The 1979 Purdue Boilermakers football team represented

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

in the 1979 Big Ten Conference football season. Led by third-year head coach

Jim Young James Norman Young (born June 6, 1943) is a former professional American football and Canadian football player. Young played running back and wide receiver for the NFL's Minnesota Vikings for two seasons (1965–66), and the CFL's BC Lions f ...

, the Boilermakers compiled an overall record of 10–2 with a mark of 7–1 in conference play, placing second in the Big Ten. Purdue was invited to the Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, where the Boilermakers defeated

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. The team played home games at

Ross–Ade Stadium Ross–Ade Stadium is a stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana, on the campus of Purdue University. It is the home field of Purdue Boilermakers football. The stadium was dedicated on November 22, 1924, and named in honor of Purdue alumni George Ade ...

West Lafayette, Indiana West Lafayette () is a city in Wabash Township, Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, about northwest of the state capital of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette is directly across the Wabash River from its sister city, ...

Schedule

Starters

Offense: se Burrell/Ray Smith, lt Feil, lg Schwan, c Quinn, rg Hall, rt McKenzie, te Young, qb Herrmann, fb Augustyniak, tb Jones/McCall, fl Harris, k Seibel Defense: de Kingsbury, lt Clark, mg Loushin, rt Jackson, de Turner, lb Motts/Looney/Marks, cb W. smith/Kay, ss Seneff, fs Williams/McKinnie, p Hayes

Roster

Staff

Head coach:

Assistants:

Bob Bockrath Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: Places *Mount Bob, New York, United States * Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Bob (surnam ...

Leon Burtnett James Leon Burtnett (May 30, 1943 – June 1, 2021) was an American football coach. He served as the head football coach at Purdue University from 1982 to 1986, compiling a record of 21–34–1. He was a sales professional at Central Chevrolet ...

Mike Hankwitz George Michael Hankwitz (born December 14, 1947) is a former American football coach and player. He was the defensive coordinator at Northwestern University, a position he had held from 2008 to 2020. Hankwitz has twice served as an interim he ...

, Randy Hart, Doug Redmann,

Bob Spoo Robert Allen Spoo (November 2, 1937 – October 15, 2018) was an American college football coach. He served as the head football coach at Eastern Illinois University from 1987 to 2011 (with an interruption in 2006 due to surgery), compiling a re ...

, Larry Thompson,

Ed Zaunbrecher Ed Zaunbrecher (born March 1, 1950) is an American football coach. He served as the head football coach at Northeast Louisiana University, now the University of Louisiana at Monroe, from 1994 to 1998, compiling a record of 20–36. He is current ...

Game summaries

Oregon

* Wally Jones 30 rushes, 156 yards

Illinois

Mark Herrmann Mark Donald Herrmann (born January 8, 1959) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for twelve seasons during the 1980s and 1990s. Herrmann played college football for the ...

breaks Mike Phipps' school record for career passing yardage * Dave Young 114 Rec Yds, 2 TD * Jimmy Smith 23 rushes, 125 yards

At Michigan State

broke the Big Ten career completion record set by Michigan State's Ed Smith in the previous year.

At Iowa

Michigan

At Indiana

* Ben McCall 20 rushes, 148 yards

Vs. Tennessee (Bluebonnet Bowl)

*PUR: Mark Herrmann 21/39, 303 Yds, 3 TD *PUR: Bart Burell 8 Rec, 144 Yds, TD Eugene Register-Guard. 1980 Jan 1.
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Statistics

Passing

Awards

All-Big Ten

* Calvin Clark (1st) * Ken Loushin (1st) * Steve McKenzie (1st) * Dale Schwan (1st) *

Keena Turner Keena Turner (born October 22, 1958) is an American football executive and former player, coach, and broadcaster. He was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the second round of the 1980 NFL draft. A 6'2" 237 pound linebacker from Purdue Univer ...

(1st) * Dave Young (1st) *

(2nd) * Marcus Jackson (2nd) * Kevin Motts (2nd) * Pete Quinn (2nd) * Wayne Smith (2nd)

References

{{Purdue Boilermakers football navbox

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

Purdue Boilermakers football seasons Bluebonnet Bowl champion seasons

Purdue Boilermakers football The Purdue Boilermakers football team represents Purdue University in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of college football. Purdue plays its home games at Ross–Ade Stadium on the campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. ...