1980 Pittsburgh Panthers football team

1980 Pittsburgh Panthers football
Gator Bowl champion
Eastern champion
Conference Independent
Ranking
Coaches No. 2
AP No. 2
1980 record 11–1
Head coach Jackie Sherrill (4th season)
Offensive coordinator Wally English (2nd season)
Offensive scheme Multiple pro-style
Defensive coordinator Foge Fazio (2nd season)
Base defense Multiple front
Home stadium Pitt Stadium
(Capacity: 56,500)
1980 Division I-A independents football records
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 2 Pittsburgh   –  –   11 –1 –0
No. 5 Florida State   –  –   10 –2 –0
No. 8 Penn State   –  –   10 –2 –0
No. 9 Notre Dame   –  –   9 –2 –1
No. 18 Miami   –  –   9 –3 –0
Southern Miss   –  –   9 –3 –0
Navy   –  –   8 –4 –0
South Carolina   –  –   8 –4 –0
Virginia Tech   –  –   8 –4 –0
Boston College   –  –   7 –4 –0
Northeast Louisiana   –  –   7 –4 –0
Rutgers   –  –   7 –4 –0
UNLV   –  –   7 –4 –0
Tulane   –  –   7 –5 –0
Colgate   –  –   5 –4 –1
North Texas State   –  –   6 –5 –0
Villanova   –  –   6 –5 –0
West Virginia   –  –   6 –6 –0
Louisville   –  –   5 –6 –0
Richmond   –  –   5 –6 –0
Syracuse   –  –   5 –6 –0
East Carolina   –  –   4 –7 –0
Illinois State   –  –   4 –7 –0
Temple   –  –   4 –7 –0
Army   –  –   3 –7 –1
Holy Cross   –  –   3 –8 –0
Cincinnati   –  –   2 –9 –0
Memphis   –  –   2 –9 –0
William & Mary   –  –   2 –9 –0
Georgia Tech   –  –   1 –9 –1
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1980 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season. Despite losing one game, the Panthers were named national champions by several selectors including the College Football Researchers Association, The New York Times computer poll, and the Sagarin Ratings, among others. The university does not claim a national championship for this season, nor are the Panthers popularly recognized for winning that year's national championship. Pitt was awarded the Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy as the champion of the East.

Championship selections

Selectors that named Pitt the 1980 national champion:[1]

Schedule

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result Attendance
Sat. Sep. 13 1:30 p.m. Boston College No. 3 Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA ABC W 14–6   44,820
Sat. Sep. 20 2:30 p.m. at Kansas No. 5 Memorial Stadium • Lawrence, KS W 18–3   41,300
Sat. Sep. 27 1:30 p.m. Temple No. 6 Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA W 36–2   47,071
Sat. Oct. 4 1:30 p.m. Maryland No. 6 Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA W 38–9   47,409
Sat. Oct. 11 7:00 p.m. at No. 11 Florida State No. 4 Doak Campbell Stadium • Tallahassee, FL L 22–36   52,894
Sat. Oct. 18 1:30 p.m. West Virginiadagger No. 11 Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA (Backyard Brawl) W 42–14   55,130
Sat. Oct. 25 2:00 p.m. at Tennessee No. 12 Neyland Stadium • Knoxville, TN W 30–6   94,008
Sat. Nov. 1 3:30 p.m. at Syracuse No. 11 Carrier Dome • Syracuse, NY (Rivalry) ABC W 43–6   50,243
Sat. Nov. 8 1:30 p.m. Louisville No. 9 Pitt Stadium • Pittsburgh, PA W 41–23   47,280
Sat. Nov. 15 1:30 p.m. at Army No. 8 Michie Stadium • West Point, NY W 45–7   31,150
Fri. Nov. 28 1:00 p.m. at No. 5 Penn State No. 4 Beaver Stadium • University Park, PA (Rivalry) ABC W 14–9   82,459
Mon. Dec. 29 9:00 p.m. vs. No. 18 South Carolina No. 3 Gator Bowl Stadium • Jacksonville, FL (Gator Bowl) ABC W 37–9   72,297
*Non-conference game. daggerHomecoming. #Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Coaching staff

1980 Pittsburgh Panthers football staff
Coaching Staff
  • Jackie Sherrill – Head Coach
  • Foge Fazio – Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Coordinator
  • Wally English – Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks
  • Joe Daniels – Running Backs
  • Ron Dickerson – Defensive Backs
  • Bob Matey – Defensive Line
  • Joe Moore – Offensive Line
  • Joe Naunchik – Receivers
  • Ray Zingler – Defensive Ends
   Support Staff
  • Alex Kramer – Administrative Assistant
  • Kevin Dickey – Recruiting Coordinator
  • Nick Rapone – Part-Time Assistant
  • Bob Davie – Part-Time Assistant
  • Kirk Ferentz – Part-Time Assistant
   Strength and Conditioning Staff
  • Buddy Morris – Weight Training Coordinator

Season summary

West Virginia

Starting free safety Rick Trocano moved over to offense in the second quarter to replace the injured Dan Marino. Previously the starter at QB in 1978, Trocano led Pitt to four second-quarter touchdowns during the Panthers’ win at Pitt Stadium.[2]

Roster

1980 Pittsburgh Panthers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos.#NameClass
G 70 Emil Boures Jr
T 75 Jimbo Covert So
C 56 Russ Grimm Sr
QB 13 Dan Marino So
T 73 Mark May Sr
RB 40 Randy McMillan Sr
TE 84 Benjie Pryor Sr
G 77 Ron Sams So
 Defense
Pos.#NameClass
DT 68 Jerry Boyarsky Sr
DB 5 Tom Flynn Fr
DE 99 Hugh Green Sr
DE 87 Rickey Jackson Sr
DT 86 Greg Meisner Sr
DT 76 Bill Neill Sr
CB 3 Lynn Thomas Sr
SS 48 Carlton Williamson Sr
 Special teams
Pos.#NameClass
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt

Team players drafted into the NFL

PlayerPositionRoundPickNFL Club
Hugh GreenDefensive End17Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Randy McMillanRunning Back112Baltimore Colts
Mark MayTackle120Washington Redskins
Rickey JacksonLinebacker251New Orleans Saints
Greg MeisnerDefensive Tackle363Los Angeles Rams
Carlton WilliamsonDefensive Back365San Francisco 49ers
Russ GrimmCenter369Washington Redskins
Bill NeillDefensive Tackle5115New York Giants
Benjie PryorTight End5120Cincinnati Bengals
Lynn ThomasDefensive Back5121San Francisco 49ers
Jerry BoyarskyDefensive Tackle5128New Orleans Saints
Rick TrocanoQuarterback11292Pittsburgh Steelers

[3]

Awards and honors

  • Hugh Green, Walter Camp Award[4]
  • Hugh Green, Lombardi Award[5]
  • Hugh Green, Maxwell Award[6]
  • Mark May, Outland Trophy[7]

References

  1. ↑ College Football Data Warehouse: Yearly National Championship Selections, accessdate=2009-01-29
  2. ↑ http://deathby1000papercuts.com/2007/12/the-backyard-brawl-100-years-of-wvu-and-pitt-football/
  3. ↑ https://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1981.htm
  4. ↑ http://football.about.com/cs/history/a/waltercampaward.htm
  5. ↑ http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/awards?awardId=19
  6. ↑ http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/awards?awardId=14
  7. ↑ http://www.sportswriters.net/fwaa/awards/outland/winners.html
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