1979 Utah Utes football team

1979 Utah Utes football
1979 Utah Utes football
Conference	Western Athletic Conference
Record	6–6 (5–2 WAC)
Head coach	Wayne Howard (3rd season);
Offensive coordinator	Ron McBride (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Tom Gadd (3rd season)
Home stadium	Robert Rice Stadium
	Seasons ← 1978 1980 →

The 1979 Utah Utes football team was an American football team that represented the University of Utah as a member of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their third season under head coach Wayne Howard, the Utes compiled an overall record of 6–6 with a mark of 5–2 against conference opponents, placing second in the WAC. Home games were played on campus at Robert Rice Stadium in Salt Lake City.

1979 Western Athletic Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 13 BYU $	7	–	0	–	0	11	–	1	–	0
Utah	5	–	2	–	0	6	–	6	–	0
San Diego State	4	–	2	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
Hawaii	3	–	3	–	0	6	–	5	–	0
New Mexico	3	–	4	–	0	6	–	6	–	0
Colorado State	3	–	4	–	0	4	–	7	–	1
Wyoming	2	–	5	–	0	4	–	8	–	0
UTEP	0	–	7	–	0	2	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule edit

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 1	7:30 pm	Long Beach State*	Robert Rice Stadium Salt Lake City UT	W 34–10	26,238
September 8	11:30 pm	Hawaii	Aloha Stadium Halawa, HI	W 27–23	41,511
September 15	2:30 pm	at No. 14 Washington*	Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	L 7–41	49,416
September 22	5:30 pm	at Tennessee*	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN	L 18–51	85,783	^[1]
September 29	7:30 pm	Utah State*	Robert Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, UT (rivalry)	L 21–47	31,108
October 6	1:30 pm	at Colorado State	Hughes Stadium Fort Collins, CO	W 21–16	27,257
October 13	7:30 pm	Wyoming	Robert Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, UT	W 24–14	25,258
October 20	7:30 pm	at UNLV*	Las Vegas Silver Bowl Paradise, NV	L 41–43	24,782
October 27	1:30 pm	San Diego State	Robert Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, UT	L 13–17	22,196
November 3	4:00 pm	at New Mexico	University Stadium Albuquerque, NM	W 26–7	19,093
November 10	1:30 pm	UTEP	Robert Rice Stadium Salt Lake City, UT	W 35–0	25,016
November 17	1:30 pm	at No. 10 BYU	Cougar Stadium Provo, UT (rivalry)	L 0–27	40,236
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Mountain time

1979 Utah Utes football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
TE	`82`	Steve Folsom	Jr
G	`68`	Darryl Haley	So
QB	`10`	Floyd Hodge	Jr
G	`64`	Dean Miraldi	Jr
RB	`33`	Del Rodgers	So
RB	`11`	Lewis Walker	Sr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DT	`99`	Steve Clark	So
DB	`1`	Jeff Griffin	Jr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class

One Utah player was selected in the 1980 NFL Draft.

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL team
Lewis Walker	Running back	10	268	Washington Redskins

^ "Tennessee blasts Utah, 51–18". The Salt Lake Tribune. September 23, 1979. Retrieved May 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "1980 Utah Football Media Guide". University of Utah Athletic Department. Archived from the original on December 15, 2012. Retrieved August 7, 2011.
^ "Ute Record Book" (PDF). University of Utah. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 13, 2011. Retrieved October 21, 2009.