# 1979 Big Ten Conference football season

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 11–1 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 10–2 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 8–4 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.

## Season overview
### Results and team statistics

| Conf. Rank | Team | Head coach | AP final | AP high | Overall record | Conf. record | PPG | PAG | MVP |
| 1 | Ohio State | Earle Bruce | #4 | #1 | 11–1 | 8–0 | 32.5 | 10.5 | Jim Laughlin |
| 2 | Purdue | Jim Young | #10 | #5 | 10–2 | 7–1 | 23.9 | 18.8 | Dave Young |
| 3 | Michigan | Bo Schembechler | #18 | #6 | 8–4 | 6–2 | 26.0 | 12.6 | Ron Simpkins |
| 4 | Indiana | Lee Corso | #19 | #19 | 8–4 | 5–3 | 26.2 | 21.0 | Tim Clifford |
| 5 | Iowa | Hayden Fry | NR | NR | 5–6 | 4–4 | 21.7 | 19.6 | Dennis Mosley |
| 6 | Minnesota | Joe Salem | NR | NR | 4–6–1 | 3–5–1 | 24.0 | 24.6 | Mark Carlson |
| 7 (tie) | Michigan State | Darryl Rogers | NR | #7 | 5–6 | 3–5 | 21.8 | 23.0 | Danny Bass |
| 7 (tie) | Wisconsin | Dave McClain | NR | NR | 4–7 | 3–5 | 18.9 | 28.3 | Tom Stauss |
| 9 | Illinois | Gary Moeller | NR | NR | 2–8–1 | 1–6–1 | 14.2 | 24.2 | L. McCullough |
| 10 | Northwestern | Rick Venturi | NR | NR | 1–10 | 0–9 | 10.5 | 35.1 | Chuck Kern |
Key AP final = Team's rank in the final AP Poll of the 1979 season AP high = Team's highest rank in the AP Poll throughout the 1979 season PPG = Average of points scored per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold PAG = Average of points allowed per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold 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

### Regular season
#### September 8

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.
* Purdue 41, Wisconsin 20
* Michigan 49, Northwestern 7
* Indiana 30, Iowa 26
* Michigan State 33, Illinois 16
* Ohio State 31, Syracuse 8
* Minnesota 24, Ohio 10

#### September 15

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 6–4 record to that point in the season.
* Ohio State 21, Minnesota 17
* UCLA 31, Purdue 21
* Notre Dame 12, Michigan 10
* Indiana 44, Vanderbilt 13
* Oklahoma 21, Iowa 6
* Michigan State 41, Oregon 17
* Wisconsin 38, Air Force 0
* Missouri 14, Illinois 6
* Northwestern 27, Wyoming 22

#### September 22

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 12–8 record to that point in the season
* Ohio State 45, Washington State 29
* Purdue 28, Notre Dame 22
* Michigan 28, Kansas 7
* Indiana 18, Kentucky 10
* Nebraska 24, Iowa 21
* USC 48, Minnesota 14
* Michigan State 24, Miami (OH) 21
* UCLA 37, Wisconsin 12
* Illinois 27, Air Force 19
* Syracuse 54, Northwestern 21

#### September 29

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 16–12 record to that point in the season.
* Minnesota 38, Northwestern 8
* Ohio State 17, UCLA 13
* Purdue 13, Oregon 7
* Michigan 14, California 10
* Colorado 17, Indiana 16
* Iowa 30, Iowa State 14
* Notre Dame 27, Michigan State 3
* San Diego State 24, Wisconsin 17
* Navy 13, Illinois 12

#### October 6

On October 6, 1979, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.
* Ohio State 16, Northwestern 7
* Minnesota 31, Purdue 14
* Michigan 21, Michigan State 7
* Indiana 3, Wisconsin 0
* Iowa 13, Illinois 7

#### October 13

On October 13, 1979, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.
* Ohio State 47, Indiana 6
* Purdue 28, Illinois 14
* Michigan 31, Minnesota 21
* Iowa 58, Northwestern 6
* Wisconsin 38, Michigan State 29

#### October 20

On October 20, 1979, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.
* Ohio State 59, Wisconsin 0
* Purdue 14, Michigan State 7
* Michigan 27, Illinois 7
* Indiana 30, Northwestern 0
* Minnesota 24, Iowa 7

#### October 27

On October 27, 1979, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.
* Ohio State 42, Michigan State 0
* Purdue 20, Northwestern 16
* Michigan 27, Indiana 21
* Iowa 24, Wisconsin 13
* Illinois 17, Minnesota 17

#### November 3

On November 3, 1979, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.
* Ohio State 44, Illinois 7
* Purdue 20, Iowa 14
* Michigan 54, Wisconsin 0
* Indiana 42, Minnesota 24
* Michigan State 42, Northwestern 7

#### November 10

On November 10, 1979, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.
* Ohio State 34, Iowa 7
* Purdue 24, Michigan 21
* Indiana 45, Illinois 14
* Minnesota 31, Michigan State 17
* Wisconsin 28, Northwestern 3

#### November 17

On November 17, 1979, the Big Ten teams played five conference games.
* Ohio State 18, Michigan 15
* Purdue 37, Indiana 21
* Iowa 33, Michigan State 23
* Wisconsin 42, Minnesota 37
* Illinois 29, Northwestern 13

### Bowl games
#### 1979 Holiday Bowl
## Statistical leaders
## Awards and honors
### All-Big Ten honors

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
| Position | Name | Team | Selectors |
| Quarterback | Art Schlichter | Ohio State | AP, UPI |
| Running back | Dennis Mosley | Iowa | AP, UPI |
| Running back | Butch Woolfolk | Michigan | AP, UPI |
| Fullback | Dave Mohapp | Ohio State | UPI |
| Split end | Elmer Bailey | Minnesota | AP |
| Flanker | Doug Donley | Wisconsin | AP, UPI |
| Tight end | Dave Young | Purdue | AP |
| Tight end | Mark Brammer | Michigan State | UPI |
| Center | Jay Hilgenberg | Iowa | AP |
| Center | Tom Waugh | Ohio State | UPI |
| Guard | Ken Fritz | Ohio State | AP, UPI |
| Guard | Dale Schwan | Purdue | AP |
| Guard | John Arbeznik | Michigan | UPI |
| Tackle | Steve McKenzie | Purdue | AP, UPI |
| Tackle | Ray Snell | Wisconsin | AP, UPI |
Defense
| Position | Name | Team | Selectors |
| Defensive line | Curtis Greer | Michigan | AP, UPI |
| Defensive line | Ken Loushin | Purdue | AP, UPI |
| Defensive line | Keena Turner | Purdue | AP |
| Defensive line | Luther Henson | Ohio State | UPI |
| Defensive line | Calvin Clark | Purdue | AP |
| Defensive line | Jim Laughlin | Ohio State | AP, UPI [linebacker] |
| Defensive line | Mike Trgovac | Michigan | UPI |
| Linebacker | Ron Simpkins | Michigan | AP, UPI |
| Linebacker | Dan Bass | Michigan State | AP, UPI |
| Linebacker | Leven Weiss | Iowa | AP |
| Defensive back | Mike Guess | Ohio State | AP, UPI |
| Defensive back | Mike Jolly | Michigan | AP, UPI |
| Defensive back | Tim Wilbur | Indiana | AP |
| Defensive back | Todd Bell | Ohio State | UPI |
| Defensive back | Vince Skillings | Ohio State | UPI |

### All-American honors

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:
| Position | Name | Team | Selectors |
| Offensive guard | Ken Fritz | Ohio State | AP, FWAA, UPI, NEA, WCFF |
| Linebacker | Ron Simpkins | Michigan | AP, FWAA, UPI, WCFF |
Other Big Ten players who were named first-team All-Americans by at least one selector were:
| Position | Name | Team | Selectors |
| Quarterback | Art Schlichter | Ohio State | NEA, TSN |
| Offensive guard | Ray Snell | Wisconsin | TSN |
| Defensive end | Curtis Greer | Michigan | AFCA, FWAA, NEA |

### Other awards

* Heisman Trophy voting: Ohio State quarterback Art Schlichter (fourth); and Purdue quarterback Mark Herrmann (eighth)
* Big Ten Coach of the Year: Earle Bruce of Ohio State.

## 1979 NFL Draft

The 1980 NFL draft was held in New York on April 29–30, 1979. The following players were among the first 100 picks:
| Name | Position | Team | Round | Overall pick |
| Curtis Greer | Defensive end | Michigan | 1 | 6 |
| Ray Snell | Guard | Wisconsin | 1 | 22 |
| Doug Marsh | Tight end | Michigan | 2 | 33 |
| Angelo Fields | Offensive tackle | Michigan State | 2 | 38 |
| Keena Turner | Linebacker | Purdue | 2 | 39 |
| Ralph Clayton | Wide receiver | Michigan | 2 | 47 |
| Mike Fried | Wide receiver | Indiana | 3 | 62 |
| Mark Brammer | Tight end | Michigan State | 3 | 67 |
| Ray Sydnor | Tight end | Wisconsin | 3 | 83 |
| Jim Laughlin | Linebacker | Ohio State | 4 | 91 |
| Mike Jolly | Defensive back | Michigan | 4 | 96 |
| Elmer Bailey | Wide receiver | Minnesota | 4 | 100 |