1980 North Carolina Tar Heels football team

Last updated

1980 North Carolina Tar Heels football
ACC champion
Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl champion
Conference Atlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 9
APNo. 10
Record11–1 (6–0 ACC)
Head coach
Captain Rick Donnalley, Steve Streater, Lawrence Taylor, Ron Wooten
Home stadium Kenan Memorial Stadium
Seasons
←  1979
1981  →
1980 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 10 North Carolina $ 6 –0 –011 –1 –0
Maryland 5 –1 –08 –4 –0
NC State 3 –3 –06 –5 –0
Clemson 2 –4 –06 –5 –0
Wake Forest 2 –4 –05 –6 –0
Virginia 2 –4 –04 –7 –0
Duke 1 –5 –02 –9 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

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.

Contents

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.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 61:00 p.m. Furman *No. 14
W 35–1350,100 [6]
September 138:30 p.m.at Texas Tech *No. 15
W 9–337,797 [7]
September 271:00 p.m.No. 19 Maryland No. 14
  • Kenan Memorial Stadium
  • Chapel Hill, NC
W 17–351,400 [8]
October 41:00 p.m. Georgia Tech *No. 10
  • Kenan Memorial Stadium
  • Chapel Hill, NC
W 33–049,750 [9]
October 111:00 p.m.at Wake Forest No. 8
W 27–937,411 [10]
October 181:00 p.m. NC State No. 8
  • Kenan Memorial Stadium
  • Chapel Hill, NC (rivalry)
W 28–851,845 [11]
October 251:00 p.m. East Carolina *No. 7
  • Kenan Memorial Stadium
  • Chapel Hill, NC
W 31–348,100 [12]
November 12:30 p.m.at No. 16 Oklahoma *No. 6
 ESPN L 7–4174,852 [13]
November 81:00 p.m.at Clemson No. 14
W 24–1962,500 [14]
November 151:00 p.m. Virginia No. 15
W 26–349,500 [15]
November 221:00 p.m. Duke No. 15
W 44–2151,389 [16]
December 318:00 p.m.vs. Texas *No. 13
 Mizlou W 16–736,669 [17]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
  • All times are in Eastern time

[18]

Roster

1980 North Carolina Tar Heels football team roster
PlayersCoaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
RB 1Travis FreemanSr
FB 1Billy "Freight Train" JohnsonSr
QB 10Rod ElkinsSo
WR 19Jon RichardsonJr
WR 41Wayne TuckerSr
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 85Mike McCormickSr
Defense
Pos.#NameClass
FS 5Steve StreaterSr
SS 28Bill JacksonJr
LB 29Darrell NicholsonJr
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 unkLarry WintersSo
Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
P 5Steve StreaterSr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Denny Marcin, Larry Marmie, Cleve Bryant

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injury icon 2.svg Injured
  • Redshirt.svg Redshirt

Roster

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend:██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
Week
PollPre1234567891011121314Final
AP 1415131410887614151513121310
Coaches 171313151188761415131111119

Game summaries

Maryland

[19]

At Oklahoma

[20]

Duke

Vs. Texas (Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl)

North Carolina vs. Texas
1234Total
•Tar Heels673016
Longhorns07007

[21]

Statistics

The Tar Heels gained an average of 297.7 rushing yards and 104.1 passing yards per game. On defense, they gave up 138.0 rushing yards and 144.1 passing yards per game. [5]

Two North Carolina backs tallied over 1,000 rushing yards:

Billy Johnson ranked third with 433 yards on 103 carries for a 4.2 yard average. [5]

Quarterback Rod Elkins completed 181 of 160 passes (50.6%) for 1,002 yards with 11 touchdowns, nine interceptins, and a 114.7 quarterback rating. The team's leading receivers were Mike Chatham (20 receptions, 239 yards), Victor Harrison (16 receptions, 210 yards), Jon Richardson (15 receptions, 206 yards), and Kelvin Bryant (12 receptions, 194 yards). [5]

Awards and honors

Linebacker Lawrence Taylor won the award as the Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year. [22]

Three North Carolina players received All-America honors. Taylor was a consensus pick, receiving first-team honors from the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), Associated Press (AP), Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), and United Press International (UPI). Guard Ron Wooten received first-team honors from the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) and the Walter Camp Football Foundation (WCFF), second-team honors from the UPI, and third-team honors from the AP. Center Rick Donnalley received second-team honors from the AP.

Eight North Carolina players received first-team honors on the 1980 All-Atlantic Coast Conference football team: guard Ron Wooten; center Rick Donnalley; running backs Amos Lawrence and Kelvin Bryant; Lawrence Taylor (at defensive line); linebacker Darrell Nicholson; Steve Streater (honored both as defensive back and punter). [23]

1981 NFL draft

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

PlayerPositionRoundPickFranchise
Lawrence Taylor Linebacker12 New York Giants
Donnell Thompson Defensive tackle118 Baltimore Colts
Rick Donnalley Center373 Pittsburgh Steelers
Amos Lawrence Running back4103 San Diego Chargers
Ron Wooten Guard6157 New England Patriots
Harry StanbackDefensive tackle6164 Atlanta Falcons

[24]

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References

  1. ↑ "1980 North Carolina Tar Heels Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  2. ↑ Whitley, David. L.T. was reckless, magnificent, espn.com, accessed January 29, 2007.
  3. ↑ "UNC's Taylor Piles Up Honors For His Defense". Winston-Salem Journal. December 20, 1980. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ > "Crum named ACC coach of the year". The Plain Dealer. December 3, 1980. p. 5F – via Newspapers.com.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "1980 North Carolina Tar Heels Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  6. ↑ "Carolina topples Furman". The News and Observer. September 7, 1980. Retrieved November 30, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "North Carolina tops Tech". The Tyler Courier-Times. September 14, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Tar Heels' defense stops Maryland, 17–3". The Tampa Tribune. September 28, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ "North Carolina rolls over Georgia Tech". The Victoria Advocate. October 5, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "Tar Heels dominate Wake in 27–9 victory". The Daily Progress. October 12, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "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.
  12. ↑ "No. 7 Tar Heels clip East Carolina 31–3". News-Press. October 26, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "Sooners demolish sixth-rated Tarheels". Wisconsin State Journal. November 2, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "Goal line stand saves Tar Heels". The Danville Register. November 9, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "Tar Heels earn Bluebonnent berth with 26–3 victory over Virginia". Suffolk News-Herald. November 16, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ "Bryant's running helps Tar Heels KO Blue Devils' rally". The Charlotte Observer. November 23, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  17. ↑ "North Carolina runs over Longhorns, 16–7". San Angelo Standard-Times. January 1, 1981. Retrieved January 28, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ "Carolina Football : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive".
  19. ↑ "UNC Deals Maryland 1st Defeat, 17-3". The Washington Post . September 28, 1980. Retrieved December 1, 2019.
  20. ↑ "Hey, Not Everyone Can Be Perfect". Sports Illustrated . November 10, 1980. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  21. ↑ "N. CAROLINA DEFEATS TEXAS, 16-7". The New York Times . January 1, 1981. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
  22. ↑ "Tar Heels' Lawrence Taylor named best player in ACC". The Salisbury Post. December 1, 1980. p. 1B – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ↑ "Tar Heels Dominate All-ACC Team". The Robesonian. November 30, 1980. p. 2B.
  24. ↑ "1981 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.
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