1979 Tulane Green Wave football team

1979 Tulane Green Wave football
ConferenceIndependent
Record9–3
Head coach
Defensive coordinatorMoe Ankney (4th season)
Home stadiumLouisiana Superdome
Seasons
← 1978
1980 →
1979 NCAA 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
Tennessee State   –   –   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 State   –   –   5 – 6 – 0
Miami (FL)   –   –   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
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 Tulane Green Wave football team represented Tulane University in the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was led by Larry Smith. The Green Wave played home games in the Louisiana Superdome. The team finished with a record of 9–3 and played in the 1979 Liberty Bowl, losing 6–9 to Penn State.

The offense scored 318 points while the defense allowed 179 points. Two members of the Green Wave team were drafted into the National Football League.

The Wave opened the season by smashing Stanford 33-10, spoiling John Elway's collegiate debut.

In the 77th edition of the Battle for the Rag, Tulane beat LSU 24–13 in what was LSU coach Charles McClendon's final regular season game after 18 seasons.

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 8No. 13 Stanford
W 33–1041,251[1]
September 15at Rice
L 17–2115,000[2]
September 22at TCU
W 33–1915,208[3]
September 29No. 19 SMU
  • Louisiana Superdome
  • New Orleans, LA
W 24–1742,563[4]
October 6Vanderbilt
  • Louisiana Superdome
  • New Orleans, LA
W 42–1427,873[5]
October 13at Southern Miss
W 20–1930,028[6]
October 20at West Virginia
L 17–2728,303[7]
October 27Georgia Tech
  • Louisiana Superdome
  • New Orleans, LA
W 12–751,963[8]
November 3at Boston College
W 43–812,236[9]
November 10Ole Miss
  • Louisiana Superdome
  • New Orleans, LA (rivalry)
W 49–1545,647[10]
November 24LSUNo. 18
ABCW 24–1373,496[11]
December 22vs. Penn StateNo. 15
ABCL 6–950,021[12]
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[13][14]

Roster

1979 Tulane Green Wave football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
WR 3 Alton Alexis Sr
QB 12 Nickie Hall Jr
TE 87 Rodney Holman So
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
CB 4 Mike Sims
LB 97 Marty Wetzel Jr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K 9 Eddie Murray Sr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Team players in the NFL

Player Position Round Pick NFL Team
Eddie Murray Kicker 7 166 Detroit Lions
Alton Alexis Wide receiver 11 281 Cincinnati Bengals

[15]

References

  1. ^ "Stanford is stunned by Tulane, 33–10". The Los Angeles Times. September 9, 1979. Retrieved July 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Hertel directs Owls past Tulane, 21–17". The Daily Advertiser. September 16, 1979. Retrieved July 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Tulane shocks Frogs, 33–19". The Tyler Courier-Times. September 23, 1979. Retrieved July 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Tulane edges Ponies, 24–17". San Angelo Standard-Times. September 30, 1979. Retrieved July 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Tulane Green Wave crush Vandy, 42–14". The Daily Advertiser. October 7, 1979. Retrieved October 29, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Tulane slips by Eagles". The Daily Advertiser. October 14, 1979. Retrieved March 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Mountaineers upset Green Wave, 27–17". The Daily Advertiser. October 21, 1979. Retrieved July 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Tulane holds on to beat Tech, 12–7". The Atlanta Constitution. October 28, 1979. Retrieved July 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Tulane 43, Boston College 8". St. Petersburg Times. November 4, 1979. p. 7C – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Rebs get smashed at Tulane party". The Commercial Appeal. November 11, 1979. Retrieved October 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Wave rides crest into Liberty". The Commercial Appeal. November 25, 1979. Retrieved October 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Lions dip into magic bag, pull out a Liberty Bowl win". Sunday News. December 23, 1979. Retrieved July 25, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Tulane Football Historical Data". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on October 13, 2012. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
  14. ^ "1980 Preseason Football Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
  15. ^ "1980 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on December 22, 2007.


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