1980 North Carolina Tar Heels football team

American college football season

1980 North Carolina Tar Heels football

ACC champion
Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl champion

Astro–Bluebonnet Bowl, W 16–7 vs. Texas

Conference| Atlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
Coaches| No. 9
AP| No. 10
Record| 11–1 (6–0 ACC)
Head coach|

* Dick Crum (3rd season)

Captain| Rick Donnalley, Steve Streater, Lawrence Taylor, Ron Wooten
Home stadium| Kenan Memorial Stadium

Seasons

<- 1979

1981 ->

1980 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings

* v
* t
* e

| Conf |  |  | Overall

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Team | W |  | L |  | T |  |  | W |  | L |  | T
No. 10 North Carolina $  | 6  | - | 0  | - | 0 |  |  | 11  | - | 1  | - | 0
Maryland | 5  | - | 1  | - | 0 |  |  | 8  | - | 4  | - | 0
NC State | 3  | - | 3  | - | 0 |  |  | 6  | - | 5  | - | 0
Clemson | 2  | - | 4  | - | 0 |  |  | 6  | - | 5  | - | 0
Wake Forest | 2  | - | 4  | - | 0 |  |  | 5  | - | 6  | - | 0
Virginia | 2  | - | 4  | - | 0 |  |  | 4  | - | 7  | - | 0
Duke | 1  | - | 5  | - | 0 |  |  | 2  | - | 9  | - | 0

* $ - Conference champion

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1980 North Carolina Tar Heels football team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by Dick Crum in his third season as ahead coach, the team finished the season with an 11–1 overall record, winning the ACC title with a 6–0 mark in conference played and beating Texas in the Astro–Bluebonnet Bowl. The 11 wins tied a program record set during the 1972 season.

Linebacker Lawrence Taylor had 16 sacks in his final year for the Tar Heels and set numerous defensive records. His accolades included a consensus selection to the 1980 College Football All-America Team included All-America and ACC Player of the Year honors.[1] Crum was named ACC Coach of the Year.

## Schedule

[edit]

Date| Time| Opponent| Rank| Site| TV| Result| Attendance| Source

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|
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|

September 6| 1:00 p.m.| Furman*| No. 14|

* Kenan Memorial Stadium
* Chapel Hill, NC

| | W 35–13| 50,100| [2]
September 13| 8:30 p.m.| at Texas Tech*| No. 15|

* Jones Stadium
* Lubbock, TX

| | W 9–3| 37,797| [3]
September 27| 1:00 p.m.| No. 19 Maryland| No. 14|

* Kenan Memorial Stadium
* Chapel Hill, NC

| | W 17–3| 51,400| [4]
October 4| 1:00 p.m.| Georgia Tech*| No. 10|

* Kenan Memorial Stadium
* Chapel Hill, NC

| | W 33–0| 49,750| [5]
October 11| 1:00 p.m.| at Wake Forest| No. 8|

* Groves Stadium
* Winston-Salem, NC (rivalry)

| | W 27–9| 37,411| [6]
October 18| 1:00 p.m.| NC State| No. 8|

* Kenan Memorial Stadium
* Chapel Hill, NC (rivalry)

| | W 28–8| 51,845| [7]
October 25| 1:00 p.m.| East Carolina*| No. 7|

* Kenan Memorial Stadium
* Chapel Hill, NC

| | W 31–3| 48,100| [8]
November 1| 2:30 p.m.| at No. 16 Oklahoma*| No. 6|

* Oklahoma Memorial Stadium
* Norman, OK

| ESPN| L 7–41| 74,852| [9]
November 8| 1:00 p.m.| at Clemson| No. 14|

* Memorial Stadium
* Clemson, SC

| | W 24–19| 62,500| [10]
November 15| 1:00 p.m.| Virginia| No. 15|

* Kenan Memorial Stadium
* Chapel Hill, NC (South's Oldest Rivalry)

| | W 26–3| 49,500| [11]
November 22| 1:00 p.m.| Duke| No. 15|

* Kenan Memorial Stadium
* Chapel Hill, NC (Victory Bell)

| | W 44–21| 51,389| [12]
December 31| 8:00 p.m.| vs. Texas*| No. 13|

* Astrodome
* Houston, TX (Astro–Bluebonnet Bowl)

| Mizlou| W 16–7| 36,669| [13]

* *Non-conference game
* Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
* All times are in Eastern time

[14]

## Roster

[edit]

1980 North Carolina Tar Heels football team roster

Players  | Coaches
Offense | Pos. | # | Name | Class

|
|
|

RB | `1` | Travis Freeman | Sr
FB | `1` | Billy "Freight Train" Johnson | Sr
QB | `10` | Rod Elkins | So
WR | `19` | Jon Richardson | Jr
WR | `41` | Wayne Tucker | Sr
RB | `20` | Amos Lawrence | Sr
C | `51` | Rick Donnalley | Sr
OT | `54` | Dave Drechsler | So
G | `78` | Ron Wooten | Sr
OL | `` | Kevin Wilson | Fr
WR | `85` | Mike McCormick | Sr
Defense | Pos. | # | Name | Class

|
|
|

FS | `5` | Steve Streater | Sr
SS | `28` | Bill Jackson | Jr
LB | `29` | Darrell Nicholson | Jr
NG | `34` | Paul Davis | Sr
DT | `76` | Donnell Thompson | Sr
OLB | `84` | Mike Wilcher | So
OLB | `93` | Calvin Daniels | Jr
OLB | `98` | Lawrence Taylor | Sr
DB | `unk` | Larry Winters | So
Special teams | Pos. | # | Name | Class

|
|
|

P | `5` | Steve Streater | Sr

Head coach

* Dick Crum

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Denny Marcin, Larry Marmie, Cleve Bryant

* * *

Legend

* (C) Team captain
* (S) Suspended
* (I) Ineligible

* Injured
* Redshirt

* * *

Roster

## Rankings

[edit]

Main article: 1980 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking| Week

|

Poll| Pre| 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| 6| 7| 8| 9| 10| 11| 12| 13| 14| Final
AP| 14| 15| 13| 14| 10| 8| 8| 7| 6| 14| 15| 15| 13| 12| 13| 10
Coaches| 17| 13| 13| 15| 11| 8| 8| 7| 6| 14| 15| 13| 11| 11| 11| 9

## Game summaries

[edit]

### Maryland

[edit]

See also: 1980 Maryland Terrapins football team

[15]

### At Oklahoma

[edit]

See also: 1980 Oklahoma Sooners football team

[16]

### Duke

[edit]

See also: 1980 Duke Blue Devils football team and Victory Bell (Duke–North Carolina)

### Vs. Texas (Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl)

[edit]

North Carolina vs. Texas  |  | 1 | 2| 3| 4| Total

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• Tar Heels | 6 | 7| 3| 0 | 16
Longhorns | 0 | 7| 0| 0 | 7

* Date: December 31
* Location: Astrodome, Houston, Texas
* Game attendance: 36,669
* Referee: Jim Harper, Jr.
* TV announcers (Mizlou): Ray Scott, John Unitas, and Howard David

Main article: 1980 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl

See also: 1980 Texas Longhorns football team

[17]

## 1981 NFL Draft

[edit]

Main article: 1981 NFL Draft

The following players were drafted into professional football following the season.

Player | Position | Round | Pick | Franchise

|
|
|
|

Lawrence Taylor | Linebacker | 1 | 2 | New York Giants
Donnell Thompson | Defensive tackle | 1 | 18 | Baltimore Colts
Rick Donnalley | Center | 3 | 73 | Pittsburgh Steelers
Amos Lawrence | Running back | 4 | 103 | San Diego Chargers
Ron Wooten | Guard | 6 | 157 | New England Patriots
Harry Stanback | Defensive tackle | 6 | 164 | Atlanta Falcons

[18]

## Awards and honors

[edit]

* Lawrence Taylor, All-America selection
* Lawrence Taylor, Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year honors

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Whitley, David. L.T. was reckless, magnificent, espn.com, accessed January 29, 2007.
2. ^ "Carolina topples Furman". The News and Observer. September 7, 1980. Retrieved November 30, 2021 - via Newspapers.com.
3. ^ "North Carolina tops Tech". The Tyler Courier-Times. September 14, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
4. ^ "Tar Heels' defense stops Maryland, 17–3". The Tampa Tribune. September 28, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
5. ^ "North Carolina rolls over Georgia Tech". The Victoria Advocate. October 5, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ "Tar Heels dominate Wake in 27–9 victory". The Daily Progress. October 12, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
7. ^ "UNC looks like the class of the ACC against State". The Roanoke Times & World-News. October 19, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
8. ^ "No. 7 Tar Heels clip East Carolina 31–3". News-Press. October 26, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
9. ^ "Sooners demolish sixth-rated Tarheels". Wisconsin State Journal. November 2, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
10. ^ "Goal line stand saves Tar Heels". The Danville Register. November 9, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
11. ^ "Tar Heels earn Bluebonnent berth with 26–3 victory over Virginia". Suffolk News-Herald. November 16, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
12. ^ "Bryant's running helps Tar Heels KO Blue Devils' rally". The Charlotte Observer. November 23, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
13. ^ "North Carolina runs over Longhorns, 16–7". San Angelo Standard-Times. January 1, 1981. Retrieved January 28, 2024 - via Newspapers.com.
14. ^ "Carolina Football : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive".
15. ^ "UNC Deals Maryland 1st Defeat, 17-3". The Washington Post. September 28, 1980. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
16. ^ "Hey, Not Everyone Can Be Perfect". Sports Illustrated. November 10, 1980. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
17. ^ "N. CAROLINA DEFEATS TEXAS, 16-7". The New York Times. January 1, 1981. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
18. ^ "1981 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.

* v
* t
* e

North Carolina Tar Heels football

Venues|

* Emerson Field (1916–1926)
* Kenan Memorial Stadium (1927–present)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Bowl games
* Duke: Victory Bell
* NC State
* South Carolina
* Virginia: South's Oldest Rivalry
* Wake Forest

Culture & lore|

* First forward pass
* Rameses
* The Marching Tar Heels
* 2010 football scandal
* 2011 academic-athletic scandal

People|

* Head coaches
* All-Americans
* NFL draftees
* Statistical leaders

Seasons|

* 1888
* 1889
* 1890
* 1891
* 1892
* 1893
* 1894
* 1895
* 1896
* 1897
* 1898
* 1899
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* 1901
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* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
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* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
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* 2024

* v
* t
* e

Atlantic Coast Conference football champions

* Duke & Maryland (1953)
* Duke (1954)
* Duke & Maryland (1955)
* Clemson (1956)
* NC State (1957)
* Clemson (1958)
* Clemson (1959)
* Duke (1960)
* Duke (1961)
* Duke (1962)
* North Carolina & NC State (1963)
* NC State (1964)
* Clemson & NC State (1965)
* Clemson (1966)
* Clemson (1967)
* NC State (1968)
* South Carolina (1969)
* Wake Forest (1970)
* North Carolina (1971)
* North Carolina (1972)
* NC State (1973)
* Maryland (1974)
* Maryland (1975)
* Maryland (1976)
* North Carolina (1977)
* Clemson (1978)
* NC State (1979)
* North Carolina (1980)
* Clemson (1981)
* Clemson (1982)
* Maryland (1983)
* Maryland (1984)
* Maryland (1985)
* Clemson (1986)
* Clemson (1987)
* Clemson (1988)
* Duke & Virginia (1989)
* Georgia Tech (1990)
* Clemson (1991)
* Florida State (1992)
* Florida State (1993)
* Florida State (1994)
* Florida State & Virginia (1995)
* Florida State (1996)
* Florida State (1997)
* Florida State & Georgia Tech (1998)
* Florida State (1999)
* Florida State (2000)
* Maryland (2001)
* Florida State (2002)
* Florida State (2003)
* Virginia Tech (2004)
* Florida State (2005)
* Wake Forest (2006)
* Virginia Tech (2007)
* Virginia Tech (2008)
* Georgia Tech (2009) vacated
* Virginia Tech (2010)
* Clemson (2011)
* Florida State (2012)
* Florida State (2013)
* Florida State (2014)
* Clemson (2015)
* Clemson (2016)
* Clemson (2017)
* Clemson (2018)
* Clemson (2019)
* Clemson (2020)
* Pittsburgh (2021)
* Clemson (2022)
* Florida State (2023)

National championships in bold
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Conf]: Conference record
*[W]: Wins
*[L]: Losses
*[T]: Ties
*[No.]: Number