1979 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team

1979 Eastern Illinois Panthers football
Conference	Association of Mid-Continent Universities
Record	7–4 (1–4 Mid-Con)
Head coach	Darrell Mudra (2nd season)
Home stadium	O'Brien Stadium

1979 Association of Mid-Continent Universities football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 2 Youngstown State $^	5	–	0	–	0			11	–	2	–	0
Northern Iowa	4	–	1	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Akron	3	–	2	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Eastern Illinois	1	–	4	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Northern Michigan	1	–	4	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Western Illinois	1	–	4	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion ^ – NCAA Division II playoff participant Rankings from NCAA Division II AP Poll

The 1979 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team represented Eastern Illinois University during the 1979 NCAA Division II football season, and completed the 78th season of Panther football. The Panthers played their home games at O'Brien Stadium in Charleston, Illinois.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 1	South Dakota*		O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL	W 24–15	8,000
September 8	Butler*		O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL	W 38–0	7,500
September 15	Wayne State (MI)		O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL	W 58–21	7,500
September 22	at Northeast Missouri State*		Stokes Stadium Kirksville, MO	W 46–3	5,500
September 29	at Southern Illinois*	No. 1	McAndrew Stadium Carbondale, IL	W 22–14	17,769
October 6	Western Illinois	No. 1	O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL	L 7–10	7,500
October 20	at Northern Michigan	No. 4	Superior Dome Marquette, MI	W 38–21	10,000
October 27	at Northern Iowa	No. 4	UNI-Dome Cedar Falls, IA	L 7–10	10,700–10,780
November 3	No. 2 Youngstown State	No. 8	O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL	L 21–49	12,000
November 10	at Illinois State*		Hancock Stadium Normal, IL (rivalry)	W 24–0	10,272
November 17	Akron		O'Brien Stadium Charleston, IL	L 16–27	6,500
*Non-conference game Rankings from Associated Press Poll released prior to the game