CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1980 Arizona

5–⁠6 (3–⁠4 Pac-10), coached by Larry Smith.

Schedule and results

Arizona in 1980, game by game: lost vs. Colorado State 13–15; won at California 31–24; won at Iowa 5–3; lost vs. No. 2 USC 10–27; lost vs. Washington State 14–38; lost vs. No. 4 Notre Dame 3–20; won vs. No. 2 UCLA 23–17; lost at Washington 22–45; won vs. Pacific 63–35; won at Oregon State 24–7; lost vs. Arizona State 7–44+28−37Lost 13–15 vs. Colorado State-2Colorado StateWon 31–24 at California+7CaliforniaWon 5–3 at Iowa+2IowaLost 10–27 vs. No. 2 USC-17No. 2 USCLost 14–38 vs. Washington State-24Washington StateLost 3–20 vs. No. 4 Notre Dame-17No. 4 Notre DameWon 23–17 vs. No. 2 UCLA+6No. 2 UCLALost 22–45 at Washington-23WashingtonWon 63–35 vs. Pacific+28PacificWon 24–7 at Oregon State+17Oregon StateLost 7–44 vs. Arizona State-37Arizona State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 20vsColorado StateL 13–⁠1570%
Sep 27atCaliforniaW 31–⁠2447%
Oct 4atIowaW 5–⁠348%
Oct 11vs2USCL 10–⁠2727%
Oct 18vsWashington StateL 14–⁠3875%
Oct 25vs4Notre DameL 3–⁠2029%
Nov 1vs2UCLAW 23–⁠1725%
Nov 8atWashingtonL 22–⁠4525%
Nov 15vsPacificW 63–⁠3576%
Nov 22atOregon StateW 24–⁠774%
Nov 29vsArizona StateL 7–⁠4448%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Arizona State 44–⁠7; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 6th in the Pac-10.

In program history: The 64th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 102 on file).

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.

Record
5–⁠6
Conference
3–⁠4 tied for 6th in Pac-10
AP final
Unranked
Points
215–⁠275
Coach
Larry Smith
Elo
1458 −54 this season
SP+ rating
-4.6 No. 91 of 133; offense No. 73, defense No. 100
SRS
−0.1 No. 70 of 138 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Steve Axman
Defensive coordinator
Moe Ankney
Captain
Hubie Oliver

Drafted in 1981

The 1981 draft
Rd 3Robert Cobb DELos Angeles Rams
Rd 4Mike Robinson DECleveland Browns

All-Pac-10

1 first team, 4 second team

First team

  • Dave LigginsDBCoaches-1

Second team

  • Bill JensenOTCoaches-2
  • Mike RobinsonDLCoaches-2
  • Marcellus GreeneDBCoaches-2
  • Sergio VegaPCoaches-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 Pac-10 standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Washington6–⁠19–⁠316
UCLA5–⁠29–⁠213
USC4–⁠2–⁠18–⁠2–⁠111
Arizona State5–⁠37–⁠4
Oregon4–⁠3–⁠16–⁠3–⁠2
Stanford3–⁠46–⁠5
Arizona3–⁠45–⁠6
Washington State3–⁠44–⁠7
California3–⁠53–⁠8
Oregon State0–⁠80–⁠11

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