CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1979 Purdue

10–⁠2 (7–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by Jim Young, finished No. 10 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Purdue in 1979, game by game: won vs. Wisconsin 41–20; lost at UCLA 21–31; won vs. No. 5 Notre Dame 28–22; won vs. Oregon 13–7; lost at Minnesota 14–31; won vs. Illinois 28–14; won at Michigan State 14–7; won vs. Northwestern 20–16; won at Iowa 20–14; won vs. No. 10 Michigan 24–21; won at Indiana 37–21; won vs. Tennessee 27–22+21−17Won 41–20 vs. Wisconsin+21WisconsinLost 21–31 at UCLA-10UCLAWon 28–22 vs. No. 5 Notre Dame+6No. 5 Notre DameWon 13–7 vs. Oregon+6OregonLost 14–31 at Minnesota-17MinnesotaWon 28–14 vs. Illinois+14IllinoisWon 14–7 at Michigan State+7Michigan StateWon 20–16 vs. Northwestern+4NorthwesternWon 20–14 at Iowa+6IowaWon 24–21 vs. No. 10 Michigan+3No. 10 MichiganWon 37–21 at Indiana+16IndianaWon 27–22 vs. Tennessee+5Tennessee
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 8vsWisconsinW 41–⁠2073%
Sep 15atUCLAL 21–⁠3145%
Sep 22vs5Notre DameW 28–⁠2243%
Sep 29vsOregonW 13–⁠778%
Oct 6atMinnesotaL 14–⁠3162%
Oct 13vsIllinoisW 28–⁠1482%
Oct 20atMichigan StateW 14–⁠746%
Oct 27vsNorthwesternW 20–⁠1691%
Nov 3atIowaW 20–⁠1462%
Nov 10vs10MichiganW 24–⁠2142%
Nov 17atIndianaW 37–⁠2154%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvsTennesseeAstro-Bluebonnet BowlW 27–⁠2263%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Tennessee 27–⁠22 in the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl; No. 10 in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 7th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 6
  2. Wk 2: 5
  3. Wk 3: 17
  4. Wk 4: 10
  5. Wk 5: 12
  6. Wk 6: 20
  7. Wk 7: 16
  8. Wk 8: 16
  9. Wk 9: 15
  10. Wk 10: 14
  11. Wk 11: 12
  12. Wk 12: 12
  13. Wk 13: 12
  14. Wk 14: 12
  15. Final: 10

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
10–⁠2
Conference
7–⁠1 2nd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 10 peak No. 5
Points
287–⁠226
Coach
Jim Young
Elo
1674 +92 this season
SP+ rating
9.0 No. 42 of 135; offense No. 39, defense No. 56
SRS
10.7 No. 34 of 140 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Bob Bockrath
Defensive coordinator
Leon Burtnett
Captains
Steve McKenzie, Pete Quinn and Keena Turner
Most valuable player
Dave Young

Drafted in 1980

The 1980 draft
Rd 2Keena Turner LBSan Francisco 49ers

All-Big Ten

6 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

  • Mark HerrmannQBAP-2
  • Pete QuinnCUPI-2
  • Dave JacksonDLUPI-2
  • Wayne SmithDBUPI-2

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.