1979 Air Force Falcons football team

American college football season

1979 Air Force Falcons football
ConferenceIndependent
Record2–9
Head coach
  • Ken Hatfield (1st season)
Offensive schemeWishbone triple option
Defensive coordinatorAl Groh (2nd season)
Base defense3–4
Home stadiumFalcon Stadium
Seasons
← 1978
1980 →
1979 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
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 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 Air Force Falcons football team represented the United States Air Force Academy in the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season, their last as an Independent. Led by first–year head coach Ken Hatfield, Air Force played home games at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The Falcons lost their first eight games,[1] then won two of three to finish at 2–9,[2] and were outscored 127–253. The win over Army on November 3 broke an eleven-game losing streak.[1]

Air Force joined the Western Athletic Conference in 1980.

Schedule

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 8TulsaL 7–2423,000
September 15at WisconsinL 0–3866,466
September 22Illinois
  • Falcon Stadium
  • Colorado Springs, CO
L 19–2718,178
September 29Kansas State
  • Falcon Stadium
  • Colorado Springs, CO
L 6–1922,200
October 6at NavyL 7–2431,109
October 13No. 10 Notre Dame
  • Falcon Stadium
  • Colorado Springs, CO (rivalry)
L 13–3834,881
October 20at OregonL 9–1728,457
October 27at Colorado StateL 6–2020,104
November 3Army
  • Falcon Stadium
  • Colorado Springs, CO (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)
W 28–730,334
November 10at Georgia TechL 0–2130,113
November 17Vanderbilt
  • Falcon Stadium
  • Colorado Springs, CO
W 30–2915,619[3]
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[4]

Roster

1979 Air Force Falcons football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
S 17 Johnny Jackson So
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

References

  1. ^ a b "Falcons rip rival Army for first win". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. November 4, 1979. p. 11B.
  2. ^ "Air Force 30, Vanderbilt 28". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. November 18, 1979. p. 13B.
  3. ^ "Vandy loses on EP kick with :00 left". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. November 18, 1979. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "1979 Air Force Falcons Schedule and Results". Sports-Reference. Retrieved November 21, 2017.


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