1980 Tennessee Volunteers football team

American college football season

1980 Tennessee Volunteers football

Conference| Southeastern Conference
Record| 5–6 (3–3 SEC)
Head coach|

* Johnny Majors (4th season)

Offensive coordinator| Bill Pace (1st season)
Defensive coordinator| Bobby Jackson (1st season)
Captain| Jim Noonan
Home stadium| Neyland Stadium

Seasons

← 1979

1981 →

1980 Southeastern Conference football standings

* v
* t
* e

| Conf. |  |  | Overall

|
|
|
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Team | W |   | L |   | T |  |  | W |   | L |   | T
No. 1 Georgia $  | 6  | – | 0  | – | 0 |  |  | 12  | – | 0  | – | 0
No. 19 Mississippi State | 5  | – | 1  | – | 0 |  |  | 9  | – | 3  | – | 0
No. 6 Alabama | 5  | – | 1  | – | 0 |  |  | 10  | – | 2  | – | 0
LSU | 4  | – | 2  | – | 0 |  |  | 7  | – | 4  | – | 0
Florida | 4  | – | 2  | – | 0 |  |  | 8  | – | 4  | – | 0
Tennessee | 3  | – | 3  | – | 0 |  |  | 5  | – | 6  | – | 0
Ole Miss | 2  | – | 4  | – | 0 |  |  | 3  | – | 8  | – | 0
Kentucky | 1  | – | 5  | – | 0 |  |  | 3  | – | 8  | – | 0
Auburn | 0  | – | 6  | – | 0 |  |  | 5  | – | 6  | – | 0
Vanderbilt | 0  | – | 6  | – | 0 |  |  | 2  | – | 9  | – | 0

* $ – Conference champion

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1980 Tennessee Volunteers football team (variously "Tennessee", "UT" or the "Vols") represented the University of Tennessee in the 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season. Playing as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the team was led by head coach Johnny Majors, in his fourth year, and played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. They finished the season with a record of five wins and six losses (5–6 overall, 3–3 in the SEC).

## Schedule

[edit]

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

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|
|
|
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|

September 6| No. 16 Georgia|

* Neyland Stadium
* Knoxville, TN

| | L 15–16| 95,288| [1]
September 13| No. 5 USC*|

* Neyland Stadium
* Knoxville, TN

| ESPN| L 17–20| 95,049| [2]
September 20| Washington State*|

* Neyland Stadium
* Knoxville, TN

| | W 35–23| 93,520| [3]
September 27| at No. 18 Auburn|

* Jordan–Hare Stadium
* Auburn, AL (rivalry)

| | W 42–0| 75,942| [4]
October 11| at Georgia Tech*|

* Grant Field
* Atlanta, GA (rivalry)

| | W 23–10| 50,127| [5]
October 18| No. 1 Alabama|

* Neyland Stadium
* Knoxville, TN (Third Saturday in October)

| ABC| L 0–27| 96,748| [6]
October 25| No. 12 Pittsburgh*|

* Neyland Stadium
* Knoxville, TN

| | L 6–30| 94,008| [7]
November 1| Virginia*|

* Neyland Stadium
* Knoxville, TN

| | L 13–16| 94,333| [8]
November 15| vs. Ole Miss|

* Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium
* Memphis, TN (rivalry)

| | L 9–20| 50,033| [9]
November 22| Kentucky|

* Neyland Stadium
* Knoxville, TN (rivalry)

| | W 45–14| 90,244| [10]
November 29| at Vanderbilt|

* Dudley Field
* Nashville, TN (rivalry)

| | W 51–13| 31,100| [11]

* *Non-conference game
* Homecoming
* Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

## Roster

[edit]

1980 Tennessee Volunteers football team roster

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

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|
|

WR | `26` | Willie Gault | So
WR | `28` | Anthony Hancock | Jr
OT | `78` | Tim Irwin | Sr
Defense | Pos. | # | Name | Class

|
|
|

DB | `40` | Bill Bates | So
LB | `50` | Danny Spradlin | Sr
DE | `92` | Reggie White | Fr
DE | `93` | Mike Cofer | So
Special teams | Pos. | # | Name | Class

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|
|

K | `10` | Alan Duncan | Sr
P | `20` | John Warren | So

Head coach

* Johnny Majors

Coordinators/assistant coaches

* Bill Pace – Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks/assistant head coach
* Doug Mathews – Running backs
* Bob Harrison – Wide receivers
* Phillip Fulmer – Offensive line
* Bobby Jackson – Defensive coordinator/linebackers
* Frank Emanuel – Defensive line
* John Julies – Defensive ends
* Dom Capers – Defensive backs

* * *

Legend

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

* Injured
* Redshirt

## Team players drafted into the NFL

[edit]

Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL club

|
|
|
|

Tim Irwin | Tackle | 3 | 74 | Minnesota Vikings
Danny Spradlin | Linebacker | 5 | 137 | Dallas Cowboys
Alan Duncan | Kicker | 7 | 174 | Philadelphia Eagles
Hubert Simpson | Running back | 10 | 258 | Cincinnati Bengals
Brad White | Nose tackle | 12 | 310 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers

* Reference:[12]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Bowers, Harley (September 7, 1980). "Walker rallies Georgia past Vols". The Macon Telegraph & News. Retrieved May 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
2. ^ "Trojans win by a Hipp and a foot". The Daily Breeze. September 14, 1980. Retrieved May 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
3. ^ "Cougars' comeback is short". The Tacoma News Tribune. September 21, 1980. Retrieved May 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
4. ^ "Tennessee bombs Auburn 42–0". The Montgomery Advertiser. September 28, 1980. Retrieved May 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
5. ^ "Vols find a 'foot' the best weapon". The Tampa Tribune-Times. October 12, 1980. Retrieved May 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
6. ^ "Alabama overwhelms Tennessee". The Tennessean. October 19, 1980. Retrieved May 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
7. ^ "Sub quarterback Trocano paces Pitt victory 30–6". The Morning News. October 26, 1980. Retrieved May 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
8. ^ "Virginia whips Vols". The Daily News Leader. November 2, 1980. Retrieved May 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
9. ^ "Ole Miss dumps Vols, 20–9". Kingsport Times-News. November 16, 1980. Retrieved May 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
10. ^ "Tennessee plays UK breakdown to tune of 45–14 win". The Courier-Journal. November 23, 1980. Retrieved May 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
11. ^ "Devastating finish: 51–13 Vol explosion". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. November 30, 1980. Retrieved May 9, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
12. ^ "1981 NFL Draft". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 6, 2012.

* v
* t
* e

Tennessee Volunteers football

Venues|

* Baseball Park (1892–1893)
* Fountain City Park (1894)
* Baldwin Park (1895–1900, 1902–1905)
* Chilhowee Park (1901, 1907)
* Baker-Himel Park (1906)
* Waite Field (1908–1920)
* Neyland Stadium (1921–present)

Bowls & rivalries|

* Bowl games
* Alabama: Third Saturday in October
* Auburn
* Florida
* Georgia
* Georgia Tech
* Kentucky
* Ole Miss
* South Carolina
* Vanderbilt

Culture & lore|

* History
* Smokey
* "Rocky Top"
* Pride of the Southland Band
* Battle at Bristol
* Porter Cup

People|

* Head coaches
* Starting quarterbacks
* NFL draftees
* Statistical leaders

Seasons|

* 1891
* 1892
* 1893
* 1894
* 1895
* 1896
* 1897
* 1898
* 1899
* 1900
* 1901
* 1902
* 1903
* 1904
* 1905
* 1906
* 1907
* 1908
* 1909
* 1910
* 1911
* 1912
* 1913
* 1914
* 1915
* 1916
* 1917
* 1918
* 1919
* 1920
* 1921
* 1922
* 1923
* 1924
* 1925
* 1926
* 1927
* 1928
* 1929
* 1930
* 1931
* 1932
* 1933
* 1934
* 1935
* 1936
* 1937
* 1938
* 1939
* 1940
* 1941
* 1942
* 1943
* 1944
* 1945
* 1946
* 1947
* 1948
* 1949
* 1950
* 1951
* 1952
* 1953
* 1954
* 1955
* 1956
* 1957
* 1958
* 1959
* 1960
* 1961
* 1962
* 1963
* 1964
* 1965
* 1966
* 1967
* 1968
* 1969
* 1970
* 1971
* 1972
* 1973
* 1974
* 1975
* 1976
* 1977
* 1978
* 1979
* 1980
* 1981
* 1982
* 1983
* 1984
* 1985
* 1986
* 1987
* 1988
* 1989
* 1990
* 1991
* 1992
* 1993
* 1994
* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

National championship seasons in bold

This college football 1980 season article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

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