1979 Eastern Kentucky Colonels football team

The 1979 Eastern Kentucky Colonels football team represented Eastern Kentucky University in the 1979 NCAA Division I-AA football season. They competed as a member of the Ohio Valley Conference and played their home games at Hanger Field in Richmond, Kentucky. Head coach Roy Kidd was in his 16th season leading the Colonels.

1979 Eastern Kentucky Colonels football
NCAA Division I-AA champion
ConferenceOhio Valley Conference
Ranking
APNo. 1
Record11–2 (5–1 OVC)
Head coach
Home stadiumHanger Field
1979 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 2 Murray State $^ 6 –0 –09 –2 –1
No. 3 Eastern Kentucky ^ 5 –1 –011 –2 –0
Morehead State 3 –2 –15 –4 –1
Western Kentucky 3 –3 –05 –5 –0
Austin Peay 2 –4 –07 –4 –0
Middle Tennessee 1 –5 –01 –9 –0
Tennessee Tech 0 –5 –11 –8 –2
  • $ – Conference champion
  • ^ – NCAA Division I-AA playoff participant
Rankings from Associated Press poll

The team advanced to the 1979 NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Game, where they defeated Lehigh, 30–7.[1] After the championship win, Governor John Y. Brown Jr. declared the week of January 20–26, 1980, as "EKU National Football Champions Week" in the state.[2]

Schedule
DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 8at Kent State*
W 17–14
September 15Troy State*
W 15–015,200[3]
September 22at East Tennessee State*No. 5Johnson City, TNL 20–27
September 29Austin PeayNo. 7
  • Hanger Field
  • Richmond, KY
W 35–10
October 6at Middle TennesseeNo. 7
W 52–10
October 13Cal State Fullerton*No. 7
  • Hanger Field
  • Richmond, KY
W 33–1710,100[4]
October 20Western KentuckydaggerNo. 3
W 8–625,300
October 27No. 8 Murray StateNo. 1
L 7–24
November 3Tennessee TechNo. 5
  • Hanger Field
  • Richmond, KY
W 35–0
November 10No. 2 Jackson State*No. 5
  • Hanger Field
  • Richmond, KY
W 27–21[5]
November 17at Morehead StateNo. 4
W 34–7
December 8No. 1 Nevada*No. 3
W 33–30 2OT
December 15vs. No. 4 Lehigh*No. 3
ABCW 30–75,200[6]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References
  1. "Lehigh Routed By 30‐7". The New York Times. Associated Press. December 16, 1979. Retrieved May 12, 2019.
  2. "1979 Football Team Team of Distinction". ekusports.com.
  3. "Eastern blanks Troy 15 to 0". The Advocate-Messenger. September 16, 1979. Retrieved November 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. "Eastern Kentucky Rips Fullerton, 33-7". The Los Angeles Times. October 14, 1979. p. III-22. Retrieved February 10, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.open access
  5. "Eastern wins 27–21 to retain its hopes for playoff berth". The Courier-Journal. November 11, 1979. Retrieved August 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Larimer, Terry (December 16, 1979). "Lehigh Routed, 30-7, in Title Game". Sunday Call-Chronicle. Allentown, Pa. p. C1 – via Newspapers.com.


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