1979 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

1979 Illinois Fighting Illini football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
1979 record	2–8–1 (1–6–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	Gary Moeller (3rd season)
MVP	Lawrence McCullough
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons

1979 Big Ten football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#4/4 Ohio State †	8	–	0	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
#10/10 Purdue	7	–	1	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
#18/19 Michigan	6	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
#19/16 Indiana	5	–	3	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Iowa	4	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Minnesota	3	–	5	–	1			4	–	6	–	1
Michigan State	3	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Wisconsin	3	–	5	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Illinois	1	–	6	–	1			2	–	8	–	1
Northwestern	0	–	9	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
† – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll / Coaches' Poll

The 1979 Illinois Fighting Illini football team was an American football team that represented the University of Illinois during the 1979 Big Ten Conference football season. In their third year under head coach Gary Moeller, the Illini compiled a 2–8–1 record and finished in ninth place in the Big Ten Conference.

The team's offensive leaders were quarterback Lawrence McCullough with 1,254 passing yards, running back Mike Holmes with 792 rushing yards, and wide receiver John Lopez with 296 receiving yards. McCullough was selected as the team's most valuable player.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result
September 8	at No. 10 Michigan State	Spartan Stadium East Lansing, MI	L 16–33
September 15	No. 11 Missouri*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (Rivalry)	L 6–14
September 22	at Air Force*	Falcon Stadium Colorado Springs, CO	W 27–19
September 29	Navy*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 12–13
October 6	Iowa	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 7–13
October 13	at No. 20 Purdue	Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN (Purdue Cannon)	L 14–28
October 20	No. 11 Michigan	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 7–27
October 27	at Minnesota	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	T 17–17
November 3	No. 5 Ohio State	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL (Illibuck Trophy)	L 7–44
November 10	Indiana	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 14–45
November 17	at Northwestern	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL (Sweet Sioux Tomahawk)	W 29–13
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1979 Illinois Fighting Illini football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 9 McAvoy, TimTim McAvoy 5.0 !Jr C 53 McBeth, MikeMike McBeth 7.0 !Sr G 76 McClure, BobBob McClure 7.0 !Sr QB 11 McCullough, LawrenceLawrence McCullough 7.0 !Sr G 62 McMillin, TroyTroy McMillin 5.0 !Jr G 78 Pavesic, RayRay Pavesic 7.0 !Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 89 MacLean, DanDan MacLean 7.0 !Sr DT 86 Ralph, StanleyStanley Ralph 7.0 !Sr LB 85 Ramshaw, JerryJerry Ramshaw 7.0 !Sr LB 34 Squirek, JackJack Squirek 3.0 !So CB 16 Worthy, TyronTyron Worthy 3.0 !So DB 39 Zimmer, MarkMark Zimmer 3.0 !So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Gary Moeller Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster