1979 North Carolina Tar Heels football team

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1979 North Carolina Tar Heels football
Gator Bowl champion
Gator Bowl, W 17–15 vs. Michigan
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 14
APNo. 15
Record8–3–1 (3–3 ACC)
Head coach
CaptainBuddy Curry
Home stadiumKenan Memorial Stadium
Seasons
← 1978
1980 →
1979 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
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

The 1979 North Carolina Tar Heels football team was an American football team that represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their second year under head coach Dick Crum, the Tar Heels complied an overall record of 8–3–1, with a conference record of 3–3, and finished fifth in the ACC.

Schedule[edit]

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 81:00 p.m.South Carolina*RaycomW 28–049,500[1]
September 221:00 p.m.No. 13 Pittsburgh*
  • Kenan Memorial Stadium
  • Chapel Hill, NC
RaycomW 17–750,550[2]
September 292:00 p.m.at Army*No. 20RaycomW 41–332,157[3]
October 61:00 p.m.Cincinnati*No. 18
  • Kenan Memorial Stadium
  • Chapel Hill, NC
RaycomW 35–1449,000[4]
October 131:00 p.m.Wake ForestNo. 14
  • Kenan Memorial Stadium
  • Chapel Hill, NC (rivalry)
ABCL 19–2450,720[5]
October 204:00 p.m.at No. 15 NC StateNo. 19ABCW 35–2154,200[6]
October 271:00 p.m.East Carolina*No. 15
  • Kenan Memorial Stadium
  • Chapel Hill, NC
RaycomT 24–2449,700[7]
November 31:30 p.m.at MarylandNo. 18RaycomL 14–1735,618[8]
November 101:00 p.m.No. 18 Clemson
  • Kenan Memorial Stadium
  • Chapel Hill, NC
RaycomL 10–1950,100[9]
November 171:30 p.m.at VirginiaRaycomW 13–731,472[10]
November 241:30 p.m.at DukeRaycomW 37–1639,800[11]
December 289:00 p.m.vs. No. 14 Michigan*ABCW 17–1570,407[12]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

[13]

Roster[edit]

1979 North Carolina Tar Heels football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
C 51 Rick Donnalley Jr
QB 12 Matt Kupec Sr
RB 20 Amos Lawrence Jr
RB 25 Doug Paschal Sr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
LB 57 Buddy Curry Sr
LB 98 Lawrence Taylor Jr
DT 76 Donnell Thompson Jr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

1979 team players in the NFL[edit]

The following players were drafted into professional football following the season.

Player Position Round Pick Franchise
Buddy Curry Linebacker 2 36 Atlanta Falcons
Doug Paschal Running back 5 121 Minnesota Vikings
Phil Farris Wide receiver 11 297 Denver Broncos

[14]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Tar Heels get their kicks in 28–0 win". The Charlotte Observer. September 9, 1979. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "North Carolina upsets 13th-ranked Pitt, 17–7". The Des Moines Register. September 23, 1979. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Lawrence stars as unbeaten Tar Heels rout Army, 41–3". The Tampa Tribune. September 30, 1979. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Heels rally, avery upset". Durham Morning Herald. October 7, 1979. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Wake Forest stuns UNC". Daily Press. October 14, 1979. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Tar Heels subdue Wolfpack". Winston-Salem Journal. October 21, 1979. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Smoocher! Heels, Bucs tie one on". The News and Observer. October 28, 1979. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Tice, Castro lead Terps by Tar Heels". The News and Observer. November 4, 1979. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Tigers boot Heels". The Greenville News. November 11, 1979. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Tar Heels defeat Cavaliers, 13–7". The Sun-News. November 18, 1979. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Lawrence, UNC rush past Duke". Winston-Salem Journal. November 25, 1979. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Michigan loses in Gator, 17–15". Detroit Free Press. December 29, 1979. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "1979 North Carolina Tar Heels Schedule and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 28, 2024.
  14. ^ "1980 NFL Draft". Pro-Football-Reference. Retrieved October 21, 2012.