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1979 Minnesota

4–⁠6–⁠1 (3–⁠5–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by Joe Salem.

Schedule and results

Minnesota in 1979, game by game: won vs. Ohio 24–10; lost vs. No. 15 Ohio State 17–21; lost at No. 1 USC 14–48; won vs. Northwestern 38–8; won vs. No. 12 Purdue 31–14; lost at No. 11 Michigan 21–31; won at Iowa 24–7; tied vs. Illinois 17–17; lost at Indiana 24–42; lost at Michigan State 17–31; lost vs. Wisconsin 37–42+30−34Won 24–10 vs. Ohio+14OhioLost 17–21 vs. No. 15 Ohio State-4No. 15 Ohio StateLost 14–48 at No. 1 USC-34No. 1 USCWon 38–8 vs. Northwestern+30NorthwesternWon 31–14 vs. No. 12 Purdue+17No. 12 PurdueLost 21–31 at No. 11 Michigan-10No. 11 MichiganWon 24–7 at Iowa+17IowaTied 17–17 vs. Illinois0IllinoisLost 24–42 at Indiana-18IndianaLost 17–31 at Michigan State-14Michigan StateLost 37–42 vs. Wisconsin-5Wisconsin
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 8vsOhioW 24–⁠1072%
Sep 15vs15Ohio StateL 17–⁠2140%
Sep 22at1USCL 14–⁠4814%
Sep 29vsNorthwesternW 38–⁠876%
Oct 6vs12PurdueW 31–⁠1438%
Oct 13at11MichiganL 21–⁠3119%
Oct 20atIowaW 24–⁠746%
Oct 27vsIllinoisT 17–⁠1780%
Nov 3atIndianaL 24–⁠4244%
Nov 10atMichigan StateL 17–⁠3138%
Nov 17vsWisconsinL 37–⁠4266%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Wisconsin 42–⁠37; unranked in the final AP poll; 6th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 107th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

Record
4–⁠6–⁠1
Conference
3–⁠5–⁠1 6th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked
Points
264–⁠271
Coach
Joe Salem
Elo
1453 −7 this season
SP+ rating
7.4 No. 45 of 135; offense No. 20, defense No. 92
SRS
7.4 No. 42 of 140 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Mike Shanahan
Captains
Alan Blanshan, Glenn Bourquin and Mark Carlson
Most valuable player
Mark Carlson

Drafted in 1980

The 1980 draft
Rd 4Elmer Bailey WRMiami Dolphins
Rd 6Greg Murtha OTPhiladelphia Eagles

All-Big Ten

1 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1979 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1979 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State8–⁠011–⁠14
Purdue7–⁠110–⁠210
Michigan6–⁠28–⁠418
Indiana5–⁠38–⁠419
Iowa4–⁠45–⁠6
Minnesota3–⁠5–⁠14–⁠6–⁠1
Michigan State3–⁠55–⁠6
Wisconsin3–⁠54–⁠7
Illinois1–⁠6–⁠12–⁠8–⁠1
Northwestern0–⁠91–⁠10

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