CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1979 Florida State

11–⁠1, coached by Bobby Bowden, finished No. 6 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Florida State in 1979, game by game: won vs. Southern Miss 17–14; won vs. Arizona State 31–3; won vs. Miami 40–23; won at Virginia Tech 17–10; won at Louisville 27–0; won vs. Mississippi State 17–6; won at LSU 24–19; won at Cincinnati 26–21; won vs. No. 19 South Carolina 27–7; won vs. Memphis 66–17; won at Florida 27–16; lost vs. No. 5 Oklahoma 7–24+49−17Won 17–14 vs. Southern Miss+3Southern MissWon 31–3 vs. Arizona State+28Arizona StateWon 40–23 vs. Miami+17MiamiWon 17–10 at Virginia Tech+7Virginia TechWon 27–0 at Louisville+27LouisvilleWon 17–6 vs. Mississippi State+11Mississippi Sta…Won 24–19 at LSU+5LSUWon 26–21 at Cincinnati+5CincinnatiWon 27–7 vs. No. 19 South Carolina+20No. 19 South CarolinaWon 66–17 vs. Memphis+49MemphisWon 27–16 at Florida+11FloridaLost 7–24 vs. No. 5 Oklahoma-17No. 5 Oklahoma
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 8vsSouthern MissW 17–⁠1470%
Sep 15vsArizona StateW 31–⁠359%
Sep 22vsMiamiW 40–⁠2375%
Sep 29atVirginia TechW 17–⁠1065%
Oct 6atLouisvilleW 27–⁠067%
Oct 13vsMississippi StateW 17–⁠675%
Oct 27atLSUW 24–⁠1957%
Nov 3atCincinnatiW 26–⁠2177%
Nov 10vs19South CarolinaW 27–⁠777%
Nov 17vsMemphisW 66–⁠1789%
Nov 24atFloridaW 27–⁠1686%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs5OklahomaOrange BowlL 7–⁠2448%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Oklahoma 24–⁠7 in the Orange Bowl; No. 6 in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 22nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 78 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 19
  2. Wk 2: 18
  3. Wk 3: 14
  4. Wk 4: 12
  5. Wk 5: 9
  6. Wk 6: 9
  7. Wk 7: 7
  8. Wk 8: 8
  9. Wk 9: 6
  10. Wk 10: 7
  11. Wk 11: 5
  12. Wk 12: 5
  13. Wk 13: 4
  14. Wk 14: 4
  15. Final: 6

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.

Consensus All-AmericanRon Simmons, DT

Record
11–⁠1
Conference
—
AP final
No. 6 peak No. 4
Points
326–⁠160
Coach
Bobby Bowden
Elo
1730 +115 this season
SP+ rating
21.6 No. 13 of 135; offense No. 15, defense No. 17
SRS
18.5 No. 14 of 140 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
George Henshaw
Defensive coordinator
Jack Stanton
Captains
Mike Good, Ivory Joe Hunter, Scott Warren and Wally Woodham
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3