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1979 BYU

11–⁠1 (7–⁠0 Western Athletic Conference), coached by LaVell Edwards, finished No. 13 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

BYU in 1979, game by game: won vs. No. 14 Texas A&M 18–17; won vs. Weber State 48–3; won vs. UTEP 31–7; won vs. Hawai’i 38–15; won at Utah State 48–24; won at Wyoming 54–14; won vs. New Mexico 59–7; won at Colorado State 30–7; won at Long Beach State 31–17; won vs. Utah 27–0; won at San Diego State 63–14; lost vs. Indiana 37–38+52−1Won 18–17 vs. No. 14 Texas A&M+1No. 14 Texas A&MWon 48–3 vs. Weber State+45Weber StateWon 31–7 vs. UTEP+24UTEPWon 38–15 vs. Hawai’i+23Hawai’iWon 48–24 at Utah State+24Utah StateWon 54–14 at Wyoming+40WyomingWon 59–7 vs. New Mexico+52New MexicoWon 30–7 at Colorado State+23Colorado StateWon 31–17 at Long Beach State+14Long Beach StateWon 27–0 vs. Utah+27UtahWon 63–14 at San Diego State+49San Diego StateLost 37–38 vs. Indiana-1Indiana
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 8vs14Texas A&MW 18–⁠1751%
Sep 15vsWeber StateW 48–⁠392%
Sep 29vsUTEPW 31–⁠785%
Oct 5vsHawai’iW 38–⁠1579%
Oct 13atUtah StateW 48–⁠2453%
Oct 20atWyomingW 54–⁠1473%
Oct 27vsNew MexicoW 59–⁠781%
Nov 3atColorado StateW 30–⁠766%
Nov 9atLong Beach StateW 31–⁠1777%
Nov 17vsUtahW 27–⁠082%
Nov 24atSan Diego StateW 63–⁠1460%
Dec 21Bowls & playoffvsIndianaHoliday BowlL 37–⁠3878%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Indiana 38–⁠37 in the Holiday Bowl; No. 13 in the final AP poll; Western Athletic Conference champions.

In program history: The 8th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 102 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 5: 20
  2. Wk 6: 16
  3. Wk 7: 13
  4. Wk 8: 11
  5. Wk 9: 11
  6. Wk 10: 11
  7. Wk 11: 10
  8. Wk 12: 10
  9. Wk 13: 9
  10. Wk 14: 9
  11. Final: 13

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1979.

Western Athletic Conference champions7–⁠0 in the conference

Heisman voteMarc Wilson, third

Led the nationMarc Wilson: passing yards (3,720 yds), passing touchdowns (29 TD), total offense (3,580 yds), total offense per game (325.5)

Consensus All-AmericanMarc Wilson, QB

Bobby Dodd Coach of the YearLaVell Edwards, coach

Record
11–⁠1
Conference
7–⁠0 first in Western Athletic Conference
AP final
No. 13 peak No. 9
Points
484–⁠163
Coach
LaVell Edwards
Elo
1732 +156 this season
SP+ rating
26.3 No. 3 of 135; offense No. 1, defense No. 47
SRS
22.2 No. 6 of 140 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Doug Scovil
Defensive coordinator
Fred Whittingham
Offense
West Coast
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1980

The 1980 draft
Rd 1Marc Wilson QBOakland Raiders
Rd 2Mat Mendenhall DEWashington Redskins

1979 Western Athletic Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
BYU7–⁠011–⁠113
Utah5–⁠26–⁠6
San Diego State4–⁠28–⁠3
Hawai’i3–⁠36–⁠5
New Mexico3–⁠46–⁠6
Colorado State3–⁠44–⁠7–⁠1
Wyoming2–⁠54–⁠8
UTEP0–⁠72–⁠9

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.