1979 Air Force Falcons football team

American college football season

1979 Air Force Falcons football

Conference| Independent
Record| 2–9
Head coach|

* Ken Hatfield (1st season)

Offensive scheme| Wishbone triple option
Defensive coordinator| Al Groh (2nd season)
Base defense| 3–4
Home stadium| Falcon 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 1979 Air Force Falcons football team represented the United States Air Force Academy in the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season, their last as an Independent. Led by first–year head coach Ken Hatfield, Air Force played home games at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The Falcons lost their first eight games,[1] then won two of three to finish at 2–9,[2] and were outscored 127–253. The win over Army on November 3 broke an eleven-game losing streak.[1]

Air Force joined the Western Athletic Conference in 1980.

## Schedule

[edit]

Date| Opponent| Site| Result| Attendance| Source

|
|
|
|
|

September 8| Tulsa|

* Falcon Stadium
* Colorado Springs, CO

| L 7–24| 23,000|
September 15| at Wisconsin|

* Camp Randall Stadium
* Madison, WI

| L 0–38| 66,466|
September 22| Illinois|

* Falcon Stadium
* Colorado Springs, CO

| L 19–27| 18,178|
September 29| Kansas State|

* Falcon Stadium
* Colorado Springs, CO

| L 6–19| 22,200|
October 6| at Navy|

* Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
* Annapolis, MD (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)

| L 7–24| 31,109|
October 13| No. 10 Notre Dame|

* Falcon Stadium
* Colorado Springs, CO (rivalry)

| L 13–38| 34,881|
October 20| at Oregon|

* Autzen Stadium
* Eugene, OR

| L 9–17| 28,457|
October 27| at Colorado State|

* Hughes Stadium
* Fort Collins, CO (rivalry)

| L 6–20| 20,104|
November 3| Army|

* Falcon Stadium
* Colorado Springs, CO (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)

| W 28–7| 30,334|
November 10| at Georgia Tech|

* Grant Field
* Atlanta, GA

| L 0–21| 30,113| [3]
November 17| Vanderbilt|

* Falcon Stadium
* Colorado Springs, CO

| W 30–29| 15,619| [4]

* Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[5]

## Roster

[edit]

1979 Air Force Falcons football team roster

Players  | Coaches
Offense | Pos. | # | Name | Class

|
|
|

Defense | Pos. | # | Name | Class

|
|
|

S | `17` | Johnny Jackson | So
Special teams | Pos. | # | Name | Class

|
|
|

Head coach

* Ken Hatfield (1st year)

Coordinators/assistant coaches

* * *

Legend

* (C) Team captain
* (S) Suspended
* (I) Ineligible

* Injured
* Redshirt

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Falcons rip rival Army for first win". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. November 4, 1979. p. 11B.
2. ^ "Air Force 30, Vanderbilt 28". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. November 18, 1979. p. 13B.
3. ^ "Georgia Tech runs to 21–0 over Air Force". The Selma Times-Journal. November 11, 1979. Retrieved July 25, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
4. ^ "Vandy loses on EP kick with :00 left". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. November 18, 1979. Retrieved October 29, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
5. ^ "1979 Air Force Falcons Schedule and Results". Sports-Reference. Retrieved November 21, 2017.

* v
* t
* e

Air Force Falcons football

Venues|

* DU Stadium (1955–1961)
* Falcon Stadium (1962–present)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Bowl games
* Army (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)
* Colorado State (Ram–Falcon Trophy)
* Hawaii (Kuter Trophy)
* Navy (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)

Culture & lore|

* History
* The Bird
* "Falcon Fight Song"
* "The U.S. Air Force"
* United States Air Force Academy Band

People|

* Head coaches
* Statistical leaders
* NFL draftees

Seasons|

* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024

This college football 1970s season article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

|

* v
* t
* e

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[No.]: Number