1979 Arkansas Razorbacks football team

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1979 Arkansas Razorbacks football
SWC co-champion
Sugar Bowl, L 9–24 vs. Alabama
ConferenceSouthwest Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 9
APNo. 8
Record10–2 (6–2 SWC)
Head coach
Defensive coordinatorMonte Kiffin (3rd season)
Captains
  • Jim Howard
  • Roland Sales
Home stadiumRazorback Stadium
War Memorial Stadium
Seasons
← 1978
1980 →
1979 Southwest Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 5 Houston + 7 1 0 11 1 0
No. 8 Arkansas + 7 1 0 10 2 0
No. 12 Texas 6 2 0 9 3 0
No. 14 Baylor 5 3 0 8 4 0
Texas A&M 4 4 0 6 5 0
SMU 3 5 0 5 6 0
Texas Tech 2 5 1 3 6 2
TCU 1 6 1 2 8 1
Rice 0 8 0 1 10 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1979 Arkansas Razorbacks football team represented the University of Arkansas in the Southwest Conference (SWC) during the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their third year under head coach Lou Holtz, the Razorbacks compiled a 10–2 record (7–1 against SWC opponents), finished in a tie with Houston for the SWC championship, and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 284 to 132. The Razorbacks' only regular season loss was to Houston by a 13–10 score. The team advanced to the 1980 Sugar Bowl, losing to undefeated national champion Alabama by a 24–9 score.[1][2] Arkansas was ranked No. 8 in the final AP poll and No. 9 in the final UPI Coaches Poll.

Offensive tackle Greg Kolenda was a consensus All-American for the Razorbacks in 1979.[3] Placekicker Ish Ordonez led the nation in field goals with 18 and lead the Southwest Conference in scoring for the second year in a row with 80 points. He broke the NCAA record of 12 consecutive field goals making 16 and hit 18 of 22 field goals on the season, for an 82% average and was second-team All-American. All SWC Quarterback Kevin Scanlon was selected the Southwest Conference Player of the Year and honorable mention All American. Arkansas was tied for sixth in scoring defense, giving up 108 points in 11 games (9.8 points per game).

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 15Colorado State*No. 17W 36–355,317
September 22Oklahoma State*No. 15
  • War Memorial Stadium
  • Little Rock, AR
W 27–755,812
September 29Tulsa*No. 13W 33–845,742
October 6at TCUNo. 13W 16–1325,317
October 13at Texas TechNo. 12W 20–647,109
October 20No. 2 TexasNo. 10
  • War Memorial Stadium
  • Little Rock, AR (rivalry)
ABCW 17–1455,838
October 27No. 6 HoustonNo. 4
  • Razorback Stadium
  • Fayetteville, AR
ABCL 10–1343,319
November 3at RiceNo. 9W 34–717,000
November 10No. 17 BaylorNo. 9
  • Razorback Stadium
  • Fayetteville, AR
W 29–2043,284
November 17at Texas A&MNo. 8W 22–1062,648
November 24SMUNo. 7
  • War Memorial Stadium
  • Little Rock, AR
W 31–754,718
January 1vs. No. 2 Alabama*No. 6ABCL 9–2477,486[4]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Game summaries

Texas

1 234Total
Texas 7 007 14
• Arkansas 0 773 17

Texas' John Goodson missed a 51-yard field goal into a 24-mile per hour wind with 1:29 left to play as Arkansas beat the Longhorns for the first time since 1971.[5]

Roster

  • RB Gary Anderson, Fresh
  • DB Kim Dameron, Fresh
  • Jeff Goff (defense), Soph
  • DE Jim Howard
  • P Bruce Lahay
  • TE Darryl Mason
  • WR TE Gene Ratliff
  • PK Ish Ordonez
  • Ricky Richardson (defense), Soph
  • QB Kevin Scanlon, Sr.
  • G George Stewart

References

  1. ^ "Arkansas Yearly Results (1975-1979)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  2. ^ "19789Arkansas Razorbacks Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 3, 2015.
  3. ^ "Consensus All Americans."1979 Retrieved on July 31, 2007.
  4. ^ "Bama Number 1 - Crimson Tide didn't 'give it away' in Sugar Bowl". The Shreveport Journal. January 2, 1980. Retrieved February 18, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Eugene Register-Guard. 1979 Oct 21.