CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1979 Missouri

7–⁠5 (3–⁠4 Big Eight), coached by Warren Powers.

Schedule and results

Missouri in 1979, game by game: won vs. San Diego State 45–15; won at Illinois 14–6; won at Ole Miss 33–7; lost vs. No. 4 Texas 0–21; lost vs. Oklahoma State 13–14; won at Colorado 13–7; lost vs. Kansas State 3–19; lost vs. No. 2 Nebraska 20–23; won at Iowa State 18–9; lost vs. No. 7 Oklahoma 22–24; won at Kansas 55–7; won vs. No. 16 South Carolina 24–14+48−21Won 45–15 vs. San Diego State+30San Diego StateWon 14–6 at Illinois+8IllinoisWon 33–7 at Ole Miss+26Ole MissLost 0–21 vs. No. 4 Texas-21No. 4 TexasLost 13–14 vs. Oklahoma State-1Oklahoma StateWon 13–7 at Colorado+6ColoradoLost 3–19 vs. Kansas State-16Kansas StateLost 20–23 vs. No. 2 Nebraska-3No. 2 NebraskaWon 18–9 at Iowa State+9Iowa StateLost 22–24 vs. No. 7 Oklahoma-2No. 7 OklahomaWon 55–7 at Kansas+48KansasWon 24–14 vs. No. 16 South Carolina+10No. 16 South Carolina
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 8vsSan Diego StateW 45–⁠1568%
Sep 15atIllinoisW 14–⁠673%
Sep 22atOle MissW 33–⁠757%
Sep 29vs4TexasL 0–⁠2157%
Oct 13vsOklahoma StateL 13–⁠1473%
Oct 20atColoradoW 13–⁠767%
Oct 27vsKansas StateL 3–⁠1982%
Nov 3vs2NebraskaL 20–⁠2333%
Nov 10atIowa StateW 18–⁠956%
Nov 17vs7OklahomaL 22–⁠2432%
Nov 24atKansasW 55–⁠768%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvs16South CarolinaHall of Fame ClassicW 24–⁠1447%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat South Carolina 24–⁠14 in the Hall of Fame Classic; unranked in the final AP poll; 4th in the Big Eight.

In program history: The 32nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 129 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 12
  2. Wk 2: 11
  3. Wk 3: 9
  4. Wk 4: 5
  5. Wk 5: 15
  6. Wk 6: 15

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
7–⁠5
Conference
3–⁠4 4th in Big Eight
AP final
Unranked peak No. 5
Points
260–⁠166
Coach
Warren Powers
Elo
1610 +26 this season
SP+ rating
12.6 No. 31 of 135; offense No. 55, defense No. 27
SRS
12.8 No. 25 of 140 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Carl Reese

Drafted in 1980

The 1980 draft
Rd 4Kurt Petersen DEDallas Cowboys
Rd 7Gerry Ellis RBLos Angeles Rams

All-Big Eight

2 first team, 6 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 Eight standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Oklahoma7–⁠011–⁠13
Nebraska6–⁠110–⁠29
Oklahoma State5–⁠27–⁠4
Missouri3–⁠47–⁠5
Colorado2–⁠53–⁠8
Iowa State2–⁠53–⁠8
Kansas2–⁠53–⁠8
Kansas State1–⁠63–⁠8

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