1979 North Dakota Fighting Sioux football team

The 1979 North Dakota Fighting Sioux football team, also known as the Nodaks, was an American football team that represented the University of North Dakota as a member of the North Central Conference (NCC) during the 1979 NCAA Division II football season. Led by Gene Murphy in his second and final season as head coach, the Fighting Sioux compiled an overall record of 10–2 with a mark of 5–1 in conference play, winning the NCC title. North Dakota advanced to the NCAA Division II Football Championship playoffs, losing in the quarterfinals to Mississippi College. The team played home games at Memorial Stadium in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

1979 North Dakota Fighting Sioux football
NCC champion
ConferenceNorth Central Conference
Record10–2 (5–1 NCC)
Head coach
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
Seasons
← 1978
1980 →
1979 North Central Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 3 North Dakota $^ 5 1 0 10 2 0
No. 8 South Dakota State * ^ 4 2 0 9 3 0
North Dakota State 4 2 0 6 4 0
Nebraska–Omaha 3 3 0 8 3 0
South Dakota * 3 3 0 5 6 0
Augustana (SD) 2 4 0 4 5 0
Morningside 0 6 0 0 10 0
Northern Colorado 0 0 0 2 8 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant
  • * – South Dakota State won two head-to-head games over South Dakota, which counted as one game for each team in the conference standings.
    † – Northern Colorado was ineligible for the conference title.
Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

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DateTimeOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 1Moorhead State*W 17–06,300
September 8at Montana State*W 20–167,070
September 15at Sacramento State*
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Grand Forks, ND
W 31–013,200
September 22at South Dakota StateW 13–04,380
September 29Illinois State*No. T–4
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Grand Forks, ND
W 13–05,700[1]
October 6at Augustana (SD)No. 3Sioux Falls, SDW 30–241,157
October 13at North Dakota StateNo. 2W 14–712,800[2]
October 20South DakotaNo. 3
W 23–2211,050
October 27MorningsideNo. 3
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Grand Forks, ND
W 32–75,700
November 3at Nebraska–OmahaNo. 3L 13–245,300
November 10at Western Illinois*No. 3W 28–78,300
November 247:30 p.m.at No. 5 Mississippi College*No. 3L 15–35[3][4]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Central time

[5][6]

Roster

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1979 North Dakota Fighting Sioux football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
RB 33 Kirk Anderson Jr
QB 15 Chris Sorensen So
OT 74 Todd Thomas Jr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
CB 13 Jim Abernathy So
DT 80 Dale Markham Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  •   Injured
  •   Redshirt

References

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  1. ^ "Undefeated Sioux post fourth shutout of year". Sioux City Journal. Associated Press. September 30, 1979. p. C10. Retrieved December 18, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "North Dakota defeats North Dakota St. 14–7". Star Tribune. October 14, 1979. Retrieved October 5, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Nance, Roscoe (November 24, 1979). "MC's loss to be motivator for today, says Williams". The Clarion-Ledger. Jackson, Mississippi. p. 3C. Retrieved December 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com  .
  4. ^ Gough, Norman (November 25, 1979). "Mississippi overpowers N. Dakota". The Morning News. Wilmington, Delaware. p. D3. Retrieved December 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com  .
  5. ^ "Final 1979 Cumulative Football Statistics Report". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved December 30, 2022.
  6. ^ "2019 North Dakota Football Media Guide" (PDF). University of North Dakota. 2019. p. 176.