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1980 Notre Dame

9–⁠2–⁠1, coached by Dan Devine, finished No. 9 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Notre Dame in 1980, game by game: won vs. No. 9 Purdue 31–10; won vs. No. 14 Michigan 29–27; won at Michigan State 26–21; won vs. No. 13 Miami 32–14; won vs. Army 30–3; won at Arizona 20–3; won vs. Navy 33–0; tied at Georgia Tech 3–3; won at No. 5 Alabama 7–0; won vs. Air Force 24–10; lost at No. 17 USC 3–20; lost vs. No. 1 Georgia 10–17+33−17Won 31–10 vs. No. 9 Purdue+21No. 9 PurdueWon 29–27 vs. No. 14 Michigan+2No. 14 MichiganWon 26–21 at Michigan State+5Michigan StateWon 32–14 vs. No. 13 Miami+18No. 13 MiamiWon 30–3 vs. Army+27ArmyWon 20–3 at Arizona+17ArizonaWon 33–0 vs. Navy+33NavyTied 3–3 at Georgia Tech0Georgia TechWon 7–0 at No. 5 Alabama+7No. 5 AlabamaWon 24–10 vs. Air Force+14Air ForceLost 3–20 at No. 17 USC-17No. 17 USCLost 10–17 vs. No. 1 Georgia-7No. 1 Georgia
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 6vs9PurdueW 31–⁠1055%
Sep 20vs14MichiganW 29–⁠2758%
Oct 4atMichigan StateW 26–⁠2161%
Oct 11vs13MiamiW 32–⁠1467%
Oct 18vsArmyW 30–⁠388%
Oct 25atArizonaW 20–⁠371%
Nov 1vsNavyW 33–⁠064%
Nov 8atGeorgia TechT 3–⁠384%
Nov 15at5AlabamaW 7–⁠030%
Nov 22vsAir ForceW 24–⁠1094%
Dec 6at17USCL 3–⁠2043%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs1GeorgiaSugar BowlL 10–⁠1753%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Georgia 17–⁠10 in the Sugar Bowl; No. 9 in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 50th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 131 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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.

2 consensus All-AmericansJohn Scully, C; Bob Crable, LB

Record
9–⁠2–⁠1
Conference
—
AP final
No. 9 peak No. 1
Points
248–⁠128
Coach
Dan Devine
Elo
1694 +96 this season
SP+ rating
24.0 No. 9 of 133; offense No. 37, defense No. 2
SRS
18.7 No. 14 of 138 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Defensive coordinator
Joe Yonto
Captains
Bob Crable, Tom Gibbons and John Scully
Most valuable player
Bob Crable

Drafted in 1981

The 1981 draft
Rd 4John Scully CAtlanta Falcons
Rd 7Pete Holohan TESan Diego Chargers