1979 Kentucky Wildcats football team

American college football season

1979 Kentucky Wildcats football

Conference| Southeastern Conference
Record| 5–6 (3–3 SEC)
Head coach|

* Fran Curci (7th season)

Offensive coordinator| Jon Mirilovich (5th season)
Defensive coordinator| Charlie Bailey (5th season)
Home stadium| Commonwealth Stadium

Seasons

<- 1978

1980 ->

1979 Southeastern Conference football standings

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| Conf |  |  | Overall

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Team | W |  | L |  | T |  |  | W |  | L |  | T
No. 1 Alabama $  | 6  | - | 0  | - | 0 |  |  | 12  | - | 0  | - | 0
Georgia | 5  | - | 1  | - | 0 |  |  | 6  | - | 5  | - | 0
No. 16 Auburn | 4  | - | 2  | - | 0 |  |  | 8  | - | 3  | - | 0
LSU | 4  | - | 2  | - | 0 |  |  | 7  | - | 5  | - | 0
Tennessee | 3  | - | 3  | - | 0 |  |  | 7  | - | 5  | - | 0
Kentucky | 3  | - | 3  | - | 0 |  |  | 5  | - | 6  | - | 0
Ole Miss | 3  | - | 3  | - | 0 |  |  | 4  | - | 7  | - | 0
Mississippi State | 2  | - | 4  | - | 0 |  |  | 3  | - | 8  | - | 0
Vanderbilt | 0  | - | 6  | - | 0 |  |  | 1  | - | 10  | - | 0
Florida | 0  | - | 6  | - | 0 |  |  | 0  | - | 10  | - | 1

* $ - Conference champion

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1979 Kentucky Wildcats football team represented the University of Kentucky as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by seventh-year head coach Fran Curci, the Wildcats compiled an overall record of 5–6, with a mark of 3–3 in conference play, and finished tied for fifth in the SEC.

## Schedule

[edit]

Date| Opponent| Site| Result| Attendance| Source

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September 15| Miami (OH)*|

* Commonwealth Stadium
* Lexington, KY

| L 14–15| 57,800| [1]
September 22| at Indiana*|

* Memorial Stadium
* Bloomington, IN (rivalry)

| L 10–18| 45,920| [2]
September 29| Maryland*|

* Commonwealth Stadium
* Lexington, KY

| W 14–7| 57,800| [3]
October 6| at West Virginia*|

* Mountaineer Field
* Morgantown, WV

| L 6–10| 33,792| [4]
October 13| Ole Miss|

* Commonwealth Stadium
* Lexington, KY

| W 14–3| 57,825| [5]
October 20| at LSU|

* Tiger Stadium
* Baton Rouge, LA

| L 19–23| 71,296| [6]
October 27| at Georgia|

* Sanford Stadium
* Athens, GA

| L 6–20| 60,300| [7]
November 3| Bowling Green*|

* Commonwealth Stadium
* Lexington, KY

| W 20–14| 57,500| [8]
November 10| at Vanderbilt|

* Dudley Field
* Nashville, TN (rivalry)

| W 29–10| 33,250| [9]
November 17| at Florida|

* Florida Field
* Gainesville, FL (rivalry)

| W 31–3| 55,760| [10]
November 24| Tennessee|

* Commonwealth Stadium
* Lexington, KY (rivalry)

| L 17–20| 57,950| [11]

* *Non-conference game

[12]

## Roster

[edit]

1979 Kentucky Wildcats football team roster

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

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|
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Defense | Pos. | # | Name | Class

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|
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DE | `` | Don Fielder | Jr
Special teams | Pos. | # | Name | Class

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Head coach

* Fran Curci

Coordinators/assistant coaches

* Jon Mirilovich - Offensive coordinator
* Larry Kirksey - Wide receivers/tight ends coach
* Charlie McCullers - Offensive line coach
* Charlie Bailey -
* Bill Glaser - Defensive line coach
* George Catavolos - Defensive backs coach

* * *

Legend

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

* Injured
* Redshirt

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Miami shocks Wildcats in 15–14 upset". The Cincinnati Enquirer. September 16, 1979. Retrieved October 30, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
2. ^ "Indiana holds off Kentuckians, 18–10". The Indianapolis Star. September 23, 1979. Retrieved October 30, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
3. ^ "Kentucky hands Maryland first loss, 14–7". The Macon Telegraph & News. September 30, 1979. Retrieved October 30, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
4. ^ "Sub back de-claws Wildcats". The Sunday Courrier & Press. October 7, 1979. Retrieved October 30, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
5. ^ "Henry (?) sparks UK to win". The Park City Daily News. October 14, 1979. Retrieved October 30, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ "Tigers come back against Kentucky". The Shreveport Times. October 21, 1979. Retrieved October 30, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
7. ^ "Georgia wins again in SEC". Tallahassee Democrat. October 28, 1979. Retrieved October 30, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
8. ^ "Kentucky comes back for victory". The Cincinnati Enquirer. November 4, 1979. Retrieved October 30, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
9. ^ "Reserve 'wildcat' make it Long day for Vanderbilt". The Paducah Sun. November 11, 1979. Retrieved October 30, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
10. ^ "Sun shines on Portela, Jaffe as UK rips Florida". The Courier-Journal. November 18, 1979. Retrieved October 29, 2023 - via Newspapers.com.
11. ^ "UK's fourth-down bowl bid comes up short". The Courier-Journal. November 25, 1979. Retrieved May 8, 2022 - via Newspapers.com.
12. ^ "1979 Kentucky Wildcats Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 30, 2023.

* v
* t
* e

Kentucky Wildcats football

Venues|

* Stoll Field/McLean Stadium (1916–1972)
* Kroger Field (1973–present)
* E.J. Nutter Training Facility (practice)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Bowl games
* Centre
* Florida
* Indiana
* Louisville: Governor's Cup
* Tennessee
* Transylvania: Battle On Broadway
* Vanderbilt

Culture & lore|

* The Wildcat
* Scratch
* Blue
* "On, On, U of K"
* "Kentucky Fight"
* Marching band
* Bluegrass Miracle
* 2003 Arkansas game
* Big Blue Nation

People|

* Head coaches
* Statistical leaders
* NFL draftees
* Starting quarterbacks

Seasons|

* 1881
* 1882–1890
* 1891
* 1892
* 1893
* 1894
* 1895
* 1896
* 1897
* 1898
* 1899
* 1900
* 1901
* 1902
* 1903
* 1904
* 1905
* 1906
* 1907
* 1908
* 1909
* 1910
* 1911
* 1912
* 1913
* 1914
* 1915
* 1916
* 1917
* 1918
* 1919
* 1920
* 1921
* 1922
* 1923
* 1924
* 1925
* 1926
* 1927
* 1928
* 1929
* 1930
* 1931
* 1932
* 1933
* 1934
* 1935
* 1936
* 1937
* 1938
* 1939
* 1940
* 1941
* 1942
* 1943
* 1944
* 1945
* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949
* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 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
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* 1982
* 1983
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* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
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National championship seasons in bold

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