1979 Missouri Tigers football team

The 1979 Missouri Tigers football team was an American football team that represented the University of Missouri in the Big Eight Conference (Big 8) during the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team compiled a 7–5 record (3–4 against Big 8 opponents), finished in fourth place in the Big 8, and was outscored by opponents by a combined total of 260 to 166. Warren Powers was the head coach for the second of seven seasons.^[1][2] The team played its home games at Faurot Field in Columbia, Missouri.

1979 Missouri Tigers football
Hall of Fame Classic, W 24–14 vs. South Carolina
Conference	Big Eight Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 20
Record	7–5 (3–4 Big 8)
Head coach	Warren Powers (2nd season)
Home stadium	Faurot Field
Seasons ← 1978 1980 →

1979 Big Eight Conference football standings
v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 3 Oklahoma $	7	–	0	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
No. 9 Nebraska	6	–	1	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
Oklahoma State	5	–	2	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Missouri	3	–	4	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Colorado	2	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Iowa State	2	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Kansas	2	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Kansas State	1	–	6	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The team's statistical leaders included James Wilder with 645 rushing yards, Phil Bradley with 1,448 passing yards and 1,764 yards of total offense, Andy Gibler with 316 receiving yards, and Gerry Ellis with 54 points scored.^[3]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result
September 8	San Diego State*	No. 12	Faurot Field Columbia, MO	W 45–15
September 15	at Illinois*	No. 11	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (rivalry)	W 14–6
September 22	at Ole Miss*	No. 9	Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS	W 33–7
September 29	No. 4 Texas*	No. 5	Faurot Field Columbia, MO	L 0–21
October 13	Oklahoma State	No. 15	Faurot Field Columbia, MO	L 13–14
October 20	at Colorado		Folsom Field Boulder, CO	W 13–7
October 27	Kansas State		Faurot Field Columbia, MO	L 3–19
November 3	No. 2 Nebraska		Faurot Field Columbia, MO (Victory Bell)	L 20–23
November 10	at Iowa State		Cyclone Stadium Ames, IA (rivalry)	W 18–9
November 17	No. 7 Oklahoma		Faurot Field Columbia, MO (rivalry)	L 22–24
November 24	at Kansas		Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS (Border War)	W 55–7
December 29	vs. No. 16 South Carolina*		Legion Field Birmingham, AL (Hall of Fame Classic)	W 24–14
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel

1979 Missouri Tigers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB Phil Bradley RB Gerry Ellis WR Andy Gibler RB James Wilder	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB Lester Dickey	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K Jeff Brockhaus K 1 Ron Verrilli	Head coach Warren Powers Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible   Injured   Redshirt

References

1. "1979 Missouri Tigers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
2. "2016 Mizzou Football Media Guide" (PDF). University of Missouri. p. 158. Retrieved November 12, 2016.
3. (PDF). University of Missouri. pp. 26–27. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 28, 2018. Retrieved November 12, 2016.