1980 North Carolina Tar Heels football team

Schedule

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Rankings

Main article: 1980 NCAA Division I-A football rankings

Game summaries

Maryland

At Oklahoma

Duke

Vs. Texas (Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl)

Main article: 1980 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl

Roster

Statistics

The Tar Heels gained an average of 297.7 rushing yards and 104.1 passing yards per game. On defense, they gave up 138.0 rushing yards and 144.1 passing yards per game.

Two North Carolina backs tallied over 1,000 rushing yards:

• Amos Lawrence tallied 1,118 rushing yards on 229 carries for an average of 4.9 yards per carry. He also caught nine passes for 80 yards and led the team in scoring with 90 points on 15 touchdowns.
• Kelvin Bryant gained 1,039 rushing yards on 177 carries for an average of 5.9 yards per carry. He also caught 12 passes for 194 yards and scored 72 points on 12 touchdowns. Billy Johnson ranked third with 433 yards on 103 carries for a 4.2 yard average.

Quarterback Rod Elkins completed 181 of 160 passes (50.6%) for 1,002 yards with 11 touchdowns, nine interceptins, and a 114.7 quarterback rating. The team's leading receivers were Mike Chatham (20 receptions, 239 yards), Victor Harrison (16 receptions, 210 yards), Jon Richardson (15 receptions, 206 yards), and Kelvin Bryant (12 receptions, 194 yards).

Awards and honors

Linebacker Lawrence Taylor won the award as the Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year.

Three North Carolina players received All-America honors. Taylor was a consensus pick, receiving first-team honors from the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), Associated Press (AP), Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), and United Press International (UPI). Guard Ron Wooten received first-team honors from the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA) and the Walter Camp Football Foundation (WCFF), second-team honors from the UPI, and third-team honors from the AP. Center Rick Donnalley received second-team honors from the AP.

Eight North Carolina players received first-team honors on the 1980 All-Atlantic Coast Conference football team: guard Ron Wooten; center Rick Donnalley; running backs Amos Lawrence and Kelvin Bryant; Lawrence Taylor (at defensive line); linebacker Darrell Nicholson; Steve Streater (honored both as defensive back and punter).

1981 NFL draft

Main article: 1981 NFL draft

The following players were drafted into professional football following the season.

References

References

1. "1980 North Carolina Tar Heels Schedule and Results". Sports Reference LLC.
2. Whitley, David. [https://www.espn.com/classic/biography/s/Taylor_Lawrence.html L.T. was reckless, magnificent], [[espn.com]], accessed January 29, 2007.
3. (December 20, 1980). "UNC's Taylor Piles Up Honors For His Defense". Winston-Salem Journal.
4. (December 3, 1980). "Crum named ACC coach of the year". The Plain Dealer.
5. "1980 North Carolina Tar Heels Stats". Sports Reference LLC.
6. (September 7, 1980). "Carolina topples Furman". The News and Observer.
7. (September 14, 1980). "North Carolina tops Tech". The Tyler Courier-Times.
8. (September 28, 1980). "Tar Heels' defense stops Maryland, 17–3". The Tampa Tribune.
9. (October 5, 1980). "North Carolina rolls over Georgia Tech". The Victoria Advocate.
10. (October 12, 1980). "Tar Heels dominate Wake in 27–9 victory". The Daily Progress.
11. (October 19, 1980). "UNC looks like the class of the ACC against State". The Roanoke Times & World-News.
12. (October 26, 1980). "No. 7 Tar Heels clip East Carolina 31–3". News-Press.
13. (November 2, 1980). "Sooners demolish sixth-rated Tarheels". Wisconsin State Journal.
14. (November 9, 1980). "Goal line stand saves Tar Heels". The Danville Register.
15. (November 16, 1980). "Tar Heels earn Bluebonnent berth with 26–3 victory over Virginia". Suffolk News-Herald.
16. (November 23, 1980). "Bryant's running helps Tar Heels KO Blue Devils' rally". The Charlotte Observer.
17. (January 1, 1981). "North Carolina runs over Longhorns, 16–7". San Angelo Standard-Times.
18. "Carolina Football : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive".
19. (September 28, 1980). "UNC Deals Maryland 1st Defeat, 17-3". [[The Washington Post]].
20. (November 10, 1980). "Hey, Not Everyone Can Be Perfect".
21. (January 1, 1981). "N. CAROLINA DEFEATS TEXAS, 16-7". [[The New York Times]].
22. (December 1, 1980). "Tar Heels' Lawrence Taylor named best player in ACC". The Salisbury Post.
23. (November 30, 1980). "Tar Heels Dominate All-ACC Team". The Robesonian.
24. "1981 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com".