1979 Boise State Broncos football
ConferenceBig Sky Conference
Record10–1 (7–0 Big Sky)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorGene Dahlquist (3rd season)
Defensive coordinatorChuck Banker (1st season)
Base defense3–4
Home stadiumBronco Stadium
Seasons
← 1978
1980 →
1979 Big Sky Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Boise State * 7 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0
No. 9 Montana State $ 6 – 1 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
No. 5 Nevada ^ 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
No. T–10 Northern Arizona 3 – 4 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Weber State 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Idaho 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Montana 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Idaho State 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 11 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
  • * – Boise State was ineligible for conference title
         or I-AA playoffs.
Rankings from NCAA Division I-AA AP Poll

The 1979 Boise State Broncos football team represented Boise State University in the 1979 NCAA Division I-AA football season. The Broncos competed in the Big Sky Conference and played their home games on campus at Bronco Stadium in Boise, Idaho. They were led by fourth-year head coach Jim Criner and an offensive backfield of juniors: quarterback Joe Aliotti, fullback David Hughes, halfback Cedric Minter, with halfback Terry Zahner in reserve.[1]

The Broncos were 10–1 and undefeated in the Big Sky,[2][3][4] but were on probation for a scouting violation in November 1978; they were ineligible for the league title or I-AA playoffs in 1979 and were not allowed to scouting films of upcoming opponents.[5][6][7][8][9]

Senior quarterback Hoskin Hogan dropped out of school and junior college transfer Aliotti won the starting job.[1][8]

After an opening two-point loss at home,[10] BSU won ten straight; the league opener in late September set a Big Sky attendance record at 20,712.[11] A 14–0 shutout win for BSU, it was the only blemish for Montana State (6–1) in conference play, but three non-conference losses kept them out of the four-team I-AA playoffs; the western postseason bid went again to fifth-ranked Nevada-Reno (8–3), who finished their first season in the Big Sky at 5–2.[12][13]

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 8Long Beach State*
L 7–919,579
September 15at Cal State Fullerton*
W 22–33,439[14]
September 22Akron*
  • Bronco Stadium
  • Boise, ID
W 31–2119,642[15]
September 29Montana State
  • Bronco Stadium
  • Boise, ID
W 14–020,712[11]
October 6at Montana
W 37–356,129[16]
October 138:30 pmat Idaho
W 41–1715,500[9][17]
October 20Idaho State
  • Bronco Stadium
  • Boise, ID
W 44–018,639[18]
October 27at Weber State
W 23–76,110[19]
November 31:30 pmNorthern Arizonadagger
  • Bronco Stadium
  • Boise, ID
W 44–720,686[20]
November 10at No. 10 Nevada
W 28–2714,256[21]
November 17No. 7 (D-II) Cal Poly*
  • Bronco Stadium
  • Boise, ID
W 56–1417,257[2][3]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Mountain time

[22]

Roster

1979 Boise State Broncos football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
QB 7 Kevin McDonald Jr
QB 14 Joe Aliotti Jr
QB 15 Dave DeMers Fr
TB 20 Cedric Minter Jr
FL 21 Mike Brady Sr
TB 27 Terry Zahner Jr
FB 33 David Hughes Jr
C 55 Randy Schrader Jr
RT 60 Dennis Brady So
LT 67 Bob Markovich Sr
RG 68 Bill Roberds Sr
LG 69 Shawn Beaton Jr
LT 76 Renny Buckner Sr
SE 80 Kipp Bedard So
TE 84 Jim Balch Sr
FL 89 Ron Harvey Fr
TE 90 Duane Dlouhy So
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
RCB 8 Randy Stewart Sr
FS 23 Curt Chandler Sr
LCB 28 Chris Bell So
SS 29 Rick Woods So
LOLB 57 Ralph Esposito Jr
ROLB 48 Ron Chatterton Jr
LILB 61 Ray Santucci So
RILB 58 Dan Williams Jr
LDT 70 Randy Trautman So
RDT 75 Doug Scott Sr
NG 88 Willie Tufono Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K 10 Kenrick Camerud Fr
PR 21 Mike Brady Sr
P 33 Tom Spadafore Jr
KR 35 Greg Ward So
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt
Source:[23][24]

All-conference

Halfback Cedric Minter was a repeat selection to the all-conference team, joined by quarterback Joe Aliotti, wide receiver Kipp Bedard, guard Shawn Beaton, defensive tackle Doug Scott, linebacker Ralph Esposito, and safety Rick Woods.[25][26][27] Second team selections were fullback David Hughes, halfback Terry Zahner, wide receiver Mike Brady, defensive tackle Randy Trautman, nose guard Willie Tufono, linebacker Dan Williams, and cornerback Chris Bell.[27]

References

  1. ^ a b Killen, John (October 11, 1979). "BSU's Aliotti is a big Bronco plus". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1C.
  2. ^ a b "Broncos stampede Cal-Poly SLO 56-14". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 18, 1979. p. 12D.
  3. ^ a b "'Our bowl game,' cries Criner". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 19, 1979. p. 12D.
  4. ^ "College standings". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). November 26, 1979. p. 4C.
  5. ^ "Boise St. coach admits to scouting violation". Daily News. Bowling Green, Kentucky. Associated Press. November 16, 1978. p. 4-B.
  6. ^ "Big Sky's down hard on Boise". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 17, 1978. p. B1.
  7. ^ "Probation slapped on Boise State football". Ellensburg Daily Record. (Washington). UPI. December 18, 1978. p. 7.
  8. ^ a b Emerson, Paul (September 2, 1979). "Bad boy". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1C.
  9. ^ a b Killen, John (October 13, 1979). "Idaho: possibility looms for a winning season". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 1C.
  10. ^ "Long Beach State slips by Boise 9-7". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. September 9, 1979. p. 4D.
  11. ^ a b "Tough defenses". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. September 30, 1979. p. 3D.
  12. ^ "Reno club awaits bid; Hake out". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. November 26, 1979. p. 23.
  13. ^ "Reno given playoff spot". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. November 27, 1979. p. 25.
  14. ^ "Boise State socks it to Titans". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. September 16, 1979. p. 4D.
  15. ^ "Boise State rips Akron". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. September 23, 1979. p. 3D.
  16. ^ "Safety lifts Boise State past Grizzlies". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 7, 1979. p. 6D.
  17. ^ Killen, John (October 14, 1979). "End of a Vandal winning streak". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). p. 2D.
  18. ^ "Broncos trample ISU". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 21, 1979. p. 2D.
  19. ^ "BSU 23, Weber State 7". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. October 28, 1979. p. 7D.
  20. ^ "Boise State rips NAU". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 4, 1979. p. 12D.
  21. ^ "Broncos pull out 28-27 win". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 11, 1979. p. 6B.
  22. ^ "Record book (football)" (PDF). Boise State University Athletics. 2016. p. 71. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 15, 2017. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  23. ^ "Probable starters". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). October 13, 1979. p. 3C.
  24. ^ BSU gameday program – Boise State vs. Northern Arizona (homecoming) – November 3, 1979 – Probable starters, rosters, p. 21–25
  25. ^ "Alliotti heads All-Big Sky offensive team". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 6, 1979. p. 34.
  26. ^ "3 Vandals honored". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. December 5, 1979. p. 30.
  27. ^ a b "2 Vandals on stars". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). December 7, 1979. p. 28.
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