1979 Illinois Fighting Illini football team

1979 Illinois Fighting Illini football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record2–8–1 (1–6–1 Big Ten)
Head coach
MVPLawrence McCullough
CaptainLawrence McCullough, Stanley Ralph
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
Seasons
← 1978
1980 →
1979 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 4 Ohio State $ 8 0 0 11 1 0
No. 10 Purdue 7 1 0 10 2 0
No. 18 Michigan 6 2 0 8 4 0
No. 19 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

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.[1]

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.[2] McCullough was selected as the team's most valuable player.[3]

  1. ^ "1979 Illinois Fighting Illini Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  2. ^ "1979 Illinois Fighting Illini Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  3. ^ "Fighting Illini Football Record Book" (PDF). University of Illinois. 2015. p. 155. Retrieved December 29, 2016.