CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1979 Fresno State

4–⁠7 (2–⁠3 Pacific Coast Athletic Association), coached by Bob Padilla. Officially 5–⁠6. San José State forfeited to Fresno State.

From the season’s Wikipedia article: “While Fresno State lost to San Jose State, the game was subsequently forfeited by the Spartans due to the use of an ineligible player.”

Schedule and results

Fresno State in 1979, game by game: won vs. Idaho 30–10; won at Montana State 22–20; lost vs. San Diego State 23–32; lost at No. 9 Washington 14–49; lost at Cal Poly 0–26; lost vs. San José State 22–35; lost at Long Beach State 14–24; won at Pacific 33–10; lost vs. UNLV 28–31; won at Cal State Fullerton 28–24; lost vs. Utah State 31–41+23−35Won 30–10 vs. Idaho+20IdahoWon 22–20 at Montana State+2Montana StateLost 23–32 vs. San Diego State-9San Diego StateLost 14–49 at No. 9 Washington-35No. 9 WashingtonLost 0–26 at Cal Poly-26Cal PolyLost 22–35 vs. San José State-13San José StateLost 14–24 at Long Beach State-10Long Beach StateWon 33–10 at Pacific+23PacificLost 28–31 vs. UNLV-3UNLVWon 28–24 at Cal State Fullerton+4Cal State Fulle…Lost 31–41 vs. Utah State-10Utah State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 8vsIdahoW 30–⁠1072%
Sep 15atMontana StateW 22–⁠2059%
Sep 22vsSan Diego StateL 23–⁠3245%
Sep 29at9WashingtonL 14–⁠4913%
Oct 6atCal PolyL 0–⁠2666%
Oct 13vsSan José StateL 22–⁠35won by forfeit40%
Oct 20atLong Beach StateL 14–⁠2426%
Oct 27atPacificW 33–⁠1028%
Nov 3vsUNLVL 28–⁠3133%
Nov 10atCal State FullertonW 28–⁠2449%
Nov 24vsUtah StateL 31–⁠4134%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Utah State 41–⁠31; unranked in the final AP poll; 4th in the Pacific Coast Athletic Association.

In program history: The 52nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 97 on file).

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.

Record
4–⁠7
Conference
2–⁠3 4th in Pacific Coast Athletic Association
AP final
Unranked
Points
245–⁠302
Coach
Bob Padilla
Elo
1333 −39 this season
SP+ rating
-7.4 No. 104 of 135; offense No. 33, defense No. 130
SRS
−6.5 No. 96 of 140 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—

1979 Pacific Coast Athletic Association standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Utah State4–⁠0–⁠17–⁠3–⁠1
San José State4–⁠0–⁠16–⁠4–⁠1
Long Beach State3–⁠27–⁠4
Fresno State2–⁠34–⁠7
Cal State Fullerton1–⁠43–⁠8
Pacific0–⁠53–⁠7

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