1979 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team

The 1979 Oklahoma State Cowboys football team represented Oklahoma State University in the Big Eight Conference during the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their first season under head coach Jimmy Johnson, the Cowboys compiled a 7–5 record (5–2 against conference opponents), finished in third place in the conference, and were outscored by opponents by a combined total of 212 to 191.^[1][2]

1979 Oklahoma State Cowboys football
Conference	Big Eight Conference
Record	7–4 (5–2 Big 8)
Head coach	Jimmy Johnson (1st season)
Home stadium	Lewis 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 Worley Taylor with 994 rushing yards, Harold Bailey with 1,301 passing yards, Ron Ingram with 323 receiving yards, and placekicker Colin Ankersen with 55 points scored.^[3][4]

The team played its home games at Lewis Field in Stillwater, Oklahoma.^[5]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 8	North Texas State*	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK	W 25–7	41,800	^[6]
September 15	Wichita State*	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK	W 16–6	42,000	^[7]
September 22	at No. 15 Arkansas*	War Memorial Stadium Little Rock, AR	L 7–27	55,812
October 6	at South Carolina*	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	L 16–23	56,405
October 13	at No. 15 Missouri	Faurot Field Columbia, MO	W 14–13
October 20	No. 3 Nebraska	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK	L 0–36	51,000
October 27	at Kansas	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	W 30–17
November 3	No. 7 Oklahoma	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK (Bedlam Series)	L 7–38	51,453
November 10	at Colorado	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	W 21–20	41,148
November 17	Kansas State	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK	W 42–15	49,000
November 24	at Iowa State	Cyclone Stadium Ames, IA	W 13–10	36,000
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

• QB John Doerner
• FB Terry Suellentrop (offense)

1980 NFL Draft

See also: 1980 NFL Draft

The following Cowboys were selected in the 1980 NFL draft.

Player	Position	Round	Overall pick	NFL team
John Corker	LB	5	134	Houston Oilers
Harold Bailey	QB	8	217	Houston Oilers

References

1. "1979 Oklahoma State Cowboys Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
2. "Oklahoma State Cowboy Football 2016 Guide" (PDF). Oklahoma State University. p. 173. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
3. 2016 Football Guide, pp. 168, 170.
4. "1979 Oklahoma State Cowboys Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 27, 2017.
5. 2016 Football Guide, pp. 217, 219.
6. "Cowboys get off on right foot". The Daily Oklahoman. September 9, 1979. Retrieved October 27, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Pokes were 'sloppy'". The Daily Oklahoman. September 16, 1979. Retrieved February 22, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.