1980 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team

1980 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football
Conference	Independent
Record	1–9–1
Head coach	Bill Curry (1st season)
Offensive coordinator	Larry Travis (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Ken Blair (1st season)
Captain	Ben Utt Duane Wood Ken Taylor Darrell Thomas
Home stadium	Grant Field
Seasons ←  1979 1981  →

1980 NCAA Division I-A independents football records

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 2 Pittsburgh		–		–				11	–	1	–	0
Tennessee State		–		–				9	–	1	–	0
No. 5 Florida State		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
No. 8 Penn State		–		–				10	–	2	–	0
No. 9 Notre Dame		–		–				9	–	2	–	1
No. 18 Miami (FL)		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Southern Miss		–		–				9	–	3	–	0
Navy		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
South Carolina		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
Virginia Tech		–		–				8	–	4	–	0
Boston College		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Northeast Louisiana		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Rutgers		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
UNLV		–		–				7	–	4	–	0
Tulane		–		–				7	–	5	–	0
Colgate		–		–				5	–	4	–	1
North Texas State		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
Villanova		–		–				6	–	5	–	0
West Virginia		–		–				6	–	6	–	0
Louisville		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Richmond		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
Syracuse		–		–				5	–	6	–	0
East Carolina		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Illinois State		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Temple		–		–				4	–	7	–	0
Army		–		–				3	–	7	–	1
Holy Cross		–		–				3	–	8	–	0
Cincinnati		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Memphis State		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
William & Mary		–		–				2	–	9	–	0
Georgia Tech		–		–				1	–	9	–	1
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1980 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team represented the Georgia Institute of Technology during the 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Yellow Jackets were led by first-year head coach Bill Curry, and played their home games at Grant Field in Atlanta. Georgia Tech struggled mightily under Curry, finishing with one of the worst records in Georgia Tech history with 1 win, 9 losses, and 1 tie. A major highlight was achieved, however, when the Yellow Jackets produced a 3–3 tie against the number one team in the country, the undefeated Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 6	at No. 2 Alabama	Legion Field Birmingham, AL (rivalry)	L 3–26	78,410	[1]
September 20	Florida	Grant Field Atlanta, GA	L 12–45	35,165	[2]
September 27	Memphis State	Grant Field Atlanta, GA	W 17–8	28,062	[3]
October 4	at No. 10 North Carolina	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	L 0–33	49,750	[4]
October 11	Tennessee	Grant Field Atlanta, GA (rivalry)	L 10–23	50,127	[5]
October 18	at Auburn	Jordan-Hare Stadium Auburn, AL (rivalry)	L 14–17	57,950	[6]
October 25	Tulane	Grant Field Atlanta, GA	L 14–31	35,119	[7]
November 1	at Duke	Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC	L 12–17	18,200	[8]
November 8	No. 1 Notre Dame	Grant Field Atlanta, GA (rivalry)	T 3–3	41,226	[9]
November 15	Navy	Grant Field Atlanta, GA	L 8–19	17,631	[10]
November 29	at No. 1 Georgia	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA (Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate)	L 20–38	62,800	[11]
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^{[12] [13]}

Roster

1980 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class RB 29 David Allen Jr WR 80 Leon Chadwick Sr RB 26 Ronny Cone So TE 85 Glenn Etheridge So G 76 Ellis Gardner So WR 83 Marlon Heggs Sr OL 62 Ken Howell QB 2 Mike Kelley Jr WR 82 Kris Kentera Jr OT 78 Dave Lutz So QB 18 Ted Peeples Sr C 60 Mark Schultz So G 64 Ben Utt  (C) Sr QB, TE Ken Whisenhunt Fr FB 46 Dan Wood Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DL 92 Mark Bradley Jr DE 74 Marvin Dyett So LB 95 Sheldon Fox Sr LB 56 Robert Jaracz Fr S 24 Lawrence Lowe Sr LB Steve Mooney DE 96 Rick Olive Sr DB Mark Sheffield LB 43 Lance Skelton Jr DB 28 Ken Taylor (C) Sr DB 41 Ted Thurson So DL Lynwood Volley LB 49 Duane Wood So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P 8 Jeff Pierce Sr K Johnny Smith	Head coach Bill Curry Coordinators/assistant coaches Larry Travis –Offensive coordinator/offensive line Rip Scherer –Quarterbacks Jeff McLean –Running backs Terry Tuley –Running backs Mac McWhorter –Wide receivers Brad Roper –Tight ends Mark Hunter –Offensive line Ken Blair –Defensive coordinator Romeo Crennel –Defensie line Mike Dean –Defensive backs John Fabris –Defensive assistant Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

References

1. "Jackets can't stem Tide, 26–3". The Atlanta Constitution. September 7, 1980. Retrieved February 19, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
2. "Lightning, Gators strike Tech". The Macon Telegraph & News. September 21, 1980. Retrieved October 31, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Tigers discover offense, but fall at Tech". The Commercial Appeal. September 28, 1980. Retrieved July 25, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
4. "North Carolina rolls over Georgia Tech". The Victoria Advocate. October 5, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024– 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. "Auburn one up on Tech". The Dothan Eagle. October 19, 1980. Retrieved October 31, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Jackets' late rally falls short, 31–14". The Atlanta Constitution. October 26, 1980. Retrieved July 25, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Tech hits a new low in 17–12 fall to Duke". The Atlanta Journal & Constitution. November 2, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Notre Dame ties Tech, 3–3". The Indianapolis Star. November 9, 1980. Retrieved July 25, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Navy wrecks Ga. Tech, 19–8". The Baltimore Sun. November 16, 1980. Retrieved July 25, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
11. "Georgia keeps record perfect". The Macon Telegraph & News. November 30, 1980. Retrieved October 31, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
12. "1980 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Schedule and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 18, 2017.
13. 2011 Georgia Tech Media Guide Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine . p. 173