The 1979 Gator Bowl was a

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...

played on December 28, 1979. The

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the ''Tar Heel ...

of the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

defeated the

Michigan Wolverines The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except women's water polo, which competes in the NCAA inter-divisio ...

of the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

, 17–15.

Background

An 8-1 start (With a loss to #9 Notre Dame) had propelled Michigan to be ranked at 10th in the polls, before a loss to #14 Purdue followed by a loss to #2 Ohio State at home. This made them fall to 14th position in the polls and they finished as 3rd in the

. The Tar Heels had started with a score of 4-0 and were ranked #14 before a loss to Wake Forest started a 1-3-1 middle stretch that ended with victories over Virginia and Duke to make them finish 5th in the

. This was Michigan's first Gator Bowl appearance. This was North Carolina's third ever Gator Bowl appearance.

Scoring summary

First quarter

* No score

Second quarter

* Michigan - Virgil, 20-yard field goal * Michigan - Anthony Carter, 53-yard pass from John Wangler (kick failed) * North Carolina - Doug Paschal, 1-yard run (Hayes kick)

Third quarter

* North Carolina - Phil Farris 12-yard pass from Matt Kupec (Hayes kick)

Fourth quarter

* North Carolina - Hayes 32-yard field goal * Michigan - Anthony Carter 30-yard pass from B. J. Dickey (B.J. Dickey pass failed)

References

External links

Summary at Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan Athletics History

Gator Bowl The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game held in Jacksonville, Florida, operated by Gator Bowl Sports. It has been held continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised natio ...

Gator Bowl Michigan Wolverines football bowl games North Carolina Tar Heels football bowl games 20th century in Jacksonville, Florida December 1979 sports events in the United States 1979 in sports in Florida {{Collegefootball-bowl-stub