1979 Stanford Cardinals football team

American college football season

1979 Stanford Cardinals football
Conference	Pacific-10 Conference
Record	5–5–1 (3–3–1 Pac-10)
Head coach	Rod Dowhower (1st season)
Home stadium	Stanford Stadium
Seasons← 1978 1980 →

1979 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 2 USC $	6	–	0	–	1	11	–	0	–	1
No. 11 Washington	5	–	2	–	0	9	–	3	–	0
Arizona	4	–	3	–	0	6	–	5	–	1
Oregon	4	–	3	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
California	5	–	4	–	0	6	–	6	–	0
Stanford	3	–	3	–	1	5	–	5	–	1
Arizona State †	3	–	4	–	0	6	–	6	–	0
UCLA	3	–	4	–	0	5	–	6	–	0
Washington State	2	–	6	–	0	3	–	8	–	0
Oregon State	1	–	7	–	0	1	–	10	–	0

$ – Conference champion † – Arizona State later forfeited 5 wins (3 in conference) due to NCAA sanctions Rankings from AP Poll

The 1979 Stanford Cardinals football team represented Stanford University in the Pacific-10 Conference during the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by first-year head coach Rod Dowhower, the Cardinals had a 5–5–1 overall record (3–3–1 in Pac-10, sixth).

Senior starting quarterback Turk Schonert split time with freshman John Elway.

Dowhower was promoted to head coach in January; he was previously the receivers coach for two seasons under Bill Walsh, who left for the NFL's San Francisco 49ers. After the season in January 1980, Dowhower left to become the offensive coordinator with the NFL's Denver Broncos, and was succeeded by alumnus Paul Wiggin.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
September 8	at Tulane*	No. 13	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, LA	L 10–33	41,251
September 15	San Jose State*		Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA (rivalry)	W 45–29	46,789
September 22	Army*		Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA	L 13–17	43,345
September 29	Boston College*		Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA	W 33–14	36,412
October 6	UCLA		Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA	W 27–24	70,205
October 13	at No. 1 USC		Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (rivalry)	T 21–21	76,067
October 20	at Arizona		Arizona Stadium Tucson, AZ	W 30–10	55,000
October 27	at Oregon State		Parker Stadium Corvallis, OR	L 31–33	16,000
November 3	Arizona State		Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA	W 28–21	40,184
November 10	Oregon		Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA	L 7–16	45,219
November 17	California		Stanford Stadium Stanford, CA (Big Game)	L 14–21	85,577
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Game summaries

Tulane

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (January 2014)

San Jose State

Main article: 1979 San Jose State Spartans football team

Mike Dotterer became the first freshman in school history to score three touchdowns in one game during Stanford's 45–29 victory. The Spartans were led by first-year head coach Jack Elway, father of John, who became Stanford's head coach after the 1983 season.

At Arizona

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Stanford	7	0	7	16	30
Arizona	0	7	3	0	10

Date: October 20
Location: Tucson, Arizona

Source:

Scoring summary

1	STAN	Hooper 3 yard pass from Schonert (Naber kick)	STAN 7-0

2	ARIZ	Hersey 5 yard run (Zivic kick)	Tied 7-7

3	ARIZ	Zivic 27 yard field goal	ARIZ 10-7

3	STAN	Tyler 15 yard pass from Schonert (Naber kick)	STAN 14-10

4	STAN	Naber 30 yard field goal	STAN 17-10

4	STAN	Dotterer 7 yard pass from Schonert (Naber kick)	STAN 24-10

4	STAN	Margerum 13 yard pass from Elway (kick failed)	STAN 30-10

California

See also: 1979 California Golden Bears football team California Golden Bears (5–5) at Stanford Cardinals (5–4–1)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
California	14	0	0	7	21
Stanford	0	7	7	0	14

at Stanford Stadium, Stanford, California

Date: November 17
Game attendance: 85,577
Referee: John Barger
Source:

Game information

First quarter

CAL – Jack Rose 23-yard pass from Rich Campbell (Mick Luckhurst kick). California 7–0. Drive: 5 plays, 81 yards.
CAL – Greg Woodard 28-yard pass from Rich Campbell (Mick Luckhurst kick). California 14–0. Drive: 6 plays, 82 yards.

Second quarter

STAN – Vincent White 17-yard pass from Turk Schonert (Ken Naber kick). California 14–7. Drive: 13 plays, 82 yards.

Third quarter

STAN – Andre Tyler 16-yard pass from Turk Schonert (Ken Naber kick). Tie 14–14. Drive: 5 plays, 32 yards.

Fourth quarter

CAL – Jack Rose 17-yard pass from Rich Campbell (Mick Luckhurst kick). California 21–14. Drive:

Top passers

CAL – Rich Campbell – 23/33, 315 yards, 3 TD, int
STAN – Turk Schonert – 22/32, 225 yards, 2 TD

Top rushers

CAL – Paul Jones – 24 rushes, 92 yards
STAN – Vincent White – 10 rushes, 26 yards

Top receivers

CAL – Jack Rose – 8 receptions, 121 yards, 2 TD
STAN – Ken Margerum – 6 receptions, 61 yards

Roster

1979 Stanford Cardinal football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
RB	`24`	Mike Dotterer	Fr
TE	`83`	Chris Dressel	Fr
QB	`7`	John Elway	Fr
OT	`79`	Andre Hines	Sr
OT	`67`	Brian Holloway	Jr
C	`66`	John Macauley	Jr
WR	`28`	Ken Margerum	Jr
G	`68`	Mike Neill	Jr
RB	`31`	Darrin Nelson	Jr
QB	`14`	Turk Schonert	Sr
WR	`25`	Andre Tyler	Jr
RB	`22`	Vincent White	Fr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DT	`89`	Chuck Evans	Sr
DT	`94`	Dan Floyd	Sr
FS		Steve Foley	Jr
CB	`11`	Rick Gervais	Jr
CB	`20`	Rod Gilmore	So
LB	`99`	Tom Hall	Jr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
K, P	`10`	Ken Naber	Jr

Head coach

Rod Dowhower (1st year)

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Al Lavan – Running backs
Jim Fassel – Wide receivers
Tom Lovat – Offensive line
Russell Charles – Offensive line
Bill Dutton – Defensive line
John Godden – Inside linebackers
Ray Handley – Linebackers
George Seifert – Defensive back

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

References

"2017 Media Guide" (PDF). thesundevils.com. ASU Athletics. p. 127. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
"Dowhower wants Stanford exciting". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). UPI. January 10, 1979. p. 3C.
"Dowhower quits to take Broncos' post". Palm Beach Post. January 24, 1980. Retrieved January 22, 2013.
"Card coach resigns". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. January 24, 1980. p. 30.
"Dowhower suddenly leaves Stanford for NFL". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire service reports. January 24, 1980. p. 3B.
"Dowhower resigns as Stanford football coach". Lodi News-Sentinel. (California). UPI. January 24, 1980. p. 18.
"Wiggin Stanford football coach". Lodi News-Sentinel. (California). UPI. February 2, 1980. p. 10.
"Wiggin gets Stanford job". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. February 2, 1980. p. 14.
"Stanford is stunned by Tulane, 33–10". The Los Angeles Times. September 9, 1979. Retrieved July 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Stanford outlasts San Jose". The San Francisco Examiner. September 16, 1979. Retrieved October 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Army staggers Stanford". St. Petersburg Times. September 23, 1979. Retrieved October 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Elway's TD passes help Stanford win". The Los Angeles Times. September 30, 1979. Retrieved October 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Late field goal propels Cards by UCLA, 27–24". Statesman Journal. October 7, 1979. Retrieved October 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Trojans are left in a daze". The Daily Breeze. October 14, 1979. Retrieved October 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Three Schonert TDs, rugged defense propel Stanford". Santa Cruz Sentinel. October 21, 1979. Retrieved October 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Stanford's hopes in Pac 10 dammed by Beavers, 33–31". The San Bernardino County Sun. October 28, 1979. Retrieved October 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Stanford beats Arizona State". The Selma Times-Journal. November 4, 1979. Retrieved October 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Ex-Hawk preserves Oregon win". Tri-City Herald. November 11, 1979. Retrieved October 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"Campbell-paced Bears defeat Stanford 21–14". The Sunday Oregonian. November 18, 1979. Retrieved October 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
"1979 Stanford Cardinal Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 25, 2024.
Palm Beach Post. 1979 Sept 16. Retrieved 2014-Jan-20.
"Bears stop Cards at the 2 and win Big Game, 21-14". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). UPI. November 18, 1979. p. 7B.
"Starting lineups". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). October 27, 1979. p. 2C.
"Starting lineups". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). November 10, 1979. p. 2B.

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