1980 Alabama Crimson Tide football team
American college football season
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The 1980 Alabama Crimson Tide football team (variously "Alabama", "UA" or "Bama") represented the University of Alabama in the 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season. It was the Crimson Tide's 86th overall and 47th season as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The team was led by head coach Bear Bryant, in his 23rd year, and played their home games at Bryant–Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa and Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. They finished season with ten wins and two losses (10–2 overall, 5–1 in the SEC) and with a victory over Baylor in the Cotton Bowl.
| 1980 Alabama Crimson Tide football | |
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Cotton Bowl champion | |
| Conference | Southeastern Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 6 |
| AP | No. 6 |
| Record | 10–2 (5–1 SEC) |
| Head coach |
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| Offensive coordinator | Mal Moore (6th season) |
| Offensive scheme | Wishbone |
| Defensive coordinator | Ken Donahue (7th season) |
| Base defense | 5–2 |
| Captains |
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| Home stadium | Bryant–Denny Stadium Legion Field |
| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A 6–3 loss to Mississippi State ended Alabama's school record 28-game winning streak and all-time SEC record 27-game conference winning streak, and was Alabama's first loss to Mississippi State since 1957. It also cost the Tide a share of the SEC championship, the first time since 1976 they failed to win the SEC. Despite surrendering 35 points to Ole Miss, the Alabama defense still allowed only 98 points for the entire season.
Schedule
| Date | Time | Opponent | Rank | Site | TV | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 6 | 1:30 p.m. | Georgia Tech* | No. 2 | W 26–3 | 78,410 | [1] | ||
| September 20 | 1:30 p.m. | at Ole Miss[A 1]* | No. 1 | W 59–35 | 50,686 | [3] | ||
| September 27 | 1:30 p.m. | Vanderbilt | No. 1 | ESPN | W 41–0 | 60,210 | [4] | |
| October 4 | 1:30 p.m. | Kentucky | No. 1 |
| ESPN | W 45–0 | 78,400 | [5] |
| October 11 | 12:30 p.m. | at Rutgers* | No. 1 | ESPN | W 17–13 | 58,107 | [6] | |
| October 18 | 2:30 p.m. | at Tennessee | No. 1 | ABC | W 27–0 | 96,748 | [7] | |
| October 25 | 1:30 p.m. | No. 20 Southern Miss* | No. 1 |
| ESPN | W 42–7 | 60,210 | [8] |
| November 1 | 1:30 p.m. | at Mississippi State | No. 1 | ESPN | L 3–6 | 50,891 | [9] | |
| November 8 | 1:30 p.m. | LSU | No. 6 |
| ESPN | W 28–7 | 60,210 | [10] |
| November 15 | 2:30 p.m. | No. 6 Notre Dame* | No. 5 |
| ABC | L 0–7 | 78,873 | [11] |
| November 29 | 1:30 p.m. | vs. Auburn | No. 9 |
| W 34–18 | 78,549 | [12] | |
| January 1, 1981 | 1:00 p.m. | vs. No. 6 Baylor* | No. 9 | CBS | W 30–2 | 74,281 | [13] | |
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Roster
| 1980 Alabama Crimson Tide football team roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Offense
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Defense
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Special teams
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Notes
- Prior to the 1980 season, the SEC ruled if two SEC teams scheduled each other independently, and not through the conference office, the game would not count in SEC standings. As such, although both were members of the SEC, the Alabama–Ole Miss games in 1980 and 1981 did not count as conference games in the official SEC standings.[2]