1979–80 NCAA football bowl games

The 1979–80 NCAA football bowl games were a series of post-season games played in December 1979 and January 1980 to end the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. A total of 15 team-competitive games,^[1] were played. The post-season began with the Garden State Bowl on December 15, 1979, and concluded on January 1, 1980, with the Orange Bowl.

1979–80 NCAA football bowl games
Season	1979
Number of bowls	15
Bowl games	December 15, 1979 – January 1, 1980
National Championship	1980 Sugar Bowl
Location of Championship	Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana
Champions	Alabama
Bowl record by conference Conference Bowls Record Final AP poll
←1978–79 Bowl game 1980–81→

Schedule

^[2]

Date	Game	Site	TV	Teams	Results
Dec. 15	Garden State Bowl	Giants Stadium East Rutherford, New Jersey	Mizlou	No. 20 Temple Owls (9–2) California Golden Bears (7–4)	Temple 28 California 17
	Independence Bowl	State Fair Stadium Shreveport, Louisiana	TBS	Syracuse Orangemen (6–5) McNeese State Cowboys (11–0)	Syracuse 31 McNeese State 7
Dec. 21	Holiday Bowl	Jack Murphy Stadium San Diego, California	Mizlou	Indiana Hoosiers (7–4) No. 9 BYU Cougars (11–0)	Indiana 38 BYU 37
Dec. 22	Sun Bowl	Sun Bowl El Paso, Texas	CBS	No. 13 Washington Huskies (9–2) No. 11 Texas Longhorns (9–2)	Washington 14 Texas 7
	Liberty Bowl	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, Tennessee	ABC	Penn State Nittany Lions (7–4) No. 15 Tulane Green Wave (9–2)	Penn State 9 Tulane 6
	Tangerine Bowl	Orlando Stadium Orlando, Florida	Mizlou	LSU Tigers (6–5) Wake Forest Demon Deacons (8–3)	LSU 34 Wake Forest 10
Dec. 25	Fiesta Bowl	Sun Devil Stadium Tempe, Arizona	NBC	No. 10 Pittsburgh Panthers (10–1) Arizona Wildcats (6–4–1)	Pittsburgh 16 Arizona 10
Dec. 28	Gator Bowl	Gator Bowl Stadium Jacksonville, Florida	ABC	North Carolina Tar Heels (7–3–1) No. 14 Michigan Wolverines (8–3)	North Carolina 17 Michigan 15
Dec. 29	Hall of Fame Classic	Legion Field Birmingham, Alabama	Mizlou	Missouri Tigers (6–5) No. 16 South Carolina Gamecocks (8–3)	Missouri 24 South Carolina 14
Dec. 31	Peach Bowl	Fulton County Stadium Atlanta, Georgia	CBS	No. 19 Baylor Bears (7–4) No. 18 Clemson Tigers (8–3)	Baylor 24 Clemson 18
	Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl	Astrodome Houston, Texas	Mizlou	No. 12 Purdue Boilermakers (9–2) Tennessee Volunteers (7–4)	Purdue 27 Tennessee 22
Jan. 1	Cotton Bowl Classic	Cotton Bowl Dallas, Texas	CBS	No. 8 Houston Cougars (10–1) No. 7 Nebraska Cornhuskers (10–1)	Houston 17 Nebraska 14
	Sugar Bowl	Louisiana Superdome New Orleans, Louisiana	ABC	No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide (11–0) No. 6 Arkansas Razorbacks (10–1)	Alabama 24 Arkansas 9
	Rose Bowl	Rose Bowl Pasadena, California	NBC	No. 3 USC Trojans (10–0–1) No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes (11–0)	USC 17 Ohio State 16
	Orange Bowl	Miami Orange Bowl Miami, Florida	NBC	No. 5 Oklahoma Sooners (10–1) No. 4 Florida State Seminoles (11–0)	Oklahoma 24 Florida State 7

Rankings from AP Poll