1979 Syracuse Orangemen football team

1979 Syracuse Orangemen football
Independence Bowl champion
Independence Bowl, W 31–7 vs. McNeese State
Conference	Independent
1979 record	7–5
Head coach	Frank Maloney (6th season)
Captain	Jim Collins, Bill Hurley & Craig Wolfley
Home stadium	Giants Stadium (Capacity: 80,242) Rich Stadium (Capacity: 80,020) Schoellkopf Field (Capacity: 25,597)
Seasons

1979 Division I-A independents football records
	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
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		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Miami		–		–				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
Connecticut		–		–				3	–	6	–	2
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 Syracuse Orangemen football team represented Syracuse University during the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was led by sixth-year head coach Frank Maloney. Due to the ongoing construction of Syracuse's new stadium, the Carrier Dome, home games in 1979 were played in various locations in New York and New Jersey. The Orangemen were invited to the 1979 Independence Bowl, where they defeated McNeese State, 31–7.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 8	at Ohio State	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	L 8–31	86,205
September 15	West Virginia	Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ (Rivalry)	W 24–14	10,375
September 22	at Northwestern	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	W 54–21	20,121
September 29	Washington State	Rich Stadium Orchard Park, NY	W 52–25	10,004
October 6	at Kansas	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	W 45–27	36,720
October 13	at Temple	Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, PA	L 17–49	18,504
October 20	Penn State	Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ (Rivalry)	L 7–35	53,789
October 27	Miami (FL)	Rich Stadium Orchard Park, NY	W 25–15	7,729
November 3	at No. 12 Pittsburgh	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA (Rivalry)	L 21–28	43,005
November 10	at Navy	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, MD	W 30–14	20,385
November 17	Boston College	Schoellkopf Field Ithaca, NY (Rivalry)	L 10–27	20,245
December 15	vs. McNeese State	State Fair Stadium Shreveport, LA (Independence Bowl)	W 31–7	27,234
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game time

Sources:

Roster

1979 Syracuse Orange football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 45 Monk, ArtArt Monk 7.0 !Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 33 Collins, JimJim Collins 5.0 !Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 1 Anderson, GaryGary Anderson 3.0 !So	Head coach Frank Maloney Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt