1979 Temple Owls football team

The 1979 Temple Owls football team was an American football team that represented Temple University as an independent during the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. In its 10th season under head coach Wayne Hardin, the team compiled a 10–2 record, defeated California in the 1979 Garden State Bowl, outscored all opponents by a total of 399 to 198, and was ranked No. 17 in the final AP and Coaches polls. The team played its home games at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia.

1979 Temple Owls football
Garden State Bowl, W 28–17 vs. California
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 17
AP	No. 17
Record	10–2
Head coach	Wayne Hardin (9th season)
Home stadium	Veterans Stadium, Franklin Field

1979 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

	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

The team's statistical leaders included Brian Broomell with 2,103 passing yards, Mark Bright with 1,036 rushing yards, and Gerald Lucear with 964 receiving yards and 78 points scored.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 8	at West Virginia		Mountaineer Field Morgantown, WV	W 38–16	34,299
September 15	Drake		Franklin Field Philadelphia, PA	W 43–21	10,872
September 22	at Delaware		Delaware Stadium Newark, DE	W 31–14	22,068
September 29	Pittsburgh		Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, PA	L 9–10	34,039
October 6	at Rutgers		Rutgers Stadium New Brunswick, NJ	W 41–20	20,245
October 13	Syracuse		Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, PA	W 49–17	18,504
October 20	Cincinnati		Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, PA	W 35–14	13,368
November 3	at Hawaii		Aloha Stadium Halawa, HI	W 34–31	3,372
November 10	Akron		Veterans Stadium Philadelphia, PA	W 42–6	8,398
November 17	at Penn State	No. 18	Beaver Stadium University Park, PA	L 7–22	76,000
November 24	at Villanova		Villanova Stadium Villanova, PA (rivalry)	W 42–10
December 15	vs. California*	No. 20	Giants Stadium East Rutherford, NJ (Garden State Bowl)	W 28–17	40,207
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1979 Temple Owls football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 12 Brian Broomell Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 54 Mike Curcio Sr DB 16 Mark McCants Jr LB Mike Fuoco LB Jay Gicker DB/LB Brett Hardenstine	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Wayne Hardin Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt