CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1980 Florida State

10–⁠2, coached by Bobby Bowden, finished No. 5 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Florida State in 1980, game by game: won at LSU 16–0; won vs. Louisville 52–0; won vs. East Carolina 63–7; lost at Miami 9–10; won at No. 3 Nebraska 18–14; won vs. No. 4 Pittsburgh 36–22; won vs. Boston College 41–7; won at Memphis 24–3; won vs. Tulsa 45–2; won vs. Virginia Tech 31–7; won vs. Florida 17–13; lost vs. No. 4 Oklahoma 17–18+56−1Won 16–0 at LSU+16LSUWon 52–0 vs. Louisville+52LouisvilleWon 63–7 vs. East Carolina+56East CarolinaLost 9–10 at Miami-1MiamiWon 18–14 at No. 3 Nebraska+4No. 3 NebraskaWon 36–22 vs. No. 4 Pittsburgh+14No. 4 PittsburghWon 41–7 vs. Boston College+34Boston CollegeWon 24–3 at Memphis+21MemphisWon 45–2 vs. Tulsa+43TulsaWon 31–7 vs. Virginia Tech+24Virginia TechWon 17–13 vs. Florida+4FloridaLost 17–18 vs. No. 4 Oklahoma-1No. 4 Oklahoma
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 6atLSUW 16–⁠054%
Sep 13vsLouisvilleW 52–⁠084%
Sep 20vsEast CarolinaW 63–⁠773%
Sep 27atMiamiL 9–⁠1062%
Oct 4at3NebraskaW 18–⁠1441%
Oct 11vs4PittsburghW 36–⁠2259%
Oct 18vsBoston CollegeW 41–⁠786%
Oct 25atMemphisW 24–⁠387%
Nov 1vsTulsaW 45–⁠284%
Nov 8vsVirginia TechW 31–⁠785%
Dec 6vsFloridaW 17–⁠1386%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs4OklahomaOrange BowlL 17–⁠1852%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Oklahoma 18–⁠17 in the Orange Bowl; No. 5 in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 17th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 78 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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-AmericanRon Simmons, DT

Bobby Dodd Coach of the YearBobby Bowden, coach

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
—
AP final
No. 5 peak No. 2
Points
369–⁠103
Coach
Bobby Bowden
Elo
1774 +120 this season
SP+ rating
36.1 No. 1 of 133; offense No. 5, defense No. 1
SRS
29.4 No. 3 of 138 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
George Henshaw
Defensive coordinator
Jack Stanton
Captains
Reggie Herring, Greg Futch, Ron Simmons and Ken Lanier
Offense
Pro-style
Defense
4–⁠3

Drafted in 1981

The 1981 draft
Rd 1Bobby Butler DBAtlanta Falcons
Rd 5Ken Lanier OTDenver Broncos
Rd 6Ron Simmons DTCleveland Browns