Hall of Fame
When you ask Coach Barry Mynter the first thing he thinks of when he looks back to the 1979-80 football team, two things actually come to mind, an "awesome" offense, and a strong defense with the linebacking crew as the corps of the defense.
NU had switched to the wishbone offense a few years before and the hard work paid off as Norwich finished as the top team in Division III in total offense (465.2 ypg) and rushing offense (383.1 ypg). Individually, halfbacks Mike Crimmins and Milt Williams respectively rushed for 1,036 and 1,012 yards.
"I don't think there are too many teams, then or now or anytime, that have two, 1,000-yard backs in the same backfield," said Mynter.
In fact, Mynter says there were not many college teams in New England that ran the wishbone offense, giving his team somewhat of an advantage.
Defensively, the Cadets held all but three opponents to 20 points or less. Norwich also registered two shutouts that season, including a 43-0 victory over Coast Guard in the annual battle for "The Mug." Individually, Coach Mynter describes team co-captain Bruce McGill as "an outstanding performer and leader of (the defense) as an inside linebacker."
"There were other outstanding defenders on that team," said Mynter. "The defensive ends were outstanding. Our defensive tackles were undersized, but they were very quick. In the defensive backfield, there were some outstanding performers."
The team finished with an 8-2 record. Mynter says two wins stand out, a 37-13 victory over American International and a 34-20 triumph over in-state rival, Middlebury.
"AIC was a very tough physical Division II football team", said Mynter. "I think (a D III team beating a D II team) is a feather in your cap. (1979) was the third year of the Wadsworth Trophy with Middlebury. We beat them in the final game to bring home the trophy for the second time in three years."
Both of NU's losses that season were by three points to Tufts (22-19) and Albany State (28-25). LB Bruce McGill was asked which of the two losses was the biggest and he says both were equal.
"At Tufts, we got ahead early and then lost, the same with Albany State," said McGill. "In Tufts, we lost to a team that we should have beaten."
Mynter says the Albany State game had somewhat of a different flavor.
"Albany, it was vanilla wishbone (them) versus multiple wishbone (us)," said Mynter. "That was a close game and had we won any one of those (Tufts or Albany), we would have been a playoff team."
The 1979 team, in spite of a great record did not make the post-season. At the time, the NCAA Division III Football Tournament consisted of only eight teams and the ECAC did not conduct bowl games. Ithaca College, which also went 8-2 in the regular season, was the eventual national champion.
"(Not making the playoffs) was a bitter pill to swallow at the time," said Mynter.
The 1979 Norwich Football team is certainly one of the best in school history. However, Mynter says the success of the team went far beyond what they did on the field.
"At that time, we established a lot of records, and that's not to say that the records are the most important thing," said Mynter. "I think the measure of the success is the graduates that you put out. If you went down the whole list, name by name, you could find a lot of success stories."
