1979 Virginia Tech Gobblers football team

The 1979 Virginia Tech Gobblers football team was an American football team that represented Virginia Tech as an independent during the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their second year under head coach Bill Dooley, the Gobblers compiled an overall record of 5–6.^[1]

1979 Virginia Tech Gobblers football
Conference	Independent
Record	5–6
Head coach	Bill Dooley (2nd season)
Home stadium	Lane Stadium
Seasons ← 1978 1980 →

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
Tennessee State		–		–				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 State		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Miami (FL)		–		–				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

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 8	at Louisville	Fairgrounds Stadium Louisville, KY		W 15–14	29,436	[2]
September 15	Appalachian State	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA		W 41–32	30,300	[3]
September 22	William & Mary	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA		W 35–14	36,800	[4]
September 29	No. 12 Florida State	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	ABC	L 10–17	39,200	[5]
October 6	Wake Forest	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA		L 14–19	36,600	[6]
October 13	Clemson	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA		L 0–21	37,700	[7]
October 20	Richmond	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA		W 34–0	39,600	[8]
October 27	at No. 1 Alabama	Bryant–Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL		L 7–31	60,210	[9]
November 3	at West Virginia	Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV (rivalry)		L 23–34	27,531	[10]
November 10	at Virginia	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA (rivalry)		L 18–20	38,847	[11]
November 17	VMI	Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA (rivalry)		W 27–20	22,300	[12]
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

The following players were members of the 1979 football team.

1979 Virginia Tech roster
	Bobby Allen Zack Apkarian Jeff Bailey Dennis Behl Tony Blackmon Jeff Bolton Mike Borden Ricky Brilliant William C. Britts Wally Browne Cass Camp Steve Casey Chris Cosh Jeff Dahl Paul Davis Scott Dovel John Drinkard Johnnie Edmonds George Evans Michel Faulkner Mickey Fitzgerald Gillett Ford Joe Fraley John Gambone		Mike Giacolone Ricky Hall Danny Hill Billy Hite Steve Jacobsen Tim Jarvis Eric King Mike Kovac Don LaRue Dennis Laury Cyrus Lawrence Kenny Lewis Sr. John Ludlow Ron Luraschi Carl McDonald Doug McDougald Tony McKee Matt Mead Bucky Methfessel Richard Harold Miley Wayne Mutter Jerome Pannell		Nate Parker Padro Phillips Rob Purdham Bill Renner Mickey Rogers Mike Scharnus John Scott Dave Smigelsky Gary Smith Sidney Snell Lewis Stuart Jeremiah Thomas Andy Tommelleo Mark Udinski Craig Van Schoick Roe Waldron Paul Watkins Tom Webb Steve Wirt Lawrence Young Ron Zollicoffer Michael Edward Zouzalik

References

1. "1979 Virginia Tech Hokies". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
2. "Freshman kicks late field goal as U of L loses". The Courier-Journal. September 9, 1979. Retrieved December 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Casey leads Gobblers over Appalachian State". The Daily News Leader. September 16, 1979. Retrieved December 3, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Tech romps by W&M". The Daily News Leader. September 23, 1979. Retrieved December 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "FSU rumbles; Seminoles nix Gobbler jinx in 17–10 win". St. Petersburg Times. September 30, 1979. Retrieved December 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Venuto brings Wake back, 19–14". The News and Observer. October 7, 1979. Retrieved December 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Clemson making progress 21–0". The Charlotte Observer. October 14, 1979. Retrieved December 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "VPI's 539 yards ruin Richmond". Daily Press. October 21, 1979. Retrieved December 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Shealy, Jacobs spark Alabama". The Daily Advertiser. October 28, 1979. Retrieved December 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Jekyll–Hyde West Virginia rallies for 34–23 win over Virginia Tech". The Pittsburgh Press. November 4, 1979. Retrieved December 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Two-point conversion fails, UVA trips VPI". Daily Press. November 11, 1979. Retrieved December 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Casey, Snell spark Va. Tech". The State. November 18, 1979. Retrieved December 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.