The 1979 Nevada Wolf Pack football team represented the University of Nevada, Reno as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 1979 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Chris Ault, the Wolf Pack compiled an overall record of 8–4 with a mark of 5–2 in conference play, placing third in the Big Sky. Nevada advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship playoffs, where the Wolf Pack lost in the semifinals to the evenutal national champion, Eastern Kentucky. The team played home games at Mackay Stadium in Reno, Nevada.

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 8	Idaho State		Mackay Stadium Reno, NV	W 24–6	11,766	[1]
September 15	UNLV*		Mackay Stadium Reno, NV (Fremont Cannon)	L 21–26	12,751	[2]
September 22	at UC Davis*	No. T–10	Toomey Field Davis, CA	W 28–21		[3]
October 6	Simon Fraser*	No. 10	Mackay Stadium Reno, NV	W 35–10	9,425	[4]
October 13	Montana State	No. T–8	Mackay Stadium Reno, NV	L 10–12	9,215	[5]
October 20	Weber State		Wildcat Stadium Ogden, UT	W 22–3	9,362	[6]
October 27	at Montana		Dornblaser Field Missoula, MT	W 27–20	5,163	[7]
November 3	at Idaho		Kibbie Dome Moscow, ID	W 38–26	5,500	[8][9]
November 10	Boise State	No. T–10	Mackay Stadium Reno, NV (rivalry)	L 27–28	14,256	[10]
November 17	Missouri Southern*	No. 8	Mackay Stadium Reno, NV	W 32–6	7,020	[11]
November 24	at No. T–7 Northern Arizona	No. T–7	NAU Skydome Flagstaff, AZ	W 31–7		[12]
December 8	at No. 3 Eastern Kentucky*	No. 5	Hanger Field Richmond, KY (NCAA Division I-AA Semifinal)	L 30–33 2OT	5,100	[13]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from Associated Press Poll released prior to the game