| 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 |
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| Captain | Rick Donnalley, Steve Streater, Lawrence Taylor, Ron Wooten |
| Home stadium | Kenan Memorial Stadium |
| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1980 North Carolina Tar Heels football team was an American football team that 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. In their third year under head coach Dick Crum, the Tar Heels compiled an 11–1 record (6–0 in conference games), kept six opponents from scoring a touchdown, and outscored all opponents by a total of 281 to 123. They won the ACC championship, were ranked No. 10 in the final AP poll, and defeated Texas in the Astro–Bluebonnet Bowl.[1] The 11 wins tied a program record set during the 1972 season.
Senior linebacker Lawrence Taylor had 16 sacks, was a consensus selection on the 1980 All-America college football team and won ACC player of the year honors.[2][3] Crum was named ACC coach of the year.[4]
The team had two backs who gained over 1,000 rushing yards: Amos Lawrence (1,118 yards, 90 points) and Kelvin Bryant (1,039 yards, 72 points). Quarterback Rod Elkins led the team with 1,002 passing yards.[5]
The team played its home games at Kenan Memorial Stadium in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
- ^ "1980 North Carolina Tar Heels Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
- ^ Whitley, David. L.T. was reckless, magnificent, espn.com, accessed January 29, 2007.
- ^ "UNC's Taylor Piles Up Honors For His Defense". Winston-Salem Journal. December 20, 1980. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ >"Crum named ACC coach of the year". The Plain Dealer. December 3, 1980. p. 5F – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "1980 North Carolina Tar Heels Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 21, 2024.