1980 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team

The 1980 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team represented the University of Tulsa during the 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season. In their fourth year under head coach John Cooper, the Golden Hurricane compiled an 8–3 record (4–1 against conference opponents) and won the Missouri Valley Conference championship.^[1][2]

1980 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football
MVC champion
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Record	8–3 (4–1 MVC)
Head coach	John Cooper (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Larry Coker (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Mike Knoll (1st season)
Home stadium	Skelly Stadium
Seasons ← 1979 1981 →

1980 Missouri Valley Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Tulsa $	4	–	1	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
Wichita State	4	–	1	–	1			5	–	5	–	1
Indiana State	4	–	2	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Drake	3	–	2	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
West Texas State	2	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
New Mexico State	1	–	4	–	1			3	–	7	–	1
Southern Illinois	1	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion

The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Kenny Jackson with 1,208 passing yards, Kenneth Session with 662 rushing yards, and Paul Johns with 420 receiving yards.^[3] Head coach John Cooper was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 13	Cincinnati*	Skelly Stadium Tulsa, OK	W 31–13	19,941	[4]
September 20	at Wichita State	Cessna Stadium Wichita, KS	L 10–23	19,010	[5]
September 27	at No. 15 Arkansas*	Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR	L 10–13	41,082	[6]
October 4	Kansas State*	Skelly Stadium Tulsa, OK	W 3–0	23,213	[7]
October 11	North Texas State*	Skelly Stadium Tulsa, OK	W 28–27	18,315	[8]
October 18	at TCU*	Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX	W 23–17	12,367	[9]
October 25	West Texas State	Skelly Stadium Tulsa, OK	W 44–24	18,011	[10]
November 1	at No. 5 Florida State*	Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, FL	L 2–45	47,683	[11]
November 8	Indiana State	Skelly Stadium Tulsa, OK	W 30–7	17,647	[12]
November 15	at Southern Illinois	McAndrew Stadium Carbondale, IL	W 41–7	6,432	[13]
November 22	at New Mexico State	Aggie Memorial Stadium Las Cruces, NM	W 21–20	10,081	[14]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[15]

Roster

1980 Tulsa Golden Hurricane football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class OT 79 Sid Abramowitz So WR 3 Paul Johns Sr RB 5 Ken Lacy So	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 49 Don Blackmon Sr DE 14 Eugene Williams Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach John Cooper Coordinators/assistant coaches Joe Hollis (Tight ends and offensive tackles) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

After the season

1981 NFL draft

The following Golden Hurricane players were selected in the 1981 NFL draft following the season.^[16][17]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL club
4	102	Don Blackmon	Linebacker	New England Patriots
8	199	Denver Johnson	Tackle	Tampa Bay Buccaneers