1979 Florida State Seminoles football team

American college football season August 2023 January 2026 1979 Florida State Seminoles football Florida State Seminoles old logo.svg 150 Independent 8 6 11–1 Bobby Bowden 4th George Henshaw 1st Pro-style Jack Stanton 4th 4–3 Mike Good Ivory Joe Hunter Scott Warren Wally Woodham Doak Campbell Stadium Orange Bowl L Lost 7–24 vs. Oklahoma The 1979 Florida State Seminoles football team represented Florida State University as an independent during the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Bobby Bowden and played their home games at Doak Campbell Stadium. Florida State finished No. 6 in the AP poll and No. 8 in the UPI poll with an 11–1 record. The Seminoles' offense scored 326 points while the defense allowed 160 points. The Seminoles finished the regular season unbeaten for only the second time in program history and played in the Orange Bowl. Schedule 1979 AP Eastern September 8 w 19 Southern Miss Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL 17–14 45,467 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/74364010/fsu-snaps-out-of-it-wins-by-3 The Tampa Tribune FSU snaps out of it, wins by 3 September 9, 1979 March 25, 2021 Newspapers.com September 15 w y 18 Arizona State Tampa Stadium Tampa, FL 31–3 33,484 https://www.newspapers.com/article/tampa-bay-times-fsu-just-too-much-313/157812270/ St. Petersburg Times FSU just too much, 31–3 and 2–0 September 16, 1979 October 26, 2024 Newspapers.com September 22 w 14 Miami (FL) Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL rivalry 40–23 47,679 https://www.newspapers.com/article/news-press-fsu-blows-away-hurricanes-40/157842157/ Fort Myers News-Press FSU blows away Hurricanes 40–23 September 23, 1979 October 26, 2024 Newspapers.com September 29 w y 12 Virginia Tech Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA ABC 17–10 39,200 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90634128/fsu-rumbles-seminoles-nix-gobbler-jinx/ St. Petersburg Times FSU rumbles; Seminoles nix Gobbler jinx in 17–10 win September 30, 1979 December 15, 2021 Newspapers.com October 6 w y 9 Louisville Fairgrounds Stadium Louisville, KY 27–0 27,306 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-palm-beach-post-fsu-defense-outshine/157840922/ The Palm Beach Post FSU defense outshines powerful running attack October 7, 1979 October 26, 2024 Newspapers.com October 13 w 9 Mississippi State Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL 17–6 48,701 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-news-and-observer-seminoles-shut-dow/134356528/ The News and Observer Seminoles shut down Mississippi St., 17–6 October 14, 1979 October 30, 2023 Newspapers.com October 27 w y 7 LSU Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA ABC 24–19 67,197 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-orlando-sentinel-fsus-jordan-spears/134361997/ The Orlando Sentinel Star FSU's Jordan spears LSU October 28, 1979 October 30, 2023 Newspapers.com November 3 w y 6 Cincinnati Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, OH 26–21 14,539 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-times-fsu-still-in-orange/157838694/ The Shreveport Times FSU still in Orange November 4, 1979 October 26, 2024 Newspapers.com November 10 w 7 South Carolina 19 Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL 27–7 49,490 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tampa-tribune-fsu-gives-bowl-scouts/139716607/ The Tampa Tribune FSU gives bowl scouts a 27–7 message November 11, 1979 January 27, 2024 Newspapers.com November 17 w 5 Memphis State Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL 66–17 48,021 https://www.newspapers.com/article/florida-today-orange-bowl-bound-fsu-clob/157842714/ Florida Today Orange Bowl-bound FSU clobbers Memphis State November 18, 1979 October 26, 2024 Newspapers.com November 23 Friday w y 5 Florida Florida Field Gainesville, FL rivalry ABC 27–16 58,263 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-palm-beach-post-seminoles-win-but-g/134309464/ The Palm Beach Post-Times Seminoles win, but Gators happier November 24, 1979 October 29, 2023 Newspapers.com January 1 l y 4 Oklahoma 5 Miami Orange Bowl Miami, FL Orange Bowl NBC 7–24 66,714 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-palm-beach-post-oklahoma-ends-florid/157860049/ The Palm Beach Post Oklahoma ends Florida State's streak January 2, 1980 October 26, 2024 Newspapers.com1979 Florida State Seminoles Schedule and Results Sports Reference LLC SR/College Football October 26, 2024 https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/florida-state/1979-schedule.html Season summary Mark Lyles led the team in rushing with 1011 yards and 8 touchdowns. Jimmy Jordan led the team in passing with 1173 yards and threw 13 touchdown passes. Jackie Flowers led the team in receiving with 37 catches for 622 yards and 7 TD receptions. Monk Bonasorte led the team with 8 pass interceptions. Bonassorte {DB}, Bobby Butler {DB}, Jackie Flowers {TE}, Mike Good {G}, Ken Lanier {OT}, Ron Simmons {NG} and Scott Warren {DE} were selected to the First team All-South Independent team. Ron Simmons was selected as a First team All-American. Bonasorte was a 3rd team AP All-American. Bobby Butler {DB}, Jackie Flowers, Mike Good, Jimmy Jordan {QB} and Ken Lanier were named as Honorable Mention All-Americans by the Associated Press and/or The Sporting News. Mark Lyles {RB} {Cincinnati}, Flowers {Dallas}, Walter Carter {DT} {Oakland} and Jordan {New England} were selected in the 1980 NFL draft. Southern Miss Southern Miss 0 7 7 0 Florida St 3 0 0 14 September 8 Doak Campbell Stadium NoleFan.org. Retrieved 2015-Nov-24. Behind 14-3 with 10 minutes left in the last quarter, Florida State struck for two quick touchdowns and overtook Southern Mississippi 17-14 before 45,467 fans at Doak Campbell Stadium. Jimmy Jordan threw an 8 yard TD pass to Jackie Flowers, then a 65 yard punt return for a touchdown by Gary Henry with 6:28 put the Seminoles in front to stay. Arizona State Arizona St 0 0 3 0 Florida St 7 17 0 7 September 15 Tampa Stadium Florida State romped to an easy 31-3 football victory over Arizona State. It was 24-0 at halftime. Monk Bonasorte helped to provide 10 first half points with two interceptions. Wally Woodham threw 18 yards to Jackie Flowers for a touchdown. Mark Lyles ran 1 yard for a touchdown to give FSU a 14-0 lead. Dave Cappelen kicked a 42 yard field goal and Jimmy Jordan threw his first of two touchdown passes, an 8 yard pass to Grady King. In the 4th quarter he threw 15 yards to Ricky Williams for the final Seminole touchdown. NoleFan.org. Retrieved 2015-Nov-24. Miami (FL) Florida State Seminoles 2; text-align:center collapsed Miami (FL) Hurricanes (1–0) at #14 Florida State Seminoles (2–0) September 22 Miami (FL) 7 0 0 16 Florida St 3 16 14 7 Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, Florida 48,432 Recap/Box. Retrieved 2015-Nov-24. First quarter FSU – Dave Cappelen 26-yard field goal, 9:12. Florida St 3–0. MIA – Chris Hobbs 10-yard run (Dan Miller kick), 4:29. Miami (FL) 7–3. Second quarter FSU – Mark Lyles 4-yard run (Dave Cappelen kick), 12:30. Florida St 10–7. FSU – Dave Cappelen 28-yard field goal, 6:21. Florida St 13–7. FSU – Mark Lyles 1-yard run (pass failed), 0:22. Florida St 19–7. Third quarter FSU – Greg Ramsey 3-yard run (Dave Cappelen kick), 10:58. Florida St 26–7. FSU – Greg Ramsey 2-yard run (Dave Cappelen kick), 1:52. Florida St 33–7. Fourth quarter MIA – Jim Kelly 2-yard run (run good), 11:29. Florida St 33–15. FSU – Gary Henry 57-yard blocked punt return (Dave Cappelen kick), 10:00. Florida St 40–15. MIA – James Joiner 9-yard run (run good), 7:58. Florida St 40–23. Top passers MIA FSU – Wally Woodham – 9/14, 93 yards Top rushers MIA FSU – Mark Lyles – 25 rushes, 85 yards, 2 TD Top receivers MIA FSU – Sam Platt – 3 receptions, 46 yards Miami jumped out to an early lead after the first quarter, but that would pretty much be all they could celebrate during this day in the Capital City. Two Mark Lyles touchdowns in the second quarter helped the Seminoles take a 19-7 lead at the half, while Greg Ramsey would add two rushing scores in the third quarter and the route was on. The Hurricanes scored a touchdown to open the fourth quarter, but Gary Henry’s return of a blocked punt cemented the outcome and Florida State was able to celebrate in their own locker room after defeating the Hurricanes at home for the first time, 40-23, pacing the Noles to the first undefeated regular season under Bobby Bowden. Virginia Tech It was Virginia Tech's last chance to win. Fourth down and 13 at its 17. As Steve Casey rolled to pass, Seminole linebacker Paul Piurowski was bearing down on him. Casey slipped as he tried to maneuver, and Piurowski was on top of him at the 12 and the Florida State held on for a 17-10 victory. Trailing 7-0 in the 2nd quarter, the Seminoles struck on a Greg Ramsey 16 yard run and Jackie Flowers 18 yard TD pass from Jimmy Jordan. Dave Cappelen added a 20 yard field goal in the 3rd quarter. Wally Woodham and Jimmy Jordan combined for 322 yards passing, but threw 4 interceptions. Louisville Florida St 7 8 9 3 Louisville 0 0 0 0 October 6 Cardinal Stadium Blocking two punts, holding Louisville to just two first downs until 7:30 was left on the clock, Florida State's defense was again the dominant show as the unbeaten Seminoles won 27-0. FSU did it on two touchdowns, a couple of safeties and a field goal before 27,306 fans at Fairgrounds Stadium. Wally Woodham threw two touchdowns, one to Sam Platt (5 yards) and one to Sam Childers (1 yard). Bobby Butler fell on a blocked punt in the end zone for a touchdown. NoleFan.org. Retrieved 2015-Nov-24. Mississippi State Miss St 0 0 0 6 Florida St 0 14 3 0 October 13 Doak Campbell Stadium Putting two touchdowns on the scoreboard in the final six minutes of the first half, Florida State held on with its defense in the closing two quarters and claimed a 17-6 victory over Mississippi State. FSU scored on a one yard run by Mike Whiting, and on an 18 yard pass from Jimmy Jordan to Jackie Flowers. Dave Cappelen kicked a 46 yard field goal. NoleFan.org. Retrieved 2015-Nov-24. LSU Florida St 7 7 0 10 LSU 0 13 0 6 October 27 Tiger Stadium Jim Lampley & Frank Broyles ABC Jimmy Jordan gunned three touchdown passes as Florida State muscled past Louisiana State 24-19 before 67,197 in Tiger Stadium. Jordan completed 14 passes for 312 yards. In the 1st half, the Seminoles forced three LSU fumbles and recovered all three. Florida State, in the 2nd half, intercepted two passes. Monk Bonasorte recovered a fumble and intercepted two passes. Florida State totaled 436 yards of offense. Jordan’s TD passes went to Sam Platt (3 yards), Jackie Flowers (40 yards) and Hardis Johnson (53 yards). NoleFan.org. Retrieved 2015-Nov-24. Cincinnati Florida St 7 0 0 19 Cincinnati 0 21 0 0 November 3 Nippert Stadium The sixth ranked Seminoles squeezed past Cincinnati 26-21 when Mike Whiting crashed into the end zone from eight yards out with 1:38 left to play. The Seminoles trailed 21-7 at the start of the fourth quarter. Ahead 7-0 after their first offensive series, FSU was stunned by a 21 point 2nd quarter onslaught by Cincinnati, a 17 1/2 point underdog. Wally Woodham led the charge in the 4th quarter with touchdown passes to Mark Lyles (7 yards) and Jackie Flowers (5 yards), followed by Whiting’s game winner. NoleFan.org. Retrieved 2015-Nov-24. South Carolina South Carolina 0 7 0 0 Florida St 10 6 0 11 November 10 Doak Campbell Stadium A record Doak Campbell Stadium crowd of 49,490 saw the 9-0 Seminoles beat South Carolina 27-7. Wally Woodham completed 15 of 25 passes for 145 yards. Florida State nominated possession, 83 plays to 52, and totaled 381 yards to Carolina's 265. Mark Lyles ran for 132 yards on 25 carries and a 1 yard touchdown run. Dave Capellen kicked four field goals. Jimmy Jordan threw a 7 yard TD pass to Sam Childers. NoleFan.org. Retrieved 2015-Nov-24. Memphis State Memphis St 3 0 0 14 Florida St 3 21 28 14 November 17 Doak Campbell Stadium Florida State clobbered Memphis State 66-17 before 48,021 at Doak Campbell Stadium. Memphis State's defense had given up just three touchdown passes. Quarterback Jimmy Jordan threw for that many in the second quarter. Two of those Jordan TD shots came in the last 45 seconds of the half, stretching a 10-3 lead to 24-3. Jordan’s touchdown passes were to Jackie Flowers (24 yards), Hardis Johnson (4 yards) and Grady King (5 yards). The defense and special teams got their shots in as well with Paul Piurowski returning an interception 29 yards for a touchdown and Keith Jones returning a blocked punt (by Bobby Butler) 16 yards for a touchdown. Mark Lyles, Ricky Williams, Keith Kennedy and Kelly Burney ran for touchdowns for the Noles. NoleFan.org. Retrieved 2015-Nov-24. At Florida Florida State Seminoles 2; text-align:center collapsed #5 Florida State Seminoles (10–0) at Florida Gators (0–9–1) November 23 Florida St 3 7 0 17 Florida 0 0 10 6 Florida Field, Gainesville, Florida 58,263 ABC Jim Lampley & Lee Grosscup NoleFan.org. Retrieved 2015-Nov-24. First quarter FSU – Dave Cappelen 42-yard field goal, 4:23. Florida St 3–0. Second quarter FSU – Hardis Johnson 21-yard pass from Jimmy Jordan (Dave Cappelen kick), 0:11. Florida St 10–0. Drive: 71 yards. Third quarter FLA – Brian Clark 39-yard field goal, 11:39. Florida St 10–3. FLA – Carl Prioleau 2-yard run (Brian Clark kick), 1:28. Tie 10–10. Fourth quarter FSU – Mark Lyles 20-yard run (Bill Capece kick), 12:31. Florida St 17–10. Drive: 80 yards. FSU – Bill Capece 18-yard field goal, 10:46. Florida St 20–10. FLA – Chris Faulkner 35-yard pass from Larry Ochab (pass failed), 2:21. Florida St 20–16. FSU – Mark Lyles 2-yard run (Bill Capece kick), 1:10. Florida St 27–16. Top passers FSU – Wally Woodham – 7/10, 82 yards FLA – Larry Ochab – 22/54, 270 yards, TD, 5 INT Top rushers FSU – Mark Lyles – 20 rushes, 151 yards, TD FLA Top receivers FSU – Grady King – 6 receptions, 59 yards FLA Florida hosted Florida State at Florida Field in a regionally televised contest on ABC-TV. A debatable ruling on an interception by FSU’s Walter Carter led to a Bill Capece field goal that gave the Seminoles a 20-10 lead in the fourth quarter. The game had been tied 10-10 early in the final period. Mark Lyles’ two fourth quarter touchdowns however, would be just what the Seminoles needed as FSU completed a perfect regular season. Lyles rushed for 151 yards while teammate Michael Whiting added 123 yards on the ground. Defensively, Florida State forced six turnovers for their third straight victory over rival Florida. The Noles went on to a 27-16 victory. Oklahoma—Orange Bowl Oklahoma 0 17 0 7 Florida St 7 0 0 0 January 1 Orange Bowl Mike Whiting gave the Seminoles a lead with his touchdown run, but that was their only score of the night. A fumbled field goal snap, three turnovers, over 100 yards of rushing by quarterback J. C. Watts and halfback Billy Sims, and 24 unanswered points by Oklahoma doomed the Seminoles. It all started with a Watts run for a touchdown in the second quarter to tie the game at seven. After the kickoff, the Seminoles turned the ball over on an interception, giving the ball back to Oklahoma. Stanley Wilson then scored a touchdown run to make it 14–7. Mike Keeling added a field goal late in the quarter to give the Sooners a 17–7 lead at halftime. The second half scoring was limited to one Oklahoma touchdown from 22 yards out in the fourth quarter; Watts ran for twelve yards before pitching the ball to Sims, who took it the rest of the way for a 24–7 lead, the final score. The Sooners ran for 411 yards on 59 carries, an average of nearly seven yards per attempt, while having twice as many total yards as the Seminoles. NoleFan.org. Retrieved 2015-Nov-24. Roster 1979 Florida State Seminoles f 63 Jr Lee Adams OG 52 So Willie Andrusko C 88 So Jeff Bowden WR 75 Jr Tom Brannon OT 61 Jr Brent Brock OG yes Ken Burnett QB Kelly Burney RB Gator Cherry RB Sam Childers TE 23 Sr Jackie Flowers WR y Greg Futch OL Mike Good OL 4 Sr Rick Houston QB Hardis Johnson WR Homes Johnson RB Tony Johnson WR 15 Sr Jimmy Jordan Jimmy Jordan (quarterback) QB y Bill Keck TE Keith Kennedy RB Grady King TE 72 Jr Ken Lanier OT y Mark Lyles RB John Madden OL Dennis McKinnon WR 18 So Joe Moss WR 81 Fr Zeke Mowatt TE y Sam Platt WR Greg Ramsey RB 11 So Rick Stockstill QB yes y 82 So Lawrence Strainge WR 9 Fr Greg Thompson WR 19 Sr Kurt Unglaub WR 26 Sr Wade Wallace FB Gil Wesley OL 27 So Michael Whiting FB y Phil Williams WR Ricky Williams RB Wally Woodham QB 44 Eddie Swensen FB Mark Bonasorte DB 21 Jr Bobby Butler Bobby Butler (American football) CB y 76 Sr Walter Carter DT Jarvis Coursey DL 91 So John Diamantas DT 20 Fr Jeff Ector DB James Gilbert DL 43 RS Sr Hector Gray DB Gary Henry DB Reggie Herring LB Ivory Joe Hunter DB Keith Jones DB Mark Macek DL 60 So Scott McLean DT 77 RS Sr Jeremy Mindlin DT Paul Piurowski LB Ed Richardson DL Arthur Scott DL Ron Simmons DL y Scott Warren DL Bill Capece K Dave Cappelen K 3 So Rohn Stark P y *Bobby Bowden George Henshaw (Offensive coordinator) Kent Schoolfield (Wide receivers) Dick Hopkins (Graduate assistant) Awards and honors Monk Bonasorte Associated Press – 3rd Team All-American Bobby Butler Associated Press – All-American – Honorable Mention Jackie Flowers Football News – 2nd Team All-American United Press International – 2nd Team All-American Associated Press – All-American – Honorable Mention The Sporting News – All-American – Honorable Mention Mike Good Associated Press – All-American – Honorable Mention Ken Lanier Associated Press – All-American – Honorable Mention Ron Simmons American Football Coaches Association – 1st Team All-American Associated Press – 1st Team All-American Walter Camp – 1st Team All-American Football News – 1st Team All-American Kodak – 1st Team All-American United Press International – 1st Team All-American NCAA – Consensus All-American The Sporting News – All-American – Honorable Mention Scott Warren Churchman's – 1st Team All-American Associated Press – All-American – Honorable Mention http://nolefan.org/football/football_pros.html#award FSU Football All-American, Pro & FSU HOF Roster References Florida State Category:Florida State Seminoles football seasons Florida State Seminoles football