1979 Louisville Cardinals football team

The 1979 Louisville Cardinals football team was an American football team that represented the University of Louisville as an independent during the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fifth season under head coach Vince Gibson, the Cardinals compiled a 4–6–1 record and were outscored by a total of 202 to 167.^[1]

1979 Louisville Cardinals football
Conference	Independent
Record	4–6–1
Head coach	Vince Gibson (5th season)
Home stadium	Fairgrounds Stadium
Seasons ← 1978 1980 →

1979 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 6 Florida State		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
No. 7 Pittsburgh		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
UNLV		–		–				9	–	1	–	2
No. 17 Temple		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
Tulane		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Rutgers		–		–				8	–	3	–	0
Tennessee State		–		–				8	–	3	–	0
East Carolina		–		–				7	–	3	–	1
No. 20 Penn State		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
South Carolina		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
Navy		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Notre Dame		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Southern Miss		–		–				6	–	4	–	1
Syracuse		–		–				7	–	5	–	0
Colgate		–		–				5	–	4	–	1
Boston College		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Holy Cross		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Memphis State		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Miami (FL)		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
North Texas State		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Villanova		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
West Virginia		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Georgia Tech		–		–				4	–	6	–	1
Louisville		–		–				4	–	6	–	1
William & Mary		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Illinois State		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Northeast Louisiana		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Army		–		–				2	–	8	–	1
Air Force		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Cincinnati		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Richmond		–		–				0	–	11	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

The team's statistical leaders included Stu Stram with 806 passing yards, Greg Hickman with 648 rushing yards and 24 points scored, and Randy Butler with 347 receiving yards.^[2]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 8	Virginia Tech	Fairgrounds Stadium Louisville, KY	L 14–15	29,436	^[3]
September 15	at Miami (FL)	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL	L 12–24	41,129
September 22	Cincinnati	Fairgrounds Stadium Louisville, KY (The Keg of Nails)	W 22–19
September 29	at Drake	Drake Stadium Des Moines, IA	W 31–21
October 6	No. 9 Florida State	Fairgrounds Stadium Louisville, KY	L 0–27	27,306
October 13	Tulsa	Fairgrounds Stadium Louisville, KY	W 24–7	14,941
October 20	at Indiana State	Memorial Stadium Terre Haute, IN	W 34–10	16,279
November 3	Southern Miss	Fairgrounds Stadium Louisville, KY	T 10–10	13,085	^[4]
November 10	at Memphis State	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN (rivalry)	L 6–10
November 17	at Maryland	Byrd Stadium College Park, MD	L 7–28
November 25	Rutgers	Fairgrounds Stadium Louisville, KY	L 7–31
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1979 Louisville Cardinals football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 20 Mark Clayton Fr OT 75 Joe Jacoby Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Vince Gibson Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible   Injured   Redshirt

References

1. "1979 Louisville Cardinals Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
2. "1979 Louisville Cardinals Statistics". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
3. "Freshman kicks late field goal as U of L loses". The Courier-Journal. September 9, 1979. Retrieved December 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Titanic defensive struggle leaves U of L with 10–10 tie". The Courier-Journal. November 4, 1979. Retrieved March 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.