1980 NCAA Division I-A football season

The 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season saw Georgia take its first national title since World War II.

The Georgia Bulldogs starred freshman running back Herschel Walker, who made his NCAA debut against Tennessee. Down 15-2 at halftime, Georgia sent in Walker, the third string running back at the time, to try to light a spark. Walker ran over All-American safety Bill Bates, in a play that would set the tempo for the rest of his career.

This year's edition of Florida vs. Georgia Football Classic was won on a last minute 92 yard pass from Georgia's own endzone, known by the play by play call "Run, Lindsay, run!".

The Bulldogs ran through the rest of the season unscathed, beating Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl. Walker rushed for 150 yards against Notre Dame, a defense which had not given up a hundred yard game that whole season. He did this with a dislocated shoulder.

The Pittsburgh Panthers also had a stellar season, led by offensive tackle Mark May. The team went 11-1 and finished ranked #2, finishing the season with a rout of South Carolina and Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers in the Gator Bowl. 29 players from this team went on the play in the NFL.

Florida State defeated #3 ranked Nebraska on the Cornhuskers' home turf, and the following week defeated the #2 ranked Pitt Panthers

It was an unusual year for the Pac-10 as 5 of its 10 members were placed on probation by the conference (but not the NCAA) including traditional powers USC and UCLA, along with both Oregon schools and Arizona State. So half the conference was ineligible for bowl games and it was feared that the 4th or 5th place finisher would end up in the Rose Bowl. Ironically, USC and UCLA both got as high as #2 in the polls before being upset. As it turned out, the probation didn't matter as Washington won the conference outright with a 6-1 record.

This year's edition of the Holiday Bowl was a classic as the BYU staged a fourth quarter comeback, led by future NFL star Jim McMahon. Down 45-25 to SMU with less than four minutes left, McMahon threw three touchdown passes, including a Hail Mary as time expired, caught in the endzone by Clay Brown, despite being surrounded by three SMU defenders.

Rules changes for 1980

 * Full arm extension on pass blocking allowed.
 * Illegal use of hands penalty reduced to 5 yards.

Bowl games

 * Sugar Bowl: #1 Georgia 17, #7 Notre Dame 10
 * Orange Bowl: #4 Oklahoma 18, #2 Florida State 17
 * Rose Bowl: #5 Michigan 23, #16 Washington 6
 * Cotton Bowl Classic: #9 Alabama 30, #6 Baylor 2
 * Gator Bowl: #3 Pittsburgh 37, #18 South Carolina 9
 * Sun Bowl: #8 Nebraska 31, #17 Mississippi State 17
 * Fiesta Bowl: #10 Penn State 31, #11 Ohio State 19
 * Peach Bowl: #20 Miami 20, Virginia Tech 10
 * Bluebonnet Bowl: #13 North Carolina 16, Texas 7
 * Liberty Bowl: Purdue 28, Missouri 25
 * Hall of Fame Classic: Arkansas 34, Tulane 15
 * Tangerine Bowl: Florida 35, Maryland 20
 * Holiday Bowl: #14 BYU 46, #19 SMU 45
 * Garden State Bowl: Houston 35, Navy 0
 * Independence Bowl: Southern Mississippi 16, McNeese State 14

Final AP Poll

 * 1) Georgia
 * 2) Pittsburgh
 * 3) Oklahoma
 * 4) Michigan
 * 5) Florida State
 * 6) Alabama
 * 7) Nebraska
 * 8) Penn State
 * 9) Notre Dame
 * 10) North Carolina
 * 11) UCLA
 * 12) Brigham Young
 * 13) Southern California
 * 14) Baylor
 * 15) Ohio St
 * 16) Washington
 * 17) Purdue
 * 18) Miami (FL)
 * 19) Mississippi State
 * 20) SMU

Final Coaches Poll

 * 1) Georgia
 * 2) Pittsburgh
 * 3) Oklahoma
 * 4) Michigan
 * 5) Florida St.
 * 6) Alabama
 * 7) Nebraska
 * 8) Penn St.
 * 9) North Carolina
 * 10) Notre Dame
 * 11) Brigham Young
 * 12) UCLA
 * 13) Baylor
 * 14) Southern California
 * 15) Ohio St.
 * 16) Purdue
 * 17) Washington
 * 18) Miami (FL)
 * 19) Florida
 * 20) Southern Methodist

Heisman Trophy voting

 * 1) George Rogers South Carolina, RB
 * 2) Hugh Green Pittsburgh, DE
 * 3) Herschel Walker Georgia, RB
 * 4) Mark Herrmann Purdue, QB
 * 5) Jim McMahon Brigham Young, QB

Other major awards

 * Maxwell - Hugh Green Pittsburgh, DE
 * Outland - Mark May Pittsburgh, DT
 * Camp - Hugh Green Pittsburgh, DE
 * Lombardi - Hugh Green Pittsburgh, DE