- 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season
The 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season saw Georgia take its first national title since
World War II .The Georgia Bulldogs starred freshman running back
Herschel Walker , who made his NCAA debut against Tennessee. Down 15-2 at halftime, Georgia sent in Walker, the third string running back at the time, to try and light a spark. Walker ran over All-American safety Bill Bates, in a play that would set the tempo for the rest of his career.This year's edition of "
The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party " was won on a last minute 92 yard pass from Georgia's own endzone, known by the play by play call "Run, Lindsay, run!".The Bulldogs ran through the rest of the season unscathed, beating Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl. Walker rushed for 150 yards against Notre Dame, a defense which had not given up a hundred yard game that whole season. He did this with a
dislocated shoulder .The Pittsburgh Panthers also had a stellar season, led by offensive tackle
Mark May . The team went 11-1 and finished ranked #2, finishing the season with a rout of South Carolina andHeisman Trophy winnerGeorge Rogers in theGator Bowl . 29 players from this team went on the play in theNFL .Florida State defeated #3 ranked Nebraska on the Cornhuskers' home turf, and the following week defeated the #2 ranked Pitt Panthers
This year's edition of the
Holiday Bowl was a classic as the BYU staged a fourth quarter comeback, led by futureNFL starJim McMahon . Down 45-25 to SMU with less than four minutes left, McMahon threw three touchdown passes, including a Hail Mary as time expired, caught in the endzone byClay Brown , despite being surrounded by three SMU defenders.Rules changes for 1980
*Full arm extension on pass blocking allowed.
*Illegal use of hands penalty reduced to 5 yards.Conference Standings
"W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT = Winning Percentage, Conf. = Conference Record"
Classic Games
#1 and #2 Progress
Bowl Games
*
*Orange Bowl: #4 Oklahoma 18, #2 Florida State 17
*Rose Bowl: #5 Michigan 23, #16 Washington 6
*Cotton Bowl: #9 Alabama 30, #6 Baylor 2
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*
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*Peach Bowl: #20 Miami 20, Virginia Tech 10
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*Hall of Fame Classic: Arkansas 34, Tulane 15
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*
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Final AP Poll
# Georgia
# Pittsburgh
# Oklahoma
# Michigan
# Florida State
# Alabama
# Nebraska
# Penn State
# Notre Dame
# North Carolina
# Southern California
# Brigham Young
# UCLA
# Baylor
# Ohio St
# Washington
# Purdue
# Miami (FL)
# Mississippi State
# SMU
Final Coaches Poll
# Georgia
# Pittsburgh (PA)
# Oklahoma
# Michigan
# Florida St.
# Alabama
# Nebraska
# Penn St.
# North Carolina
# Notre Dame (IN)
# Brigham Young (UT)
# Southern California
# Baylor (TX)
# UCLA
# Ohio St.
# Purdue (IN)
# Washington
# Miami (FL)
# Florida
# Southern Methodist (TX)
Heisman Trophy Voting
#
#Hugh Green Pittsburgh, DE
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#
#
Other Major Awards
*Maxwell - Hugh Green Pittsburgh, DE
*Outland -
*Camp - Hugh Green Pittsburgh, DE
*Lombardi - Hugh Green Pittsburgh, DE
References
*Citation
title = Pitt To Honor Mark May and The 1980 Panthers At Homecoming This Weekend
url=http://pittsburghpanthers.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/101705aam.html
accessdate = 2007-07-25
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