1980 Tennessee Volunteers football team

The 1980 Tennessee Volunteers football team (variously "Tennessee", "UT" or the "Vols") represented the University of Tennessee in the 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season. Playing as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the team was led by head coach Johnny Majors, in his fourth year, and played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. They finished the season with a record of five wins and six losses (5–6 overall, 3–3 in the SEC).

1980 Tennessee Volunteers football
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Record	5–6 (3–3 SEC)
Head coach	Johnny Majors (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Bill Pace (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Bobby Jackson (1st season)
Captain	Jim Noonan
Home stadium	Neyland Stadium
Seasons ← 1979 1981 →

1980 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Georgia $	6	–	0	–	0			12	–	0	–	0
No. 19 Mississippi State	5	–	1	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
No. 6 Alabama	5	–	1	–	0			10	–	2	–	0
LSU	4	–	2	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Florida	4	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Tennessee	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Ole Miss	2	–	4	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Kentucky	1	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Auburn	0	–	6	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Vanderbilt	0	–	6	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 6	No. 16 Georgia	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN		L 15–16	95,288	[1]
September 13	No. 5 USC*	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN	ESPN	L 17–20	95,049	[2]
September 20	Washington State*	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN		W 35–23	93,520	[3]
September 27	at No. 18 Auburn	Jordan–Hare Stadium Auburn, AL (rivalry)		W 42–0	75,942	[4]
October 11	at Georgia Tech*	Grant Field Atlanta, GA (rivalry)		W 23–10	50,127	[5]
October 18	No. 1 Alabama	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (Third Saturday in October)	ABC	L 0–27	96,748	[6]
October 25	No. 12 Pittsburgh*	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN		L 6–30	94,008	[7]
November 1	Virginia*	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN		L 13–16	94,333	[8]
November 15	vs. Ole Miss	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN (rivalry)		L 9–20	50,033	[9]
November 22	Kentucky	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)		W 45–14	90,244	[10]
November 29	at Vanderbilt	Dudley Field Nashville, TN (rivalry)		W 51–13	31,100	[11]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1980 Tennessee Volunteers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 26 Willie Gault So WR 28 Anthony Hancock Jr OT 78 Tim Irwin Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB 40 Bill Bates So LB 50 Danny Spradlin Sr DE 92 Reggie White Fr DE 93 Mike Cofer So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 10 Alan Duncan Sr P 20 John Warren So	Head coach Johnny Majors Coordinators/assistant coaches Bill Pace – Offensive coordinator/quarterbacks/assistant head coach Doug Mathews – Running backs Bob Harrison – Wide receivers Phillip Fulmer – Offensive line Bobby Jackson – Defensive coordinator/linebackers Frank Emanuel – Defensive line John Julies – Defensive ends Dom Capers – Defensive backs Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Team players drafted into the NFL

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Tim Irwin	Tackle	3	74	Minnesota Vikings
Danny Spradlin	Linebacker	5	137	Dallas Cowboys
Alan Duncan	Kicker	7	174	Philadelphia Eagles
Hubert Simpson	Running back	10	258	Cincinnati Bengals
Brad White	Nose tackle	12	310	Tampa Bay Buccaneers

• Reference:^[12]