1979 NC State Wolfpack football
ACC champion
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
Record7–4 (5–1 ACC)
Head coach
Home stadiumCarter–Finley Stadium
Seasons
← 1978
1980 →
1979 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
NC State $ 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Clemson 4 – 2 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
Maryland 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Wake Forest 3 – 2 – 0 8 – 4 – 0
No. 15 North Carolina 3 – 3 – 0 8 – 3 – 1
Virginia 1 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Duke 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1979 NC State Wolfpack football team represented the North Carolina State Wolfpack during the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team's head coach was Bo Rein. NC State has been a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) since the league's inception in 1953. The Wolfpack played its home games in 1979 at Carter–Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina, which has been NC State football's home stadium since 1966. NC State won the 1979 ACC Championship with a record of 5–1 in conference play. At season's end the Wolfpack did not play in a bowl game, having declined an invitation to play in the Garden State Bowl. As of 2022, the 1979 NC State team is the last bowl-eligible Power Five conference champion to not play in a bowl game.

Rein accepted the head coaching position at LSU on November 30, 1979. He never coached a game in Baton Rouge, perishing January 10, 1980 when the private aircraft he was traveling in flew well off course and crashed into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Virginia.

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 8East Carolina*
W 34–2053,400[1]
September 15VirginiaNo. 19
  • Carter–Finley Stadium
  • Raleigh, NC
W 31–2745,800[2]
September 22at West Virginia*No. 19
W 38–1426,298[3]
September 29Wake ForestNo. 16
  • Carter–Finley Stadium
  • Raleigh, NC (rivalry)
W 17–1444,800[4]
October 6at Auburn*No. 14
L 31–4451,146[5]
October 13MarylandNo. 17
  • Carter–Finley Stadium
  • Raleigh, NC
W 7–039,800[6]
October 20No. 19 North CarolinaNo. 15
  • Carter–Finley Stadium
  • Raleigh, NC (rivalry)
ABCL 21–3554,200[7]
October 27at Clemson
W 16–1361,412[8][9]
November 3at South Carolina*
L 28–3056,409[10]
November 10Penn State*
  • Carter–Finley Stadium
  • Raleigh, NC
L 7–951,200[11]
November 17at Duke
W 28–724,100[12]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[13]

Roster

1979 NC State Wolfpack football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
TE 80 Lin Dawson So
OT 76 Chris Dieterich Sr
C 51 Jim Ritcher Sr
QB 11 Scott Smith Sr
QB 12 Darnell Johnson Fr
RB 28 Billy Ray Vickers Sr
RB 46 Dwight Sullivan Jr
RB 36 Chuckie Canady So
RB 21 Wayne McClean So
RB 39 Andre Marks Fr
RB 44 Rickey Adams Sr
RB Chris Brown Fr
WR 25 Lee Jukes Jr
WR 22 Mike Quick So
WR 6 Curtis Rein So
WR 4 Eddie Jackson Fr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

References

  1. ^ "Wolfpack comeback topples ECU". The News and Observer. September 9, 1979. Retrieved March 4, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Cavaliers push State's Wolfpack". The Daily News Leader. September 16, 1979. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "QB Smith gets Pack past WVU". Durham Sunday Herald. September 23, 1979. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Wolfpack stops Deacons". Florence Morning News. September 30, 1979. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Auburn rolls by Wolfpack". The News and Observer. October 7, 1979. Retrieved October 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "'Wham-bam-oof,' State runs over Maryland 7–0". The Roanoke Times. October 14, 1979. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Tar Heels subdue Wolfpack". Winston-Salem Journal. October 21, 1979. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Clemson Football Media Guide - 1980". Clemson University. 1980. p. 2. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
  9. ^ "'Pack edges Tigers, 16–13". The Sun-News. October 28, 1979. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Rogers, USC outrun 'Pack". The Greenville News. November 4, 1979. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Menhardt's late field goal lifts Penn State by 'Pack". Daily Press. November 11, 1979. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Wolfpack pounds Duke, wins title". The Chapel Hill News. November 18, 1979. Retrieved January 27, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "1979 North Carolina State Wolfpack Schedule and Results | College Football at Sports-Reference.com". sports-reference.com. Retrieved October 9, 2017.
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