The 1979 Big Ten Conference football season was the 84th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season.
The 1979 Ohio State Buckeyes football team compiled an 11âÂÂ1 record, won the Big Ten championship, lost to USC in the 1980 Rose Bowl, and was ranked No. 4 in the final AP and UPI polls. Quarterback Art Schlichter led the team with 2,246 yards of total offense, finished fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting, and was selected as a first-team All-American by the NEA and The Sporting News. Offensive guard Ken Fritz was a consensus All-American. Earl Bruce, in his first year as head coach, was selected as the Big Ten Coach of the Year. Doug Donley led the Big Ten with 800 receiving yards, and Vlade Janakievski led the conference with 97 points scored. Defensive lineman Jim Laughlin was selected as the team's most valuable player.
The 1979 Purdue Boilermakers football team, under head coach Jim Young, finished in second place in the Big Ten, compiled a 10âÂÂ2 record, defeated Tennessee in the 1979 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl, led the conference in both scoring offense (32.5 points per game) and scoring defense (10.5 points allowed per game), and was ranked No. 10 in the final AP and UPI polls. Quarterback Mark Herrmann led the conference with 2,377 passing yards and finished eighth in the Heisman Trophy voting. Tight end Dave Young was selected as the team's most valuable player.
The 1979 Michigan Wolverines football team, under head coach Bo Schembechler, compiled an 8âÂÂ4 record, finished third in the Big Ten, lost to North Carolina in the 1979 Gator Bowl, and was ranked No. 18 in the final AP poll. Linebacker Ron Simpkins was selected as the team's most valuable player and as a consensus All-American. Defensive end Curtis Greer was also selected as a first-team All-American by multiple selectors. Butch Woolfolk ranked second in the Big Ten with 990 rushing yards.
Key<br> AP final = Team's rank in the final AP Poll of the 1979 season<br> AP high = Team's highest rank in the AP Poll throughout the 1979 season<br> PPG = Average of points scored per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold<br> PAG = Average of points allowed per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold<br> MVP = Most valuable player as voted by players on each team as part of the voting process to determine the winner of the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy; trophy winner in bold
On September 8, 1979, the Big Ten football teams played four conference games and two non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in two wins.
On September 15, 1979, the Big Ten teams played one conference games and eight non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in four wins and four losses, giving the Big Ten a 6âÂÂ4 record to that point in the season.
On September 22, 1979, the Big Ten teams played 10 non-conference games, resulting in six wins and four losses. The results gave the Big Ten a 12âÂÂ8 record to that point in the season
On September 29, 1979, the Big Ten teams played one conference game and eight non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in four wins and four losses, giving the Big Ten a 16âÂÂ12 record to that point in the season.
On October 6, 1979, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.
On October 13, 1979, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.
On October 20, 1979, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.
On October 27, 1979, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.
On November 3, 1979, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.
On November 10, 1979, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.
On November 17, 1979, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.
1. Mark Herrmann, Purdue (2,377)<br> 2. Mark Carlson, Minnesota (2,188)<br> 3. Tim Clifford, Indiana (2,078)<br> 4. Art Schlichter, Ohio State (1,816)<br> 5. John Wangler, Michigan (1,431)
1. Dennis Mosley, Iowa (1,267)<br> 2. Butch Woolfolk, Michigan (990)<br> 3. Steve Smith, Michigan State (972)<br> 4. Calvin Murray, Ohio State (872)<br> 5. Garry White, Minnesota (861)
1. Doug Donley, Ohio State (800)<br> 2. Tom Stauss, Wisconsin (660)<br> 3. Todd Sheets, Northwestern (614)<br> 4. Doug Marsh, Michigan (612)<br> 5. Bart Burrell, Purdue (607)
1. Art Schlichter, Ohio State (2,246)<br> 2. Tim Clifford, Indiana (2,158)<br> 3. Mark Carlson, Minnesota (2,149)<br> 4. Mark Herrmann, Purdue (2,094)<br> 5. John Wangler, Michigan (1,455)
1. Art Schlichter, Ohio State (145.9)<br> 2. Mark Carlson, Minnesota (125.7)<br> 3. Tim Clifford, Indiana (Indiana 124.1)<br> 4. Mark Herrmann, Purdue (120.0)<br> 5. Phil Suess, Iowa (118.0)
1. Garry White, Minnesota (6.4)<br> 2. Ben McCall, Purdue (5.6)<br> 3. Lawrence Reid, Michigan (5.4)<br> 4. Mike Holmes, Illinois (5.4)<br> 5. Derek Hughes, Michigan State (5.3)
1. Doug Donley, Ohio State (21.6)<br> 2. Gary Williams, Ohio State (19.2)<br> 3. Eugene Byrd, Michigan State (18.6)<br> 4. Doug Marsh, Michigan (18.5)<br> 5. Tom Stauss, Wisconsin (17.4)
1. Vlade Janakievski, Ohio State (97)<br> 2. Dennis Mosley, Iowa (96)<br> 3. Butch Woolfolk, Michigan (78)<br> 4. Marion Barber, Jr., Minnesota (72)<br> 5. Derek Hughes, Michigan State (66)
The following players were picked by the Associated Press (AP) and/or the United Press International (UPI) as first-team players on the 1979 All-Big Ten Conference football team.
Offense
Defense
At the end of the 1979 season, two Big Ten players were consensus first-team picks for the 1979 College Football All-America Team. The Big Ten's consensus All-Americans were:
Other Big Ten players who were named first-team All-Americans by at least one selector were:
The 1980 NFL draft was held in New York on April 29âÂÂ30, 1979. The following players were among the first 100 picks: