The 1979 Washington State Cougars football team was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

team that represented

Washington State University Washington State University (Washington State, WSU, or informally Wazzu) is a public land-grant research university with its flagship, and oldest, campus in Pullman, Washington. Founded in 1890, WSU is also one of the oldest land-grant unive ...

in the

Pacific-10 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS; formerly Division ...

(Pac-10) during the

1979 NCAA Division I-A football season The 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season saw the Alabama Crimson Tide bring home a national title with a perfect 12–0 season. The title was Alabama's 11th claimed, and their 6th Associated Press awarded title. This was an extremely dominant ...

. In their second season under head coach

Jim Walden Jim Walden (born April 10, 1938) is a former American football player He was the head coach at Washington State University from 1978 to 1986 and at Iowa State University from 1987 to 1994, compiling a career college football record of over Pl ...

, the Cougars compiled a 3–8 record (2–6 in Pac-10, ninth), and were outscored 366 to 241. The team's statistical leaders included Steve Grant with 1,565 passing yards, Tali Ena with 844 rushing yards, and Jim Whatley with 513 receiving yards.

Martin Stadium Martin Stadium is an outdoor athletic stadium in the northwest United States, on the campus of Washington State University in Pullman, Washington. It is the home field of the Washington State Cougars of the Pac-12 Conference. Its full name is ...

's seating capacity was increased over the summer (track removed, field lowered) and hosted its first game of the season in mid-October for

homecoming Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States, Canada and Liberia. ...

. upset of

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

was the Cougars' first win over the Bruins The traditional

Battle of the Palouse The Battle of the Palouse refers to an athletic rivalry in the northwest United States, between the Vandals of the University of Idaho and Cougars of Washington State University. The two land-grant universities are less than apart on the rur ...

game with neighbor

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

went on hiatus beginning with this season (the Vandals had moved down to Division I-AA in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

); it was played in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...

and

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...

. When Idaho rejoined Division I-A, there was a ten-year resumption (

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The '' Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently ...

–

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

Schedule

Roster

Fallen teammate

During an evening practice on August 22, senior defensive tackle Hayward "Spud" Harris of Tacoma collapsed during a non-contact drill. He could not be revived by the training staff, was rushed by ambulance to Pullman Memorial Hospital, and was pronounced dead an hour after arrival.

Season summary

UCLA

On homecoming weekend, Mike Snow blocked two field goals and deflected a pass in the end zone as Washington State upset

17–14 in front of a record home crowd in the newly-expanded Martin Stadium. Brian Sickler capped an 84-yard fourth quarter drive with a one-yard plunge as the Cougars rallied from a 7–14 halftime deficit. Senior safety Don McCall recorded two interceptions, seven tackles, and a fumble recovery.

NFL Draft

Four Cougars were selected in the

1980 NFL Draft The 1980 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 29–30, 1980, at the New York She ...

. :

References

External links

Game program: Arizona vs. WSU at Spokane
– September 8, 1979
Game program: UCLA at WSU
– October 13, 1979
Game program: California at WSU
– November 10, 1979 {{Washington State Cougars football navbox

Washington State Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...

Washington State Cougars football seasons

Washington State Cougars football The Washington State Cougars football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Washington State University, located in Pullman, Washington. The team competes at the NCAA Division I level in the FBS and is a member of the Pac- ...