1979 Arizona State Sun Devils football
ConferencePacific-10 Conference
Record1–6, 5 wins forfeited (0–4 Pac-10, 3 wins forfeited)
Head coach
Home stadiumSun Devil Stadium
(Capacity: 70,311)
Seasons
← 1978
1980 →
1979 Pacific-10 Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 USC $ 6 – 0 – 1 11 – 0 – 1
No. 11 Washington 5 – 2 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
Arizona 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 1
Oregon 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
California 5 – 4 – 0 6 – 6 – 0
Stanford 3 – 3 – 1 5 – 5 – 1
Arizona State † 3 – 4 – 0 6 – 6 – 0
UCLA 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Washington State 2 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Oregon State 1 – 7 – 0 1 – 10 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • † – Arizona State later forfeited 5 wins (3 in conference) due to NCAA sanctions[1]
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1979 Arizona State Sun Devils football team represented Arizona State University in the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season, and competed as a member of the Pacific-10 Conference (Pac-10). The team was led by head coach Frank Kush through the first five games and by Bob Owens for the final seven games.[2] They finished with a record of six wins and six losses (6–6, 3–4 Pac-10). The offense scored 306 points while the defense allowed 208 points. The team later vacated five victories.[3]

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 87:00 pmCaliforniaNo. 18
L 9–1771,005
September 153:30 pmvs. No. 18 Florida State*
L 3–3133,484
September 227:00 pmToledo*
  • Sun Devil Stadium
  • Tempe, Arizona
W 49–068,756
September 296:00 pmat Oregon State
W 45–0 (vacated)20,000
October 137:00 pmWashington
  • Sun Devil Stadium
  • Tempe, AZ
W 12–7 (vacated)70,512
October 207:00 pmWashington State
  • Sun Devil Stadium
  • Tempe, AZ
W 28–17 (vacated)70,729
October 272:00 pmUtah State*
  • Sun Devil Stadium
  • Tempe, AZ
KTVKW 28–14 (vacated)67,219
November 32:00 pmat Stanford
ABCL 21–2830,885
November 102:30 pmat UCLA
L 28–3134,763
November 177:00 pmWest Virginia*
  • Sun Devil Stadium
  • Tempe, AZ
W 42–768,573[4]
November 247:00 pmArizona
  • Sun Devil Stadium
  • Tempe, AZ
L 24–2770,947
December 18:00 pmat Hawaii*
L 17–2942,040

[5]

Game summaries

Washington

Frank Kush, who was coaching in his final collegiate game, was carried onto the field before the game and then off of the field following Arizona State's upset.[6]

Personnel

1979 Arizona State Sun Devils football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
QB 19 Steve Bratkowski So
WR Melvin Hoover Jr
QB Mark Malone Sr
WR John Mistler Jr
QB 10 Mike Pagel So
RB 37 Gerald Riggs So
RB Robert Weathers So
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
LB Ben Apuna Sr
DE 95 Bob Kohrs (C) Sr
LB Gary Padjen Sr
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

The following players were claimed in the 1980 NFL Draft.

Player Position Round Pick NFL club
Mark Malone Quarterback 1 28 Pittsburgh Steelers
Bob Kohrs Linebacker 2 35 Pittsburgh Steelers
Ben Apuna Linebacker 7 171 St. Louis Cardinals
Joel Peters Defensive tackle 9 234 New York Jets
Gary Padjen Linebacker 11 300 Dallas Cowboys

References

  1. ^ "2017 Media Guide" (PDF). thesundevils.com. ASU Athletics. p. 127. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  2. ^ Reid, Ron (October 29, 1979). "There's the Devil to Pay". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
  3. ^ "2017 Media Guide" (PDF). thesundevils.com. ASU Athletics. p. 127. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  4. ^ "Arizona State rolls past West Virginia". The Arizona Republic. November 18, 1979. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Arizona State University – 1979". College Football Reference. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved October 21, 2012.
  6. ^ Jr, Gordon S. White (October 15, 1979). "Kush Dismissal Jolts Arizona State". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
  7. ^ "1980 NFL Draft". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved October 21, 2012.


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