Cincinnati (River City Rivalry)

Culture & lore	Panthers "Hail to Pitt" "Pitt Victory Song" Marching band

People	Head coaches All-Americans NFL draftees Statistical leaders

Seasons	1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

National championship seasons in bold

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