CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1980 Alabama

10–⁠2 (6–⁠1 Southeastern Conference), coached by Bear Bryant, finished No. 6 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Alabama in 1980, game by game: won vs. Georgia Tech 26–3; won at Ole Miss 59–35; won vs. Vanderbilt 41–0; won vs. Kentucky 45–0; won at Rutgers 17–13; won at Tennessee 27–0; won vs. No. 20 Southern Miss 42–7; lost at Mississippi State 3–6; won vs. LSU 28–7; lost vs. No. 6 Notre Dame 0–7; won vs. Auburn 34–18; won vs. No. 6 Baylor 30–2+45−7Won 26–3 vs. Georgia Tech+23Georgia TechWon 59–35 at Ole Miss+24Ole MissWon 41–0 vs. Vanderbilt+41VanderbiltWon 45–0 vs. Kentucky+45KentuckyWon 17–13 at Rutgers+4RutgersWon 27–0 at Tennessee+27TennesseeWon 42–7 vs. No. 20 Southern Miss+35No. 20 Southern MissLost 3–6 at Mississippi State-3Mississippi Sta…Won 28–7 vs. LSU+21LSULost 0–7 vs. No. 6 Notre Dame-7No. 6 Notre DameWon 34–18 vs. Auburn+16AuburnWon 30–2 vs. No. 6 Baylor+28No. 6 Baylor
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 6vsGeorgia TechW 26–⁠385%
Sep 20atOle MissW 59–⁠3574%
Sep 27vsVanderbiltW 41–⁠094%
Oct 3vsKentuckyW 45–⁠085%
Oct 11atRutgersW 17–⁠1359%
Oct 18atTennesseeW 27–⁠066%
Oct 25vs20Southern MissW 42–⁠774%
Nov 1atMississippi StateL 3–⁠677%
Nov 8vsLSUW 28–⁠780%
Nov 15vs6Notre DameL 0–⁠770%
Nov 29vsAuburnW 34–⁠1879%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs6BaylorCotton BowlW 30–⁠259%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Baylor 30–⁠2 in the Cotton Bowl; No. 6 in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 23rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 2
  2. Wk 2: 2
  3. Wk 3: 1
  4. Wk 4: 1
  5. Wk 5: 1
  6. Wk 6: 1
  7. Wk 7: 1
  8. Wk 8: 1
  9. Wk 9: 1
  10. Wk 10: 6
  11. Wk 11: 5
  12. Wk 12: 8
  13. Wk 13: 9
  14. Wk 14: 8
  15. Wk 15: 9
  16. Final: 6

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1980.

Consensus All-AmericanE.J. Junior, DE

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
6–⁠1 2nd in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 6 peak No. 1
Points
352–⁠98
Coach
Bear Bryant
Elo
1808 +83 this season
SP+ rating
28.7 No. 5 of 133; offense No. 10, defense No. 3
SRS
26.8 No. 4 of 138 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Mal Moore
Defensive coordinator
Ken Donahue
Captains
Major Ogilvie and Randy Scott
Offense
Wishbone
Defense
5–⁠2

Drafted in 1981

The 1981 draft
Rd 1E.J. Junior LBSt. Louis Cardinals
Rd 5Byron Braggs DTGreen Bay Packers
Rd 7Billy Jackson RBKansas City Chiefs

All-SEC

5 first team, 5 second team

First team

Second team

  • Billy JacksonRBAP-2
  • Major OgilvieRBAP-2
  • Warren LylesMGAP-2
  • Randy ScottLBAP-2
  • Ricky TuckerDBAP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1980 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1980 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Georgia6–⁠012–⁠01
Alabama6–⁠110–⁠26
Mississippi State5–⁠19–⁠319
Florida4–⁠28–⁠4
LSU4–⁠27–⁠4
Tennessee3–⁠35–⁠6
Ole Miss2–⁠53–⁠8
Kentucky1–⁠53–⁠8
Auburn0–⁠65–⁠6
Vanderbilt0–⁠62–⁠9

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.