1979 Southern Illinois Salukis football team

The 1979 Southern Illinois Salukis football team was an American football team that represented Southern Illinois University (now known as Southern Illinois University Carbondale) in the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) during the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. Under fourth-year head coach Rey Dempsey, the team compiled an 8–3 record.^[1] The team played its home games at McAndrew Stadium in Carbondale, Illinois.

1979 Southern Illinois Salukis football
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	8–3 (4–1 MVC)
Head coach	Rey Dempsey (4th season)
Home stadium	McAndrew Stadium
Seasons ← 1978 1980 →

1979 Missouri Valley Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
West Texas State $	5	–	0	–	0			5	–	5	–	1
Southern Illinois	4	–	1	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
Indiana State	3	–	2	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
Drake	1	–	4	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
New Mexico State	1	–	4	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
Wichita State	1	–	4	–	0			1	–	10	–	0
Tulsa	0	–	0	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
$ – Conference champion Tulsa was ineligible for MVC title

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 1	at West Texas State	Kimbrough Memorial Stadium Canyon, TX	L 0–14	12,300	[2]
September 8	Southwestern Louisiana*	McAndrew Stadium Carbondale, IL	W 17–7	13,388	[3]
September 15	at Tennessee State*	Hale Stadium Nashville, TN	W 18–16	16,012	[4]
September 22	at Arkansas State*	Indian Stadium Jonesboro, AR	L 16–24	16,803	[5]
September 29	Eastern Illinois*	McAndrew Stadium Carbondale, IL	L 14–22	17,769	[6]
October 6	Illinois State*	McAndrew Stadium Carbondale, IL	W 7–0	8,100	[7]
October 20	Wichita State	McAndrew Stadium Carbondale, IL	W 31–7	12,300	[8]
October 27	at Northern Illinois*	Huskie Stadium DeKalb, IL	W 21–11	23,740	[9]
November 3	Indiana State	McAndrew Stadium Carbondale, IL	W 41–38	9,100	[10]
November 10	at Drake	Drake Stadium Des Moines, IA	W 22–21	5,070	[11]
November 17	New Mexico State	McAndrew Stadium Carbondale, IL	W 45–28	8,700	[12]
*Non-conference game

^[13]