1979 West Virginia Mountaineers football team

1979 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
	Rankings from AP Poll

1979 West Virginia Mountaineers football
1979 West Virginia Mountaineers football
Conference	Independent
1979 record	5–6
Head coach	Frank Cignetti Sr. (4th season);
Defensive coordinator	Gary Tranquill (1st season)
Home stadium	Mountaineer Field
	Seasons ← 1978 1980 →

The 1979 West Virginia Mountaineers football team represented West Virginia University in the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the Mountaineers' 87th overall season and they competed as a Division I-A Independent. The team was led by head coach Frank Cignetti Sr., in his fourth year, and played their final season of home games at Mountaineer Field in Morgantown, West Virginia. They finished the season with a record of five wins and six losses (5–6 overall).

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 8	Temple	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	L 16–38	34,299
September 15	vs. Syracuse	Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ (Ben Schwartzwalder Trophy)	L 14–24	10,375
September 22	No. 19 NC State	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	L 14–38	26,298
September 29	at Richmond	City Stadium Richmond, VA	W 20–18	17,500
October 6	Kentucky	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	W 10–6	33,792
October 13	at Boston College	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA	W 20–18	21,640
October 20	Tulane	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	W 27–17	28,303
October 27	at Penn State	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA (rivalry)	L 6–31	77,923
November 3	Virginia Tech	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (Black Diamond Trophy)	W 34–23	27,531
November 10	Pittsburgh	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (Backyard Brawl)	L 17–24	38,681
November 17	at Arizona State	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, AZ	L 7–42	68,573
Rankings from Coaches' Poll released prior to the game

1979 West Virginia Mountaineers football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
QB	`10`	Oliver Luck	So
RB	`31`	Robert Alexander	Jr
FB	`45`	Walter Easley	Jr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
DB	`27`	Jerry Holmes	Sr
DB	`40`	Fulton Walker	Jr
LB	`50`	Dennis Fowlkes	Fr
LB	`90`	Darryl Talley	Fr
DT	`91`	Todd Campbell	Fr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class

1979 NCAA Division I-A independents football records
v t e	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
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		–		–		5	–	6	–	0
Miami		–		–		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