1979 Iowa State Cyclones football team

The 1979 Iowa State Cyclones football team represented Iowa State University as a member of the Big Eight Conference during the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by first-year head coach Donnie Duncan, the Cyclones compiled an overall record of 3–8 with a mark of 2–5 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for fifth in the Big 8. Iowa State played home games at Cylcone Stadium in Ames, Iowa.

1979 Iowa State Cyclones football
Conference	Big Eight Conference
Record	3–8 (2–5 Big 8)
Head coach	Donnie Duncan (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Dal Shealy (1st season)
Home stadium	Cylcone Stadium

1979 Big Eight Conference football standings

	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 3 Oklahoma $	7	–	0	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
No. 9 Nebraska	6	–	1	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
Oklahoma State	5	–	2	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Missouri	3	–	4	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Colorado	2	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Iowa State	2	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Kansas	2	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Kansas State	1	–	6	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 15	1:30 pm	Bowling Green*	Cylcone Stadium Ames, IA		W 38–10	47,300
September 22	7:00 pm	at No. 4 Texas*	Texas Memorial Stadium Austin, TX		L 9–17	73,652
September 29	1:05 pm	at Iowa*	Kinnick Stadium Iowa City, IA (rivalry)	KWWL (delay)	L 14–30	60,100
October 6	1:30 pm	Pacific (CA)*	Cyclone Stadium Ames, IA		L 7–24	47,600
October 13	1:30 pm	at Kansas State	KSU Stadium Manhattan, KS (rivalry)		W 7–3	23,400
October 20	1:30 pm	Kansas	Cyclone Stadium Ames, IA		L 7–24	47,064–48,100
October 27	1:30 pm	at No. 7 Oklahoma	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK		L 9–38	71,187
November 3	1:30 pm	Colorado	Cyclone Stadium Ames, IA		W 24–10	47,100
November 10	11:50 am	Missouri	Cyclone Stadium Ames, IA (rivalry)	ABC	L 9–18	46,800
November 17	1:30 pm	at No. 3 Nebraska	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)		L 3–34	76,049
November 24	1:30 pm	Oklahoma State	Cyclone Stadium Ames, IA		L 10–13	36,000
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Roster

1979 Iowa State Cyclones football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB 45 Dwayne Crutchfield So QB 15 Dave Jacobson So TE 88 Dan Johnson So C 56 Jim Meyer Fr OT 69 Karl Nelson Fr QB 18 John Quinn So	Defense Pos. # Name Class CB 19 Joe Brown So CB 44 Larry Crawford Jr LB 55 Jim Less Jr DT 62 Kenny Neil Jr DT 74 Scott Nelson Fr LB Jay Niemann Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Donnie Duncan Coordinators/assistant coaches Mack Brown (Wide receivers) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt