Misplaced Pages

1979 South Carolina Gamecocks football team

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
American college football season

1979 South Carolina Gamecocks football
Hall of Fame Classic, L 14–24 vs. Missouri
ConferenceIndependent
Record8–4
Head coach
Defensive coordinatorRichard Bell (5th season)
Home stadiumWilliams–Brice Stadium
Seasons← 19781980 →
1979 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 6 Florida State   –   –   11 – 1 – 0
No. 7 Pittsburgh   –   –   11 – 1 – 0
UNLV   –   –   9 – 1 – 2
No. 17 Temple   –   –   10 – 2 – 0
Tulane   –   –   9 – 3 – 0
Rutgers   –   –   8 – 3 – 0
Tennessee State   –   –   8 – 3 – 0
East Carolina   –   –   7 – 3 – 1
No. 20 Penn State   –   –   8 – 4 – 0
South Carolina   –   –   8 – 4 – 0
Navy   –   –   7 – 4 – 0
Notre Dame   –   –   7 – 4 – 0
Southern Miss   –   –   6 – 4 – 1
Syracuse   –   –   7 – 5 – 0
Colgate   –   –   5 – 4 – 1
Boston College   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
Holy Cross   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
Memphis State   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
Miami (FL)   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
North Texas State   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
Villanova   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
Virginia Tech   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
West Virginia   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
Georgia Tech   –   –   4 – 6 – 1
Louisville   –   –   4 – 6 – 1
William & Mary   –   –   4 – 7 – 0
Illinois State   –   –   3 – 8 – 0
Northeast Louisiana   –   –   3 – 8 – 0
Army   –   –   2 – 8 – 1
Air Force   –   –   2 – 9 – 0
Cincinnati   –   –   2 – 9 – 0
Richmond   –   –   0 – 11 – 0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1979 South Carolina Gamecocks football team represented the University of South Carolina as an independent during the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Jim Carlen, the Gamecocks compiled a record of 8–4. South Carolina was invited to the Hall of Fame Classic, where they lost to Missouri, 24–14.

In 1979, despite pressure on Carlen's job security, South Carolina received some preseason hype, as they returned eighteen of the 22 starters from last season. The Gamecocks would live up to the hype, with wins over two top-20 teams, their highest ranking since 1976, and their first bowl appearance since 1975. South Carolina's eight wins were the most since 1903. If only considering wins against college football teams, the eight wins were the most in program history. It would be the first of five eight-win seasons for the program in the late 1970s and 1980s.

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 8at North CarolinaESPNL 0–2849,500
September 15Western MichiganW 24–750,137
September 22Duke
  • Williams–Brice Stadium
  • Columbia, SC
W 35–053,793
September 26at GeorgiaW 27–2060,100
October 6Oklahoma State
  • Williams–Brice Stadium
  • Columbia, SC
W 23–1656,405
October 20Ole Miss
  • Williams–Brice Stadium
  • Columbia, SC
W 21–1456,407
October 27at No. 14 Notre DameL 17–1859,075
November 3NC State
  • Williams–Brice Stadium
  • Columbia, SC
W 30–2856,409
November 10at No. 7 Florida StateNo. 19L 7–2749,490
November 17No. 17 Wake Forest
  • Williams–Brice Stadium
  • Columbia, SC
W 35–1456,407
November 24No. 13 ClemsonNo. 19
  • Williams–Brice Stadium
  • Columbia, SC (rivalry)
ESPNW 13–956,887
December 29vs. MissouriNo. 16MizlouL 14–2462,785
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1979 South Carolina Gamecocks football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
G 63 Fred David Sr
C 61 Quay Farr Sr
QB 10 Garry Harper Jr
WR 41 Zion McKinney Sr
TE 47 Willie Scott Jr
RB 38 George Rogers Jr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DT 74 Chuck Allen Jr
DT 70 Steve Bernish Sr
DB 23 Lou Biondi Sr
DE 81 Brett Bond Sr
DE 82 Arthur Broussard Sr
DB 21 Andy Hastings Sr
DB 22 Tim Rhino Fr
LB 54 Tim Singleton Sr
LB 23 Scott Wade Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
P Ray Feltz
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

References

  1. ^ "Do not ignore all the signs. But which, the optimistic or ominous, will South Carolina's Jim Carlen heed?". Sports Illustrated Vault. 1979. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  2. "1979 South Carolina Gamecocks Schedule and Results". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  3. "South Carolina Gamecocks Poll History". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  4. "South Carolina Gamecocks Bowls". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  5. ^ "South Carolina Gamecocks College Football History, Stats, Records". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved September 30, 2024.
  6. "Tar Heels get their kicks in 28–0 win". The Charlotte Observer. September 9, 1979. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "South Carolina rallies to top Western Michigan". Winston-Salem Journal. September 16, 1979. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "USC routs Duke, 35–0". Florence Morning News. September 23, 1979. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Gamecocks rally to drop Georgia, 27–20". Anderson Independent/Daily Mail. September 30, 1979. Retrieved October 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Gamecock ball control stalls Pokes". The Sunday Oklahoman. October 7, 1979. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "USC trims Ole Miss". The State. October 21, 1979. Retrieved October 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Irish escape Gamecocks". The Indianapolis Star. October 21, 1979. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Rogers, USC outrun 'Pack". The Greenville News. November 4, 1979. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. "FSU gives bowl scouts a 27–7 message". The Tampa Tribune. November 11, 1979. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. "Wake's mistakes boost Gamecocks". The Charlotte Observer. November 18, 1979. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. Abe Hardesty (November 25, 1979). "Gamecocks trip lunging Tigers". The Greenville News. p. 1C – via Newspapers.com.
  17. "Missouri topples Gamecocks 24–14". The Kansas City Star. December 30, 1979. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. "1979 Football Schedule". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
South Carolina Gamecocks football
Venues
Bowls & rivalries
Culture & lore
People
Seasons


Stub icon

This college football 1970s season article is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

Stub icon

This article about a sports team in South Carolina is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it.

Categories: