1979 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team

The 1979 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team was an American football team that represented Wake Forest University during the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. In its second season under head coach John Mackovic, the team compiled an 8–4 record, finished in fourth place in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and lost to LSU in the 1979 Tangerine Bowl.^[1]

1979 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football
Tangerine Bowl, L 10–34 vs. LSU
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Record	8–4 (3–2 ACC)
Head coach	John Mackovic (2nd season)
Captain	Syd Kitson, Mark Lancaster, James McDougald, James "Quick" Parker
Home stadium	Groves Stadium
Seasons ← 1978 1980 →

1979 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
NC State $	5	–	1	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Clemson	4	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Maryland	4	–	2	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Wake Forest	3	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
No. 15 North Carolina	3	–	3	–	0			8	–	3	–	1
Virginia	1	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Duke	0	–	6	–	0			2	–	8	–	1
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 8	Appalachian State*		Groves Stadium Winston-Salem, NC	W 30–23	26,500	^[2]
September 15	at No. 12 Georgia*		Sanford Stadium Athens, GA	W 22–21	57,500	^[3]
September 22	East Carolina*		Groves Stadium Winston-Salem, NC	W 23–20	28,751	^[4]
September 29	at No. 16 NC State		Carter–Finley Stadium Raleigh, NC (rivalry)	L 14–17	44,800	^[5]
October 6	at Virginia Tech*		Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	W 19–14	36,600	^[6]
October 13	at No. 14 North Carolina		Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC (rivalry)	W 24–19	50,720	^[7]
October 20	Maryland		Groves Stadium Winston-Salem, NC	W 25–17	26,050	^[8]
October 27	No. 13 Auburn*	No. 18	Groves Stadium Winston-Salem, NC	W 42–38	34,060	^[9]
November 3	at Clemson	No. 14	Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC	L 0–31	59,205	^[10]^[11]
November 10	Duke	No. 20	Groves Stadium Winston-Salem, NC (rivalry)	W 17–14	28,300	^[12]
November 17	at South Carolina*	No. 17	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC	L 14–35	56,407	^[13]
December 22	vs. LSU		Orlando Stadium Orlando, FL (Tangerine Bowl)	L 10–34	38,666	^[14]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1979 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 1 Kenny Duckett Jr QB 10 Gary Suchofield Fr QB 14 Jay Venuto Sr RB 21 Albert Kirby Sr OT 57 Rich Baldinger So OT 78 Billy Ard Jr C 59 Steve Truitt Jr TE 82 Wayne Baumgardner So TE 83 David Cox So	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 38 Carlos Bradley Jr G 70 Syd Kitson Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach John Mackovic Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible   Injured   Redshirt

Team leaders

Category	Team Leader	Att/Cth	Yds
Passing	Jay Venuto	198/363	2,432
Rushing	James McDougald	260	1,177
Receiving	Wayne Baumgardner	55	1,000

References

1. "1979 Wake Forest Demon Deacons Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
2. "Wake Forest nips Apps". The News and Observer. September 9, 1979. Retrieved December 3, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Devilish Demon Deacons bump big, bad Bulldogs". The News and Observer. September 16, 1979. Retrieved October 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Wake downs E. Carolina". Rocky Mount Telegram. September 23, 1979. Retrieved March 4, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Wolfpack stops Deacons". Florence Morning News. September 30, 1979. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Venuto brings Wake back, 19–14". The News and Observer. October 7, 1979. Retrieved December 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Wake Forest stuns UNC". Daily Press. October 14, 1979. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Deacons stop Terps 25–17". Richmond Times-Dispatch. October 21, 1979. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Auburn baptized by Deacon rally". Rocky Mount Telegram. October 28, 1979. Retrieved October 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Clemson Football Media Guide - 1980". Clemson University. 1980. p. 2. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
11. "Wake Forest bubble bursts at Clemson". The Opelika-Auburn News. November 5, 1979. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Wake Forest kicks past Duke". Fort Myers News-Press. November 11, 1979. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Wake's mistakes boost Gamecocks". The Charlotte Observer. November 18, 1979. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Tigers claw Wake 34–10". The Orlando Sentinel Star. December 23, 1979. Retrieved October 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.