Standings
| Overall | Conference | Points Per Game | SRS | Polls | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| School | W | L | T | Pct | W | L | T | Pct | Off | Def | SRS | SOS | AP Pre | AP High | AP Rank | Notes |
| Ohio State | 11 | 1 | 0 | .917 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 32.5 | 10.5 | 21.71 | 6.54 | 1 | 4 | ||
| Purdue | 10 | 2 | 0 | .833 | 7 | 1 | 0 | .875 | 23.9 | 18.8 | 12.38 | 6.30 | 6 | 5 | 10 | |
| Michigan | 8 | 4 | 0 | .667 | 6 | 2 | 0 | .750 | 26.0 | 12.6 | 15.36 | 7.11 | 7 | 6 | 18 | |
| Indiana | 8 | 4 | 0 | .667 | 5 | 3 | 0 | .625 | 26.2 | 21.0 | 10.83 | 5.41 | 19 | 19 | ||
| Iowa | 5 | 6 | 0 | .455 | 4 | 4 | 0 | .500 | 21.7 | 19.6 | 7.26 | 8.08 | ||||
| Minnesota | 4 | 6 | 1 | .409 | 3 | 5 | 1 | .389 | 24.0 | 24.6 | 7.12 | 7.85 | ||||
| Michigan State | 5 | 6 | 0 | .455 | 3 | 5 | 0 | .375 | 21.8 | 23.0 | 6.42 | 6.60 | 10 | 7 | ||
| Wisconsin | 4 | 7 | 0 | .364 | 3 | 5 | 0 | .375 | 18.9 | 28.3 | 1.99 | 6.90 | ||||
| Illinois | 2 | 8 | 1 | .227 | 1 | 6 | 1 | .188 | 14.2 | 24.2 | -2.08 | 6.74 | ||||
| Northwestern | 1 | 10 | 0 | .091 | 0 | 9 | 0 | .000 | 10.5 | 35.1 | -10.05 | 7.50 | ||||
4 Bowl Games
- Number in parentheses indicates AP rank at time of bowl game
| Date | Bowl | Pts | Pts | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980-01-01 | Rose Bowl | Southern California (3) | 17 | Ohio State (1) | 16 | Pasadena, CA |
| 1979-12-31 | Bluebonnet Bowl | Purdue (12) | 27 | Tennessee | 22 | Houston, TX |
| 1979-12-28 | Gator Bowl | North Carolina | 17 | Michigan (14) | 15 | Jacksonville, FL |
| 1979-12-21 | Holiday Bowl | Indiana | 38 | Brigham Young (9) | 37 | San Diego, CA |
Award Winners
| Award | Name | School |
|---|---|---|
| Big Ten Coach of the Year | Earle Bruce | Ohio State |
1979 Conference Leaders