# 1979 Ottawa Rough Riders season

The 1979 Ottawa Rough Riders finished in second place in the Eastern Conference with an 8–6–2 record. Prior to the 2015 season, the 1979 season was the last time that an Ottawa-based CFL team had a winning season.
In May 1979, Tom Clements was traded to the Saskatchewan Roughriders. The Clements-Holloway quarterback combination would be no more. From 1975–78, under Holloway and Clements, the Rough Riders compiled a 38–24–2 record, which included two Eastern Division championships and a Grey Cup win in 1976 over Saskatchewan. This lent to the credence of the "two number-ones" stratagem and both quarterbacks' team-first attitude.

## Preseason

| Game | Date | Opponent | Results | Results | Venue | Attendance |
| Game | Date | Opponent | Score | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| A | June 12 | at Montreal Alouettes | L 20–36 | 0–1 | | |
| B | June 18 | vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers | W 13–12 | 1–1 | | |
| C | June 24 | at Edmonton Eskimos | W 30–27 | 2–1 | | |
| D | July 4 | vs. Toronto Argonauts | L 13–18 | 2–2 | | |

## Regular season
### Standings

Eastern Football Conference :
| Team | GP | W | L | T | PF | PA | Pts |
| Montreal Alouettes | 16 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 351 | 284 | 23 |
| Ottawa Rough Riders | 16 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 349 | 315 | 18 |
| Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 16 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 280 | 338 | 12 |
| Toronto Argonauts | 16 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 234 | 352 | 10 |

### Schedule

| Week | Game | Date | Opponent | Results | Results | Venue | Attendance |
| Week | Game | Date | Opponent | Score | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | 1 | July 11 | vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats | W 30–19 | 1–0 | | |
| 2 | 2 | July 24 | at Toronto Argonauts | W 31–2 | 2–0 | | |
| 3 | 3 | July 31 | vs. Toronto Argonauts | L 16–18 | 2–1 | | |
| 4 | 4 | Aug 8 | at Calgary Stampeders | L 17–27 | 2–2 | | |
| 5 | 5 | Aug 14 | vs. Edmonton Eskimos | T 24–24 | 2–2–1 | | |
| 6 | 6 | Aug 20 | at Montreal Alouettes | L 14–32 | 2–3–1 | | |
| 7 | 7 | Aug 29 | vs. Montreal Alouettes | W 31–29 | 3–3–1 | | |
| 8 | 8 | Sept 3 | at Hamilton Tiger-Cats | L 9–16 | 3–4–1 | | |
| 9 | 9 | Sept 8 | vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats | W 44–4 | 4–4–1 | | |
| 10 | 10 | Sept 15 | at Winnipeg Blue Bombers | W 22–19 | 5–4–1 | | |
| 11 | 11 | Sept 30 | vs. Montreal Alouettes | T 29–29 | 5–4–2 | | |
| 12 | 12 | Oct 7 | at Saskatchewan Roughriders | W 20–19 | 6–4–2 | | |
| 13 | 13 | Oct 14 | vs. BC Lions | W 28–26 | 7–4–2 | | |
| 14 | 14 | Oct 21 | at Hamilton Tiger-Cats | L 3–21 | 7–5–2 | | |
| 15 | 15 | Oct 27 | at Montreal Alouettes | L 8–24 | 7–6–2 | | |
| 16 | 16 | Nov 3 | vs. Toronto Argonauts | W 23–6 | 8–6–2 | | |

## Postseason

| Round | Date | Opponent | Results | Results | Venue | Attendance |
| Round | Date | Opponent | Score | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| East Semi-Final | Nov 11 | vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats | W 29–26 | 9–6–2 | | |
| East Final | Nov 17 | at Montreal Alouettes | L 6–17 | 9–7–2 | | |

## Player stats
### Passing

| Player | Attempts | Completions | Completions | Percentage | Yards | Touchdowns | Interceptions |
| Condredge Holloway | 238 | 128 | 53.8 | 1965 | 17 | 8 |

### Receiving

| Player | Games Played | Receptions | Yards | Average | Long | Touchdowns |
| Jeff Avery | 15 | 27 | 402 | 14.9 | 53 | 4 |
| Tony Gabriel | 16 | 48 | 761 | 15.9 | 44 | 8 |

## Awards and honours

* Ron Foxx, Linebacker, CFL All-Star
* Tony Gabriel, Tight End, CFL All-Star