1979 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team

The 1979 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team represented the University of Tulsa as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) during the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their third year under head coach John Cooper, the Golden Hurricane compiled a 6–5 record. Tulsa played only two games against conference opponents, Wichita State and New Mexico State, but neither game counted in the conference standings.[1]

1979 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football
ConferenceMissouri Valley Conference
Record6–5 (0–0 MVC)
Head coach
Home stadiumSkelly Stadium
Seasons
← 1978
1980 →
1979 Missouri Valley Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
West Texas State $ 5 0 0 5 5 1
Southern Illinois 4 1 0 8 3 0
Indiana State 3 2 0 8 3 0
Drake 1 4 0 3 8 0
New Mexico State 1 4 0 2 9 0
Wichita State 1 4 0 1 10 0
Tulsa 0 0 0 6 5 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • Tulsa was ineligible for MVC title

The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Bill Blankenship with 627 passing yards, Paul Roberson with 546 rushing yards, and Paul Johns with 408 receiving yards.[2] Head coach John Cooper was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Schedule edit

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 1McNeese State*L 3–624,600[3]
September 8at Air Force*W 24–723,000
September 15Southwestern Louisiana*
  • Skelly Stadium
  • Tulsa, OK
W 28–2017,500
September 22at No. 3 Oklahoma*L 13–4971,187
September 29at No. 13 Arkansas*L 8–3345,742
October 6at Kansas State*W 9–633,100
October 13at Louisville*L 7–2414,941
October 20TCU* 
  • Skelly Stadium
  • Tulsa, OK
L 17–2420,000
October 27at Florida*W 20–1060,126[4]
November 3Wichita State*
  • Skelly Stadium
  • Tulsa, OK
W 28–2617,861[5]
November 10New Mexico State*
  • Skelly Stadium
  • Tulsa, OK
W 38–1610,065
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[6][7]

After the season edit

1980 NFL Draft edit

The following Golden Hurriane player was selected in the National Football League Draft following the season.[8][9]

Round Pick Player Position NFL club
12 313 Quinn Jones Running back Atlanta Falcons

References edit

  1. ^ "Missouri Valley Conference". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. November 19, 1979. p. 61. Retrieved January 20, 2023 – via Newspapers.com  .
  2. ^ "1979 Tulsa Golden Hurricane Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  3. ^ "McNeese stumps Hurricane, 6–3". Tulsa World. September 2, 1979. Retrieved March 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Tulsa outlasts Florida, 20–10". The Daily Oklahoman. October 28, 1979. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Tulsa survives Shocker comeback". The Wichita Eagle. November 4, 1979. Retrieved February 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "1979 Tulsa Golden Hurricane Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 27, 2016.
  7. ^ "Tulsa Golden Hurricane Football Record & Fact Book 2022" (PDF). University of Tulsa. p. 185. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  8. ^ "1980 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  9. ^ "Tulsa Drafted Players/Alumni". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved April 23, 2023.