1979 Kansas Jayhawks football team

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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

The 1979 Kansas Jayhawks football team represented the University of Kansas in the Big Eight Conference during the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. After a four year absence, Don Fambrough returned as the team's head coach, and the Jayhawks compiled a 3–8 record (2–5 against conference opponents), tied for fifth place in the conference, and were outscored by opponents by a combined total of 346 to 172. They played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas.

The team's statistical leaders included Brian Bethke with 874 passing yards, Harry Sydney with 541 rushing yards, and David Verser with 463 receiving yards. Brian Bethke, Mike Gay, and Monty Carbonell were the team captains.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result
September 15	at No. 16 Pittsburgh*	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA	L 0–24
September 22	at No. 11 Michigan*	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	L 7–28
September 29	North Texas*	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	W 37–18
October 6	Syracuse*	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	L 27–45
October 13	at No. 5 Nebraska	Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)	L 0–42
October 20	at Iowa State	Cyclone Stadium Ames, IA	W 24–7
October 27	Oklahoma State	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	L 17–30
November 3	Kansas State	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS (rivalry)	W 36–28
November 10	at No. 6 Oklahoma	Oklahoma Memorial Stadium Norman, OK	L 0–38
November 17	Colorado	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	L 17–31
November 24	Missouri	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS (Border War)	L 7–55
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game