1979 RESULTS (10-2, 7-1 BIG TEN - 1st)
Sept. 8	WISCONSIN	W 41-20
Sept. 15	at UCLA	L 21-31
Sept. 22	#5 NOTRE DAME	W 28-22
Sept. 29	OREGON	W 13-7
Oct. 6	at Minnesota	L 14-31
Oct. 13	ILLINOIS	W 28-14
Oct. 20	at Michigan State	W 14-7
Oct. 27	NORTHWESTERN	W 20-16
Nov. 3	at Iowa	W 20-14
Nov. 10	No. 10 MICHIGAN	W 24-21
Nov. 17	at Indiana	W 37-21
Dec. 31	vs. Tennessee (Bluebonnet Bowl)	W 27-22

1979 SEASON IN REVIEW

Expectations were great for Purdue football heading into the 1979 season … and with good reason.

The Boilermakers, under innovative third-year head coach Jim Young, were coming off a glittering 9-2-1 campaign, capped with a 41-21 thrashing of Georgia Tech in the Peach Bowl, and they returned nine starters from their pass-oriented offense and seven starters from their shifty “Junk Defense.”

Ranked No. 6 in the preseason Associated Press poll, the Boilermakers came from behind to top fifth-ranked Notre Dame 28-22 on Sept. 22 before 70,567 fans at Ross-Ade Stadium – then the largest crowd ever to see a football game in the state of Indiana.

But a 31-14 loss at unranked Minnesota two weeks later left Purdue 3-2, prompting Young to call his team “an over-publicized bunch of cream puffs.”

Then, fortunes changed, beginning with a 28-14 win over Illinois at home during which junior quarterback Mark Herrmann became Purdue’s career passing yards leader. It was the start of a six-game winning streak over the balance of the regular season, the longest since the 1943 team went undefeated at 9-0. Purdue, which won those half-dozen games by an average of just 7.3 points, capped the surge with a 37-21 Old Oaken Bucket victory at Indiana.

The Boilermakers wound up 7-1 in the Big Ten Conference - winning the most conference games in school history - to finish in second place (one game behind undefeated Ohio State), their best showing since the 1967 team shared the title. At that point, Young revised his evaluation of the Boilermakers to “a tough, hard-nosed team that individually would not be denied.”

A New Year’s Eve date with Tennessee in the Bluebonnet Bowl at the Astrodome in Houston awaited Purdue, and the Boilermakers wrapped up the only 10-win campaign in school annals with a 27-22 victory. Leading 21-0 in the third quarter, Purdue watched the Volunteers storm back to take a 22-21 lead in the fourth. Then Herrmann took over and led the Boilermakers on a 10-play, 80-yard drive, capped by a 17-yard touchdown pass to junior tight end Dave Young with 1:30 to go. For the game, Herrmann completed 21 of 39 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns to be named the game’s Most Valuable Offensive Player.

Purdue was ranked No. 10 in the final Associated Press poll.

Over the course of the season, Herrmann set Big Ten career records for passing attempts, completions, yards and touchdowns. A bona fide Heisman Trophy candidate, he would take aim on – and break – the NCAA marks as a senior in 1980 en route to being inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010.

Young topped the team with 55 receptions and a school-record 10 receiving touchdowns.

Linebacker Kevin Motts concluded his career with 520 tackles, a school record that still stands, while defensive end Keena Turner finished with a record 58 tackles for loss on his way to an 11-year National Football League career with the San Francisco 49ers that included four Super Bowl championships.

Six Boilermakers earned first-team All-Big Ten honors - junior defensive tackle Calvin Clark, senior middle guard Ken Loushin, senior offensive tackle Steve McKenzie, senior offensive guard Dale Schwan, Turner and Young - while five were named second-team: Herrmann, senior defensive tackle Marcus Jackson, Motts, junior center Pete Quinn and senior defensive back Wayne Smith. The 11 total tributes are tied for the second-most in school history (also 1966), one fewer than the 1967 squad.

The three-year period from 1978 to 1980 arguably stands as the most successful in Purdue annals. With 28 overall victories, the Boilermakers won more games than Ohio State (27) and Notre Dame (25) and matched Michigan. In Big Ten games, Purdue was 20-3-1, just behind the Wolverines and Buckeyes at 21-3.